Tour of Ireland stage one, Powerscourt - Waterford (196km)
10.05: Good morning and welcome to live coverage of this year’s Tour of Ireland. This year’s race is just three stages, but they are all tough, selective days that should produce good racing.
10.11: It’s a sunny, mild day here in Powerscourt/Enniskerry. The riders rolled out several minutes ago, completing a short loop in Enniskerry, and are now moving towards the Lower Sugar Loaf, the first climb of this year’s race.
Prior to getting underway, the riders observed a minute’s silence for Paul Healion, the Irish criterium champion who was tragically killed in a car accident last Sunday. Paul was due to take part in the race with the Ireland team.
10.13: Defending champion Marco Pinotti had a mechanical problem at the start but got back in without problems…the race is in the neutralised section. Pinotti’s one of the friendliest riders in the peloton, and an intelligent guy. He was a popular winner last year.
10.15: His Columbia HTC team-mate Bernhard Eisel also had a problem, but got back in just before the racing began.
10.20: The riders are now on the climb, with a big crowd at the top.
10.28: We are in a car ahead of the race (until a break gets established). No news yet on who took the prime points. Bear with us…
10.35: Last year’s KOM winner Matt White (Team Type I) took the points at the top of the race’s first climb, the Lower Sugar Loaf. He beat Craig Lewis (Columbia HTC) and his own team-mate Valeriy Kobzarnko to the top, with British rider Jeremy Hunt (Cervélo Test Team) netting fourth.
10.42: The peloton is now hurtling towards the day’s first An Post sprint, in Roundwood. No riders have been successful in getting more than a few metres clear. They have covered 13 kilometres thus far.
10.46: Dennis Van Winden (Rabobank) has attacked and is clear, one kilometre from the An Post sprint.
10.53: He was caught just before the prime line. Last year’s final stage winner Frantisek Rabon (Columbia HTC) took top points there, ahead of Alexander Kristoff (Joker Bianchi), Ino Ilesic Aldo (Team Type 1) and Steven Kruijswijk (Rabobank).
There is a split in the bunch, with about 25 riders slightly ahead.
10.57: There are now 24 riders clear….if this gets established, we will bring you names.
11.00: There’s now one rider 17 seconds behind, with the peloton a further 20 seconds back. KOM leader Matt Wilson has punctured out of the break – hard luck.
The lone chaser was Danily Wyss (BMC Racing), but he has been caught. So 24 leaders, then the peloton.
11.10: They are Bernhard Eisel, Vicente Reynes (Columbia HTC), Michael Schar, Yaroslav Popovych (Astana), Alexander Kolobnev (Saxo Bank), Daniel Lloyd (Cervélo Test Team), Philip Lavery (Ireland), Andrey Grivko (ISD – Neri), Mark Cassidy (An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), Kristian House, Chris Newton, Simon Richardson (Rapha Condor), Shawn Milne (Team Type 1), Russell Downing (Candi TV – Marshall’s Pasta), Florian Stalder (BMC Racing), Travis Meyer (Australia), Alexander Kristoff (Joker Bianchi), Jetse Bol, Maurice Vrijmoed (Rabobank), Jay Thomson, Christoff Van Heerden (MTN Cycling) and Rob Hayles (Team Halfords)
11.15: However, having typed all that out, they are now caught….grrrr… The peloton is all together, travelling at 65km/h. The riders went through the second An Post sprint of the day, in Rathdrum…stand by for results.
11.20: First was British national champion Krisitan House (Rapha Condor), ahead of Andrey Grivko (ISD – Neri) and Daniel Lloyd (Cervélo Test Team).
11.25: Connection problems – updating now!
11.34: The peloton remains together…so no major dramas as yet. Lance Armstrong (Astana) has had a quiet day thus far, for those who are wondering. What kind of condition is he in? He trained hard for the Leadville 100 but claims he is not in race shape for this three day..we will see.
11.40: Jay Thomson (MTN Cycling) attacked a couple of kilometres ago and is clear, alone...He built a lot of time in the feed zone.
11.48: He is now two minutes ahead. It looks like things have settled down – they may be happy to leave him out there for now. With the category 1 Mount Leinster coming up, any solo move is a very difficult one.
12.00: He now has six minutes lead..that’s a nice advantage, and should earn him some KOM points.
12.15: He plug on alone, gaining time all the way.
12.30: The only company Thomson has now is neutral support, his team car and media vehicles.
12.44: He’s now on the climb of Mount Leinster, grinding up the foothills.
12.53: After 100 kilometres of racing, he is now 4 minutes and 52 seconds ahead of the main field. He’s therefore covered over half today’s stage distance. His aim now will be to retain as much of his lead as possible on the climb, and also to take the top points there. He has a chance of wearing the mountains jersey tonight, which would be a good reward for his efforts.
13.05: He goes over the top 3’48 ahead. Meanwhile Ed Clancy (Team Halfords) has pulled out of the race…he had been dropped earlier on during the stage. We are unsure if he was sick, but team-mate Rob Hayles was also in trouble on the climb.
13.10: It’s quite windy, with a side-to-headwind hindering his progress. He’s got quite a way to go to the next climb (the category three ascent of Coppanagh, km 139.7), but will do his utmost to stay clear until at least then.
13.16: Thomson is three minutes 50 seconds clear, so he’s holding on out there. Behind, the sprinters’ teams are riding tempo.
13.25: Bear with us…the network coverage has been patchy at times…it should improve from here on in.
It’s sunny and dry – much better weather than recent days. Fingers crossed it remains so until the end of the race on Sunday…St Patrick’s Hill would be even tougher in the wet, as would that tricky finishing circuit.
13.29: He’s gone through the An Post sprint in Borris, 123 kilometres after the start. He’s still got 73 kilometres to go, so a stage win is very unlikely. He’s only 2’53 ahead.
13.40: We’ve got the results for the final An Post sprint of the day, the recent one in Borris (km 123.6). Thomson took top points there, of course, while Alexander Kristoff (Joker Bianchi), Frantisek Rabon (Columbia HTC) and Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team) led the bunch over the line.
13.45: And here’s the results of the Mount Leinster climb:
1, Jay Thomson (MTN Cycling) 15
2, Matt Wilson (Team Type 1) 12
3, Marco Pinotti (Columbia HTC) 10
4, Jose Luis Rubiera (Astana) 8
5, Andrey Grivko (ISD-Neri) 6
6, Craig Lewis (Team Columbia HTC) 4
7, Morris Possoni (Columbia HTC) 2
8, Michael Schar (Astana) 1
Wilson is persistently going for the next points, so he’s clearly set on taking back the mountains jersey he won last year.
13.51: Thomson is now on the category three climb of Coppanagh. His lead has gone up to over four minutes now, so he’s pulling away again.
He’s now approaching the summit, so maximum points again there.
13.57: The gap is now three minutes….
Philip Lavery (Ireland) is chasing alone, one minute and 52 seconds back. Nice, aggressive racing by the first year senior.
14.10: Behind, Astana is now leading the bunch… The category two climb of Inistioge remains, and could potentially split the peloton if the big riders put the hammer down.
Lavery is 1’45 back – no time check for the bunch as yet. Ah, here is is – three minutes 20 seconds.
14.18: We’ve had requests where specific riders are in the bunch. Unfortunately it’s a bit tricky today to give precise information as we are in a press car ahead of the main group….if the peloton splits up we can drop back, but when there’s just one lone leader, we are obliged to stay well ahead.
14.21: We are on the category two Inistioge climb – it’s really steep at the bottom, with very considerable crowds. It then flattens out for a little while before rearing up again.
Lavery is now just over a minute back, but both he and the leader could lose time on this ascent.
14.23: Au contraire, mes amis…Thomson is now three minutes 30 seconds ahead.
The main bunch is two minutes 48 seconds back. Super performance by Lavery, who is one of three talented first year seniors on the Irish team.
14.35: There is now a major split in the peloton…it is in three groups. Radio coverage is very patchy but Pinotti, Fuglsang and Armstrong were all active.
14.38: Lavery was caught when the hammer went down…we’ll try to get updates as to what is happening.
14.46: The dust has settled and there are 24 leaders. Last year’s race winner Marco Pinotti is there, we think, but not Cavendish. Names coming up…
The riders are Marco Pinotti, Morris Possoni (Columbia HTC), Lance Armstrong, Janez Brajkovic, Jose Luis Rubiera, Haimar Zubeldia (Astana), Stuart O’Grady, Jakob Fuglsang, Karsten Kroon, Matti Breschel, Alexander Kolobnev (Saxo Bank), Philip Deignan, Gabriel Rasch, Daniel Lloyd (Cervélo Test Team), Andrey Grivko, Igor Abakoumov, Denys Kostyuk (ISD – Neri), Russell Downing (Candi TV – Marshall’s Pasta), Mathias Frank, Florian Stalder (BMC Racing Team), Frederik Wilman, Lars Peter Nordhaug (Joker Bianchi) and Steven Kruijswijk (Rabobank).
Rubiera has been dropped. The peloton is now 1’45 behind…
14.52: They have 25 kilometres to go now…
14.56: It’s taken quite a while to type those out…this group looks to be holding the gap, though, so maybe this is the big move.
The gap is increasing – 1`56 now. Some real big hitters in this group. Just one Irish rider – Philip Deignan. Most of the pre-race favourites are here, with very strong representation by Astana and Saxo Bank in particular.
15.03: Inside the final 20 kilometres, and it’s now 2’28 – they are pulling away all the time…this is certainly a very decisive move. If you’ve missed this, we’d suggest your GC chances are gone.
15.06: Fifteen kilometres to go to the finish in Waterford. Looking at this group, former stage winner Breschel is certainly one of the quickest, and he’s got plenty of team-mates…can he do it?
15.12: That front group is still all together…the riders are heading towards the final ten kilometres…
15.14: I spoke too soon – there’s an attack by an ISD-Neri rider. He’s slightly ahead. Even if he’s brought back, this move might well spark off a flurry of other ones. The riders are well inside the final 10 km now.
15.16: It’s all together again…who will be next to go?
Seven riders are going on ahead…if the split gets established, we’ll give you the names…hold on.
15.18: There’s been a regrouping, but the attacks continue.
They are inside 5km to go…
15.23: Seven riders go ahead - Marco Pinotti (Columbia HTC), Jakob Fuglsang, Alexander Kolobnev (Saxo Bank), Philip Deignan (Cervélo Test Team), Oleksandr Kvuachuk (ISD – Neri), Russell Downing (Candi TV – Marshall’s Pasta) and Frederik Wilman (Joker Bianchi).
15.25: Lots of attacks, who will get it?
It's Downing! Last year's stage winner and race leader gallops in to win the first leg of the 2009 race... Russell Downing (CandiTV) takes the victory..
15.33: Still waiting for results but it looks like it was Kolobnev who got second...more soon..
Here’s the stage result:
1, Russell Downing (CandiTV – Marshall’s Pasta) 196km in 5 hours 10 mins 37 secs
2, Alexander Kolobnev (Saxo Bank) at 2 secs
3, Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank)
4, Philip Deignan (Cervélo Test Team)
5, Haimar Zubeldia (Astana)
6, Marco Pinotti (Columbia HTC) all same time
That’s also the order of the GC… Downing leads points, Wilson leads the mountains classification and Breschel is best young rider. Great ride by Irishman Philip Deignan! He prefers the mountains so that was a very good performance.
We'll leave it there for now...interviews are being held, so gotta get quotes... Come back later for a full report and list of results.. Thanks for reading!
Please send us your feedback on Live Reports Click
Here Live Reports were last updated:Feb 2nd, 2010 - 19:01:59
