CYCLING/FBD Insurance Rás:There were countless attacks in yesterday's fourth stage of the FBD Insurance Rás, but despite the battles and skirmishes on the road to Dungloe, the war between the overall contenders remains unfinished.
At the end of 138km of aggressive racing, there was no change to the time gaps of those in the top 10. Race leader Jesse Anthony and his US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada team played things perfectly to control their rivals, giving breakaways some leeway before hauling them back in.
The stage victory went to day-one winner Mart Ojavee (Estonia Kalev Chocolate), who outsprinted Anthony's team-mate Dominique Rollin and Tomas Hruby (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) on the uphill finishing straight.
Irish riders Stephen Gallagher (Ireland Murphy & Gunn-Newlyn-M Donnelly-Sean Kelly) and Eugene Moriarty (Meath Myhome.ie/BDBC) were sixth and ninth respectively, while Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) remains second overall, just two seconds behind Anthony.
Seven others are a further two seconds adrift, including Mark Cassidy (Murphy & Gunn-Sean Kelly) and Paul Griffin (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh).
"There were a couple of scary moments today, but we just got the team together and they organised a really good chase," said 21-year-old Anthony. "In the end we let a group go away for a while, as it settled things down a bit. Then the whole team took control and rode really hard to bring it back."
It is the first time for Anthony to lead a major stage race, but he sounded increasingly confident at the end of the day's action. About halfway through the stage a dozen riders had got clear, building a maximum lead of 17 seconds and making Cassidy race leader on the road, but the US squad clinically hauled it back.
Five others got away and joined forces out front, namely Mark Lovatt (Team Sportscover), Graham Briggs (Britain Stena Line/Recycling.co.uk), Silvar Kibur (Estonia Kalev Chocolate), Dominique Perras (US Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Glenn Bak (Ireland Murphy and Gunn).
Danish rider Bak attacked with 25km remaining and opened up a 17 second lead, but they were all eventually reeled in with approximately four kilometres to go, setting things up for the uphill bunch sprint and Ojavee's second victory of the race.
"Every win is great," said the beaming Estonian. "Today I was working for my team-mate Andrei Mustonen but we didn't know that the last kilometre was so difficult. With 200 meters to go I was alone in the front and he was a little bit dropped, so I said, 'what the heck' and went for it."
With today's stage heading over six climbs, including the gruelling first category ascent of the Gap of Mamore, the sprinter Ojavee has stated he will not be in the mix for a repeat win. However Anthony, Kenneally and the other contenders will definitely be in the final scrap, knowing that the stage victory and the yellow jersey is up for grabs.
Stage Details
Stage 4 (138km, Sligo - Dungloe):1, Mart Ojavee (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) in 3 hours 14 mins 4 secs (42.55 km/h); 2, D Rollin (US Kodak Gallery); 3, T Hruby (Czech Rep Sparta Praha); 4, M Barth (Germany Thuringer Energy); 5, Y Kusters (Neth); 6, S Gallagher (Ireland Murphy & Gunn-Newlyn-M Donnelly-Sean Kelly); 7, B Raby (US Kodak Gallery); 8, A Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate); 9, E Moriarty (Meath Myhome.ie/BDBC); 10, N Graf (Germany Thuringer Energy); 11, M Bialoblocki (Team Sportscover); 12, J Anthony (US Kodak Gallery); 13, A Van der Velde (Neth U-23); 14, P Griffin (Ireland Subway); 15, B Hill (Germany Stevens Von Hacht) all same time
General Classification:1, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery) 14 hours 24 mins 17 secs; 2, B Kenneally (Meath Myhome.ie/BDBC) at 2 secs; 3, D Rollin (US Kodak Gallery) at 4 secs; 4, Y Kusters (Neth); 5, P McDonald (Aus FRF Couriers NSW IS); 6, M Cassidy (Ireland Murphy & Gunn); 7, T Martin (Germany Thuringer Energy); 8, P Griffin (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh); 9, R Roth (US Kelly Strategies) all same time; 10, J Spinelli (US Kelly Strategies) at 57 secs; 11, P O'Brien (Ireland Murphy & Gunn) at 1 min 2 secs; 12, C Newton (Britain Stena Line) at 1 min 6 secs; 13, O Pavek (Czech Rep Sparta Praha) same time; 14, M Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes) at 1 min 7 secs; 15, B Hill (Germany Stevens Von Hacht) at 1 min 8 secs.
