Mia Griffin boosted her overall lead in style on Friday, winning stage three of Rás na mBan into Gorey.
The Kilkenny native clocked up her second stage win in three days, outsprinting Heidi Franz (Monarch Racing), Noor Dekker (JEGG DJR Academy), plus her fellow Irish riders Aoife O’Brien (Ireland) and Marine Lenehan (Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei) in the bunch gallop to the line.
Griffin also took the intermediate sprint in Kiltealy, gaining an additional time bonus.
That pushes her overall lead to 12 seconds ahead of compatriot and her Das Hutchinson Brother UK teammate Caoimhe O’Brien. British rider Robyn Clay, also with the squad, is third, 23 seconds adrift.
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“We were all in for the sprint to keep me and Caoimhe as far up on the GC [general classification] as we can,” she said.
“And then the intermediate sprint, I got that. I was happy to do that and to give myself a bit more of a buffer.”
The 104.4-kilometre stage began in Kilkenny and took in two categorized climbs. Sliabh Buí, the first of these, blew the peloton apart and whittled the lead group right down to the strongest competitors. Defending champion Manon de Boer (NWVG-Uplus) beat Griffin’s teammate Lucy Lee to the summit.
Another Das Hutchinson Brother UK rider went clear after this point, with Frankie Hall and Jazmine Lavergne (Primeau Vélo Groupe Abadie) opening a lead of a minute and remaining clear over the day’s second climb, where Hall was first to the summit. They were caught with five kilometres remaining, with Griffin blasting home to win and to bolster her advantage in the overall standings plus the points competition.
“I nearly crashed after the intermediate sprint but I kept it upright. I got to the finish and Lucy [Lee] and Robyn [Clay] did a really good job with the leadout.”
The prestigious international race continues Saturday with a 101km stage from Kilkenny to the top of The Rower, concluding with two ascents of that climb.
Rás na mBan
Stage 3, Kilkenny to Gorey: 1 Mia Griffin (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 104.4km in 2 hours 50′36, 2 H Franz (Monarch Racing), 3 N Dekker (JEGG DJR Academy), 4 A O’Brien (Ireland), 5 M Lenehan (Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei), 6 C O’Brien (Das Hutchinson Brother UK), 7 A Miller (Tofauti Everyone Active), 8 R Clay (Das Hutchinson Brother UK).
Intermediate sprint at Kiltealy: 1 Mia Griffin (Das Hutchinson Brother UK), 2 A O’Brien (Ireland), 3 C O’Brien (Das Hutchinson Brother UK).
Mountain primes:
Category 2 climb at Sliabh Buí (km 70.8): 1 Manon de Boer 9 pts, 2 L Lee 7, 3 H Franz 5, 4 K Hill 3
Category 3 climb at Ballymore (km 91): 1 Frankie Hall 5, 2 J Lavergne 3
Paddy Doran best Irish team: 1 Cycling Ulster 8 hours 58′34, 2 UCI Cycling Club 8′40
General classification after three stages: 1 Mia Griffin (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 7 hours 22′18″, 2 C O’Brien (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 12″, 3 R Clay (DAS Hutchinson Brother UK) 23″, 4 H Franz (Monarch Racing), 5 A Miller (Tofauti Everyone Active) 25″, 6 N Dekker (JEGG DJR Academy), 7 A O’Brien (Ireland) at 26″, 8 M De Boer (NWVG-Uplus)
Points classification: 1 Mia Griffin (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 29 pts, 2 C O’Brien (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 23, 3 R Clay (DAS Hutchinson Brother UK) 18, 4 A O’Brien (Ireland), 5 N Dekker (JEGG DJR Academy)
Mountains classification: 1 Lucy Lee (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 24pts, 2 M de Boer (NWVG-Uplus) 22, 3 H Franz (Monarch Racing) 11, 4 K Hill (Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei) 11, 5 F Hall (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 5
Young rider: 1 Caoimhe O’Brien (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 7 hours 22′30″, 2 R Clay (DAS Hutchinson Brother UK) 11″, 3 A Miller (Tofauti Everyone Active) 13″, 4 A O’Brien (Ireland) 14″, 5 A Thomas (Primeau Vélo Groupe Abadie) 17″
Best Irish rider:
1 Mia Griffin (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 7 hours 22′18″, 2 C O’Brien (Das Hutchinson Brother UK) 12″, 3 M Lenehan (Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei) 29″, 4 E McDermott (UCD Cycling Club) 1′58, 5 G Fox (Greenmount Cycling Academy) same
Team general classification: 1 Das Hutchinson Brother UK 22 hours 8′21, 2 Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei, 3 Ireland at 1′29, 4 CCB p/b Levine Law Group same, 5 Monarch Racing at 3′34″
Paddy Doran best Irish team: 1 Cycling Ulster 23 hours 11′04, 2 UCD Cycling Club at 8′03
