Cycling/Milk Rás: One of the big surprises of the 1987 Nissan Classic was the form of sprinter Malcolm Elliott, the then relatively unknown Sheffield rider outsprinting Seán Kelly and some of the world's fastest gallopers to take the three stages in the event.
Elliott's sprinting prowess soon carried him to more big victories, with an overall points victory in the Tour of Spain the highlight of what was an excellent professional career.
Yesterday the 42-year-old veteran turned back the clock with a superb stage victory in the FBD Milk Rás, the Yorkshire Murphy and Gunn rider sprinting home at the head of an 82-man group and so proving those fast-twitch muscle fibres are still in tip-top shape. With the stage came the green jersey of points leader; Elliott's back where he left off when he retired in 1996. He's clearly enjoying his renaissance.
"The finish here suited me well," he said after the stage. "I was in a good position before the sprint. Once I saw the line ahead of me I was pretty certain I wasn't going to be beaten."
Second on the 152-kilometre stage were two Irish county riders, Brian Ahern (Dublin Orwell Dundrum Shopping Centre) and Kerry's Paul Griffin, finishing just behind Elliott in the gallop for the line.
Race leader Valter Bonca (Slovenia Perutnina Ptuj) and all the main contenders also came home in the same time, preserving the status quo at the end of a long, hard, aggressive day.
The Ireland Thornton's Recycling squad started off with three riders inside the top five, David O'Loughlin, David McCann and Denis Lynch perfectly poised to strike. Lynch began their assault shortly after the start in Cahirciveen when he went clear in a short-lived break. O'Loughlin then had a go on the difficult slopes of the first-category Coomakista climb, attacking with Wales Stena Line rider Julian Winn to pass Meath Lee Strand's Phil Cassidy and put real pressure on Bonca and his team.
O'Loughlin opened a lead of over a minute and became race leader on the road but sat up when it became clear the gap wasn't going to open any further.
Next to try were the Scandinavia Bianchi Nordic duo of Kimmo Kananen and Tobias Lergard, the latter staying clear over the remaining two climbs and so bolstering his lead in the mountains classification.
Just as Lergard was being reeled in at the top of the final County Bounds climb, a large crash brought O'Loughlin, Elliott, Griffin and several others down. The riders remounted and recaptured the peloton, although O'Loughlin had to borrow the bike of team-mate Eugene Moriarty due to damage to his own.
With 35 km left Wales Stena Lines' Huw Pritchard broke clear. Lynch and British rider Kevin Dawson set off in pursuit, the Corkman becoming race leader on the road when they gained nearly a minute on the field.
All three were, however, swept up by the Slovenia and Kazakhstan-led peloton in the final run in to Millstreet. There, Elliott made no mistakes in the uphill gallop to the line, charging home to become the oldest ever stage victor in the race.
The Rás continues today with a 151-kilometre leg to Carrick on Suir, finishing on the top of the legendary Seskin Hill. The climb featured in the Nissan Classic; like Elliott's win yesterday, this brings back more memories .
STAGE 5, Cahirciveen - Millstreet: 1, Malcolm Elliott (Team Murphy and Gunn) 152 kilometres in 4 hours 9 secs; 2, B Ahern (Dublin Orwell Dundrum SC); 3, P Griffin (Kerry); 4, T Cuppens (Germany ComNet Senges); 5, G Briggs (Great Britain Under 23); 6, M Schweizer (Germany ComNet Senges); 7, T Evans (Ireland - Thorton's Recycling); 8, E Oliphant (Great Britain Under 23); 9, A Hedderman (Cork Kanturk Credit Union); 10, A Crowley (Meath Lee Strand) all same time. Mountains primes: Coomakista, category 1: David O'Loughlin (Ireland - Thorton's Recycing). Inchee Mountain, category 1: T Lergard (Scandinavia Bianchi Nordic). County bounds, category 3: Lergard. International team: 1, Germany ComNet Senges, 12 hours 27 secs; 2, Ireland Thornton's Recycling; 3, Yorkshire - Murphy and Gunn, both same time. County team: 1, Kerry, 12 hours 27 secs; 2, Cork Kanturk Credit Union; 3, Meath Lee Strand, both same time. County rider: Ahern Cotter Hoose second category rider: Donal Byrne (Dublin Orwell Dundrum Shopping Centre). General classification: 1, Valter Bonca (Slovenia Perutnina Ptuj) 19 hours 1 min 43 secs; 2, P Renang (Scandinavia Bianchi Nordic) at 6 secs; 3, D O'Loughlin (Ireland - Thornton's Recycling) at 22 secs; 4, D McCann (Ireland - Thornton's Recycling) at 23 secs; 5, D Lynch (Ireland - Thornton's Recycling) at 46 secs; 6, D Nally (Galway) at 47 secs; 7, M Elliott (Yorkshire - Murphy and Gunn) at 49 secs; 8, M Lovatt (Yorkshire - Murphy and Gunn) at 1 min 37 secs; 9, A Malarczyk (Wales - Stena Line) at 1 min 47 secs; 10, T Lergard at 2 mins. Points: 1, Elliott, 52; 2, D McCann, 44; 3, D Nally, 39. Mountains: 1, T Lergard, 63 points; 2, B Filip 43; 3, J Winn 29. Under 23: 1, Cohnen (Germany ComNet Senges) 19 hours 3 mins 49 secs; 2, S Lacey (Kerry) at 5 secs; 3, V Iglinskiy, at 1 min 9 secs. County rider, Cycleways award: 1, Nally; 2, Lacey; 3, P Griffin (Kerry). Second category: 1, Daire McCaughley (Dublin Wheelers All Systems); 2, D Byrne (Dublin Orwell Dundrum SC) at same time; 3, N McGlynn (Dublin Exel Ravens) at 15 mins 48 secs. International team: 1, Ireland - Thornton's Recycling, 57 hours 16 mins 57 secs; 2, Yorkshire - Murphy and Gunn, at 2: 56; 3, Slovenia Perutnina Ptuj, at 5:18. County team: 1, Kerry, 57:16:57; 2, Meath Martin Donnelly, at 9: 8; 3, Cork Kanturk CU, at 9:17.
