British Premier Calendar winner Russell Downing took what was probably his biggest career result today when he sprinted to stage victory and the yellow jersey in the Tour of Ireland.
After a tough day in the mountains, the thirty year old Pinarello CandiTV hit the line in Dingle ahead of Gonzalo Rabunal (Karpin Galicia), mountains leader Matthew Wilson (Team Type 1) and twenty others.
Overnight race leader Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia) lost contact with the leaders approximately 45 kilometres from the finish, slipping backwards on the category one climb of the Conor Pass, and eventually finished eight minutes 35 seconds back.
Mark Cassidy was best Irish rider on the stage, finishing two minutes four seconds adrift in 28th place. An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly team-mate Stephen Gallagher was three places and two minutes six seconds further back.
Cassidy is now 24th in the general classification, two minutes 22 seconds away from the race lead.
New Zealand’s Julian Dean (Garmin Chipotle) had started in Limerick this morning in second place overall and his team rode strongly to try to put him into yellow.
Magnus Backstedt joined Wesley Sulzberger (SouthAustralia.com/AIS) and Peter Williams (Pinarello CandiTV) in an early break, forcing Cavendish’s team to chase.
Then, once the Manx rider was dropped, David Millar drove hard after the climb to further distance him and to help Dean’s chances.
However that plan was foiled by Downing, who had started the day 12 seconds behind Dean, but picked up time bonuses via two intermediate sprint wins plus the stage victory.
He finished two seconds clear of his Kiwi rival and a further nine ahead of Wilson.
It is the latest result in a strong season for the British-based rider, who won three stages of the Cinturón Ciclista a Mallorca plus a host of Premier Calendar races.
The 2.1-ranked race concludes tomorrow with a tough stage from Killarney to Cork. The 144 kilometre leg takes in four ascents of the feared St Patrick’s Hill and could well shake up the general classification once more.
Seventeen riders are within 18 seconds or less of Downing, guaranteeing a suspenseful finale to the event.
