With two stages remaining in the Tour of Britain, Irish road race champion Daniel Martin has moved up to an excellent third overall in the 2.1 ranked race.
The 22-year-old first year professional started Friday’s 156 kilometre stage from Darlington to Gateshead in seventh place, but improved four slots when he finished ahead of some of the other General Classification contenders.
He was twelfth on the stage behind the winner Alessandro Petacchi (LPR Brakes – Ballan), sprinting home as part of an eighteen man lead group. Overall leader Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel) was also present in the group and so Martin remains 14 seconds back overall.
The Irish-registered An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly squad continues to hold an excellent second place in the Teams General Classification.
Meanwhile Irish rider Louise Moriarty triumphed on the opening stage of the Sneem Hotel Ras na mBan today, winning a big sprint to the line.
She beat last year’s runner-up Desiree Schuler (Coogee Saar) in the gallop, with her own UCD/Swift team-mate Ine Beyen third. Moriarty was second and first on the day’s climbs and ended the stage one point ahead of Linda Ringlever (Moving Ladies) in the mountains classification.
The international race continues on Saturday with a two mile time trial from Parknasilla to Sneem, and then an afternoon road race starting and finishing in the town.
