Defending champion Marcin Bialoblocki saw off 141 rivals to claim the fifth stage of the An Post Rás in Clonakilty.
The Velosure Giordana rider clocked a winning time of three hours, 58 minutes and 11 seconds on the 168.9-kilometre route from Cahirciveen.
Britain’s Ian Bibby (Velosure Giordana) finished second behind the Polish rider in an 11-man sprint finish, while his compatriot Peter Williams (Bretagne Velotec) snatched third.
Austria’s Clemens Fankhauser (Tirol Cycling Team) now leads the general classification by 11 seconds after finishing fifth on the stage.
Sean Downey (An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly) was the leading Irish performer on the stage in eighth, while overnight leader Patrick Bevin (New Zealand National Team) finished in the main bunch and dropped to 13th overall.
Bevin did manage to retain the points jersey. There were no changes to the other classifications.
King of the Mountains went to Alessandro Pettiti (Italy Team Idea) once more, while Peters and Sean Lacey (Cork City Aquablue) still wear the Under-23 and County jerseys, respectively.
Today’s stage was less challenging than yesterday’s mountainous event but the riders still faced five categorised climbs before a fast finish in Clonakilty.
The race started at a ferocious pace and going over the first climb of Coomakista the bunch split in two, with a group of ten riders, including Irishman Jack Wilson (An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly) out in front. That breakaway was swallowed up as they raced through Sneem, with the peloton then dispersing into a plethora of small groups.
Twenty riders, nine of whom were placed in the top 20 in the general classification, then attacked approaching the category three climb of Derryquinn. They established a lead of more than a minute over the main field.
That group was whittled down to 11, including Downey, Bialoblocki, Bibby, Williams and Fanhauser. They surged to a lead of over eight minutes with only 20 kilometres to go.
Bibby and Williams were fighting out the finish when Bialoblocki pounced with a tremendous burst of acceleration to take the chequered flag before an enthusiastic Clonakilty crowd.
“Today went perfectly,” said a delighted Bialoblocki.
“I didn’t chase the guys when there were two or three kilometres to go. I sat at the back and waited.
“Bibby attacked at 600 metres to go and I managed to jump behind Peter [Williams] and he took me to the hill. I was on the good side and I just sprinted hard and managed to get by Bibby, so it’s a great win for me and the team.”
Stage 5 results
1 Marcin Bialoblocki Velosure Giordana 3h58’11"
2 Ian Bibby Madison Genesis 3h58’11"
3 Peter Williams Bretagne Velotec 3h58’11"
4 Christoph Schweizer Synergy Baku Cycling 3h58’11"
5 Clemens Fankhauser Tirol Cycling Team 3h58’11"
6 Mirko Tedeschi Team IDEA 2010 ASD 3h58’11"
7 Nic Hamilton CANADA National Team 3h58’11"
8 Sean Downey (IRL) An Post Chain Reaction 3h58’11"
9 Alex Peters Madison Genesis 3h58’11"
10 Riccardo Pichetta Team IDEA 2010 ASD 3h58’11"
General classification
1 Clemens Fankhauser Tirol Cycling Team 18h43’32"
2 Alex Peters Madison Genesis 18h43’43" +11"
3 Ian Bibby Madison Genesis 18h44’01" +29"
4 Nic Hamilton CANADA National Team 18h44’03" +31"
5 Peter Williams Bretagne Velotec 18h44’08" +36"
6 Christoph Schweizer Synergy Baku Cycling 18h44’08" s/t
7 Marcin Bialoblocki Velosure Giordana 18h44’29" +57"
8 Sean Downey (IRL) An Post Chain Reaction 18h44’30" +58"
9 Riccardo Pichetta Team IDEA 2010 ASD 18h45’31" +1’59"
10 Mirko Tedeschi Team IDEA 2010 ASD 18h46’22" +2’50"
