An Post Chain Reaction’s Aaron Gate fought off stiff competition from Marco Tizza and Matteo Malucelli of Team Idea to storm to victory in stage five of An Post Rás from Newport to Ballina.
Gate broke away from the leading pack with just five kilometres to go in an audacious move that set the platform for his stage victory.
Jaap de Man (Team 3M) and Tizza followed the New Zealander's break and the three men worked well together through a highly technical home stretch with lots of twists and turns.
The gap shortened quickly as the pack reeled in the three leaders, but Gate managed to hold off a final assault by Tizza and Malucelli to give An Post Chain Reaction their third stage win of this year’s Rás.
Post Office primes and category three climbs returned for stage five, which led an exciting and enthralling stage, as the 142km course weaved its way through the scenic terrain.
Several riders tried to get off the front early but after a couple of minutes of freedom, they were soon hauled back into the pack.
The first notable break came from county rider Simon Ryan (Limerick Mego RT), who rode impressively throughout the stage. He was rewarded by finishing the stage as the first county rider home.
The split in the pack happened at the 35km mark, and was led by yellow jersey holder Lukas Postlberger (Tirol Cycling Team).
The lead group consisted of 18 riders, including four of the An Post Chain Reaction Team who rode an extremely intelligent tactical race, allowing Gate to conserve his energy levels for the all-important finish.
The riders covered 47.2km in the opening hour and 48km in the second hour in what was a very fast race, pushed on by powerful tailwinds and a smooth course.
Coming into the first climb at Glenassera the breakaway held an advantage of one minute and thirty seconds which subsequently extended out to over four minutes following the descent from the second climb at the Ceide Fields.
Robert Partridge (NFTO) won both climbs to strengthen his grip on the coveted King of the Mountains jersey.
Coming into the final portion of the race Gate was relentless, constantly attacking and very nearly getting away on a number of occasions.
His persistence finally paid off, when with only five kilometres to go he shot out from the pack followed by De Man and Tizza.
They gave themselves a 16-second lead as they rounded the bend coming into the final two kilometres. This was a gap that proved decisive as the chasing pack were left agonisingly out of reach in the closing sprint. Although they managed to claw the leaders back to within touching distance, Gate forged on ahead to prevail after a brave and aggressive ride.
Postlberger retains both the yellow and the points classification jerseys, while Ryan Mullen (An Post Chain Reaction) leads Jaap De Mann (Team 3M) in the Under-23 category. Best County rider (Ian Richardson) and King of the Mountains (Robert Partridge) remain unchanged.
After the race, Gate seemed optimistic about his team’s chances in the general classification.
“The Rás is definitely a race that isn’t over until the fat lady sings,” he said.
“We could have thought that the GC was out of the way on the first day but that definitely is not the case. We are just going to have to keep riding hard, enjoy the final three stages and maybe even try to get another win.”
