Rowen Baker put the Isle of Man team back in the headlines 12 months after George Kimber, another UK rider who had been guesting for the squad, won the Rás Tailteann overall.
The 24-year-old proved best of a four-man breakaway which stunned the peloton and held off a hard-chasing bunch, eventually reaching the finish line in Kimallock well clear.
He outsprinted fellow Britons Ewan Mackie (Connacht: Cycling Connacht), Danylo Riwnyj (UK: Foran CT) and Adam Lewis (USA: APS Pro Cycling) to the line, with two other British riders - Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) and Oliver Curd (UK: DAS Richardsons) - leading the bunch home 46 seconds later for fifth and sixth.
Odhran Doogan (Tyrone: Caldwell Powerhouse Racing) and Patrick O'Loughlin (Galway Bay Cycling Club) were best of the Irish in seventh and eighth.
"It is great," Baker said at the finish, having been confirmed as the first race leader. "It is my first time doing the Rás and so it is really great on the first stage to be able to get the win and to be riding in yellow tomorrow."
The quartet had begun to form around the the halfway point of the race, with Lewis leading Irish duo Liam Crowley (Ireland) and Willem O’Connor (Cork: O’Leary Stone Kanturk) over the category three climb of Bollingbrook, and then pressing on solo.
Baker, Makie and Riwnyj got up to him before the final climb of the day, Old Pallas, and together the four built a very solid lead.
"I saw we had a gap and then just pushed on, basically, all the way to the finish," Baker said.
Numerical advantage suggested the peloton would haul them back in but instead they had 1’35 with 10km left and were still working very strongly together.
"It was very hard with the headwind coming in, especially in the final 5km, but we just kept pulling through hard because we knew getting a minute on GC is very important coming into the rest of the stages," Baker said, explaining everyone had something to gain.
"We all had GC [general classification] in mind, so we worked really well together."
Doogan and O’Loughlin were best of the Irish in seventh and eighth, with the latter also picking up time in the day’s first hot spot sprint. He ended the day seventh overall and leads the best young rider contest.
"I am delighted to come away with the under 23 jersey, it makes the winter suffering worth it," he said. "It has only given me a positive outlook now on the rest of the week.
"It’s the best start I could have asked for, I would say."
O’Loughlin was previously second in a stage in 2023 and wants to pull out a big result before the race finish on Sunday.
"Stage three is one I have been eyeing up. I have been looking at the road book the past few weeks," he said. "I expected it more to suit me than stage one, but I won’t complain with my result here today.
"So definitely stage three is one I am eyeing up and then stage 5 in Dunboyne should be a good atmosphere. Hopefully I can pull off something there."
Thursday’s 192.7km leg from Rathmore in Kerry to Banteer in Cork is the longest stage of the race and one of the toughest, with no less than six climbs lurking along the route.
These include the second category ascents of Caha Pass Tunnel Road and Cougane Gap.
Both race leader Baker and O’Loughlin are more comfortable in the sprints than in the uphills, but they vowed to dig deep to try to defend their respective jerseys.
Rás Tailteann stage 1 (Portlaoise to Kilmallock, 161km)
1 Rowen Baker (IoM: Cycling Club Isle of Man) (3:40.26)
2 Ewan Mackie (Connacht: Cycling Connacht)
3 Danylo Riwnyj (UK: Foran CT)
4 Adam Lewis (USA: APS Pro Cycling) all same time
5 Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) at 46"
6 Oliver Curd (UK: DAS Richardsons) at 46"
7 Odhran Doogan (Tyrone: Caldwell Powerhouse Racing)
8 Patrick O'Loughlin (Galway Bay Cycling Club)
9 Liam Flanagan (USA: APS Pro Cycling)
10 Matteo Cigala (Carlow: Dan Morrissey)
