Last year’s overall winner Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post) out-galloped a large bunch into Skerries yesterday to take victory at the end of stage eight of the An Post Rás as overnight leader, Frenchman Nicolas Baldo, finished safely in the main field to bring the final yellow jersey home to France.

Another cracking day’s racing on the An Post Rás saw the Swiss team play pass the parcel with the yellow jersey as Nicolas Baldo took over the race lead and young Frenchman Thomas Rostollan lived up to his nickname of ‘little motorbike’ to claim stage three into Buncrana.

Defending champion Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post) survived a massive crash in the peloton with around 50km to go yesterday to rejoin the front of the race with the help of his team and take victory on stage three of the An Post Rás in Westport yesterday.

On a day that, up until the final kilometres, looked earmarked for a mass bunch sprint into Kilkenny yesterday, Polish rider Marcin Bialablocki led a late four-man escape group across the line on Patrick Street to take stage victory and become the first overall leader of the 2012 An Post Rás.