RACE LEADER Gediminas Bagdonas (Belgium An Post/Sean Kelly) thanked Irish team-mate Sam Bennett for helping him hang on to the yellow jersey by the slender margin of 32 seconds as the sixth stage of the An Post Rás ended in Tramore yesterday after an action-packed 104-mile trip from Blarney.

THIS is Olympic year so we can expect big things from Ciarán Power — the most experienced Irish professional in the peloton — according to Martin O’Loughlin, who is former manager of the Olympic cycling team.