SAM BENNETT washed his stage winner’s blue jersey yesterday morning to show it off at last night’s club league race in Carrick-on-Suir and his coach, Martin O’Loughlin, insisted Saturday’s victory in the FBD Insurance Rás stage into Clara was the first of many.

NICHOLAS WALKER (Australia Cinelli-DownUnder) was the surprise stage winner and Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) took the race-leader’s yellow jersey, but it was young Sam Bennett (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) who turned in the performance of the day to finish sixth in the uphill sprint when the FBD Insurance Rás arrived in Killorglin last evening.

CHRIS NEWTON has the opportunity to join the legends of cycling over the coming week by winning the FBD Insurance Rás for a third time and John Herety, manager of the British Rapha Condor team, admitted on the eve of Irish cycling’s showpiece that the former world champion and three-time Olympic medallist has that as his ambition.

CHRIS NEWTON can join a handful of legends who have won the FBD Insurance Rás three times when he lines up for the 2009 edition in Kilcullen next Sunday.

Three-time Italian national time trial champion, Marco Pinotti, has won the 2008 Tour of Ireland after a storming last stage from Killarney to Cork in glorious late summer sunshine.

Russell Downing of the Pinarello CandiTV team took today’s crucial stage of the Tour of Ireland when he sprinted home first of a 13-man bunch that broke clear with 20 kilometres to go.