Sam Bennett capped a brilliant overall victory in the Suir Valley 3-Day last night when he won the final stage on the punishing uphill finish just outside Clonmel.

The An Post Chain Reaction outfit are the men to beat in this weekend’s Suir Valley 3-Day in Clonmel, Tipperary.

Ryan Sherlock (Cycleways CC) won the Mullingar two-day yesterday for the second year in a row after he won the 3.3-kilometre time trial by more than 20 seconds ahead of David Walsh (Slaney CC) and limited his losses in the afternoon’s third and final stage — but boy did he do it the hard way.

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.

The sinuous, switchback-laden ascent of Glengesh Pass was always destined to play a big role in this year’s An Post Rás, and by the time the riders reached the base of the climb after 100km of racing on yesterday’s stage six, it was beginning to look like there would be a new man in yellow by the finish in Killybegs yesterday.

Though they’re less than a year in existence, the Visit Nenagh-Team DMG cycling club have already made a significant impression on the Irish scene, and this Sunday they’ll host their inaugural club race, a race team founder René Van Dam described as like a “continental-style classic”.

Ryan Sherlock was so disappointed he could hardly speak at the Killorglin finish yesterday after being denied the overall win at the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan in the cruellest possible way.

Conor Murphy (Eurocycles) sprinted to a brilliant win in yesterday’s third stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan as Ryan Sherlock (Iverk Produce/Carrick Wheelers) took custody of the yellow jersey after a gruelling 142-kilometre leg around West Kerry.

It promises to be one of the most gruelling editions of the race in recent years and yesterday, at the official launch of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan in Killorglin, a stellar lineup was revealed, with teams from Holland, England, the Isle of Man and France to converge on Kerry over the Easter weekend.

LITHUANIAN rider Gediminas Bagdonas of the An Post Sean Kelly team holds a one minute and 16 second lead at the halfway point of the Rás after he defended the yellow jersey by winning the fourth stage into Castletownbere in miserable conditions yesterday.

IT’S NOT easy being Sam Bennett. Weeks like this, with the country’s showpiece cycling event starting tomorrow, sees a spike in interest for the sport and the number of private numbers flashing up on his phone.

PAUL GRIFFIN has come mightily close to landing the overall title at Rás Mumhan on several occasions but the teak-tough Tralee native reckons this year might well be his last chance at the yellow jersey.

INJURY has forced newly crowned Rás Mumhan champion Tim Barry out of Sunday’s Des Hanlon Memorial Classic in Carlow. The teak tough Cork man, who came out of retirement to claim the title that eluded him for so long, suffered a broken rib in a freak accident at the end of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan.