Bialablocki escapes to victory to snatch Rás lead

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.

After a succession of attacks had been reeled in on the tailwind-assisted stage, this lead quartet, which also included former winner Simon Richardson (Britain Sigma Sport), Dane Jacob Nielsen (Denmark Blue Water Cycling) and Swiss rider Nicolas Baldo (Atlas Personal) slipped away just outside Ballyragget, with around 15kms left.

Although the bunch were unwilling to allow them any more than a maximum of 25 seconds, the four ignored the chase behind and knuckled down to work well together on the run in to Kilkenny and held off the peloton by six seconds at the finish.