Bagdonas digs out win on gruelling Rás stage

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.

The first rain of the week for the riders combined with the twisting narrow descents of Connemara to cause a series of crashes during the stage, one of which saw Danish rider Jacob Nielsen (Blue Water Cycling) hospitalised with a punctured lung and suspected broken ribs.

Mountains leader Dan Craven (Britain Sigma Sport) appeared to suffer concussion after a serious crash on the descent of Gowlaun around 98km into proceedings brought down half of the peloton, but the Namibian continued to the finish, despite blood dripping from a face wound on the run-in and not knowing how he got to the line.