Sokol strongest as brave Irish challenge falls short

Jan Sokol of the Synergy Baku Cycling Project Team won stage three of the An Post Rás into Charleville, Co. Cork yesterday on a day where two of the strongest domestic Irish riders lit up the race and Kiwi Patrick Bevin retained the race leader’s yellow jersey.

Dromore, Co Down man Roger Aiken of the Louth North team and Mullingar’s Damien Shaw, riding for the Cork-based Aquablue squad, both came agonisingly close to ending the race’s long wait for a county rider stage win, but had to settle for fourth and eighth, respectively.

Not since Sam Bennett in 2009 has a county rider won a stage of the race but when Aiken and Shaw infiltrated the day’s nine-man breakaway and pulled out a gap of almost four minutes on the peloton, many felt that five-year wait could be about to end.