Elliott rolls back years with sprint victory

MALCOLM ELLIOTT, the doyen of British sprinters, finally achieved his stage victory when he won the big bunch sprint into Millstreet yesterday.

The FBD Milk Rás has now entered the second half of the race with Valter Bonca of Slovenia, who took the yellow jersey, looking as if he can become the first man to lead all the way since the Russians in 1970 and only Shay O’Hanlon in the 1960’s before that.

It was Elliott’s third visit to the podium since the race started on Sunday but it was by far his sweetest, producing the sprint that made him famous to claim victory.

If there was anyone happier than Elliott, then it was 22-year-old Dubliner Brian Ahern who took second place and Paul Griffin from Tralee who finished third, but there was heartbreak for young Corkman Denis Lynch who had the race leader’s yellow jersey in his grasp at Barraduff, just 13 miles from the finish, only to see it snatched away with less than four miles to go.

Ahern’s father, David, is from Glanworth and won an All-Ireland minor football medal with Cork in 1969 and his uncle, Donal, captained the Cork team to glory two years earlier.

Yesterday Ahern stood on the podium alongside Malcolm Elliott who once raced with his heroes, Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly.

Ahern, who won the Junior Tour in 1999, does not regard himself as a sprinter and that added to the significance of yesterday’s performance that saw him explode from the pack and chase Elliott all the way to the line.

“Somebody seemed to puncture, a gap appeared and I decided to go for it,” he recalled. “And I was closing on him all the way.

Elliot said: “It was my type of sprint. An uphill sprint gives you something to bite into,” predicting there could be more of the same tomorrow when the they take the battle for stage victory to Seskin Hill outside Carrick-on-Suir. “I’m not sure how difficult it will be but I like an uphill sprint.”

He had to survive a crash on the descent of the County Bounds to get to the finish in a challenging position. That crash also brought down Ireland’s best placed rider, David O’Loughlin, and Paul Griffin would get back up to finish third.

It was then the three man breakaway group became established at the front involving Elliott’s Yorkshire Murphy & Gunn team mate, Kevin Dawson, Welshman Huw Pritchard, and Corkman Denis Lynch, riding for the Ireland team.

Lynch, who is just 46 seconds behind Bonca on General Classification, went into a 10 second lead when they went 56 seconds clear of the bunch with less than 13 miles remaining to the finish. But the Slovenians went to work at the front and ate into the lead. Lynch and Pritchard were first to be reeled in and then they caught Dawson inside the last two miles to set up the bunch sprint for stage victory.

Denis Lynch was not the only member of the Irish team disappointed after yesterday’s stage. When David O’Loughlin crashed he damaged his bike and Eugene Moriarty gave him his.

However, everyone agreed that it will be difficult to take the coveted golden fleece from Valter Bonca, who was again tireless in his defence yesterday and wears it with an air of confidence despite a slender six second advantage over Petter Renang from the Scandinavian team with the Irishmen poised behind him.

“It is going to take a big effort from the Irish team to take the jersey,” insisted John Mangan who won the Rás in 1972. “He is an experienced professional. The stage to Carrick-on-Suir should not be too difficult and the mountains on Saturday won’t trouble him too much.” Malcolm Elliott reclaimed the green points jersey while Tobias Lergard, who was beaten by just five seconds for the overall title last year, consolidated his leadership in the Mountains Classification when he led for 38 miles yesterday and took the all the mountain primes available to him on that stretch.

Today’s stage will finish at the top of Seskin Hill, outside Carrick-on-Suir, after a 94 mile trip via Mallow, Fermoy, Lismore and The Pike.