Slovenia's Bozit wins bunch sprint in Ennis

Borut Bozit won today's stage three of the Tour of Ireland after cycling 194km from Tralee to Ennis.

After the break of the day had been reeled in with ten kilometres to race, the Slovenian rider outsprinted Austria’s Bernhard Eisel (T-Mobile) and Italy’s Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramic Panaria) in a bunch finish to score his third season win.

There were no changes to the general classification after today's racing - overnight leader Stijn Vandenbergh (Unibet.com) finished comfortably in the main bunch to retain his yellow jersey, with CSC’s Marcus Lyungqvist still second at 20 seconds and T-Mobile’s Aaron Olson another second back in third.

A six-man breakaway led by the Norwegian Edvald Boisson Hagen (Maxbo), one of the hottest prospects in world cycling and third on the previous stage, dominated much of the stage, after jumping clear near Ballyheigue 40km from the start.

The six worked well together to build up a maximum lead of six minutes on the road, but when the powerful Unibet.com, CSC and T-Mobile teams stepped up the chase with 60km to go, the lead started to come down rapidly.

The breakaways led over the day’s only climb, the category three Cahir Mountain, but they were swallowed up by the fast-charging bunch on the flat fast run-in to Ennis, where the stage was set for a bunch sprint finish.

Former Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) launched the sprint on the final straight, but the Australian faded in the strong headwind, and he was overhauled on the line by Bozit.

The five-day race continues tomorrow with a 232km stage through Galway and Mayo, the longest leg in the race.

With five climbs it will be a last chance for any challenger to try and unseat overall race leader Vandenbergh.