Stage 4

Good morning folks, and welcome to a slightly delayed start to the live coverage from stage four of the An Post Rás. We were trying to rectify computer niggles, but ready to upload this now!

On paper today's stage should be relatively predictable; flat, fast and devoid of climbs, it points towards a bunch sprint. However, the Rás being the Rás, nothing is predictable. This is all the more so as some of the roads are open and wind exposed, giving the chance that echolons could happen.

11.05: The stage begin in Westport with two riders missing; Kyle Houston (Antrim Chain Reaction Cycles) didn’t start, and neither did King of the Mountains leader Dan Craven (IG Sigma Sport). He fell heavily yesterday and suffered a concussion; he had a half hour or so of memory loss, and will today have surgery to close a hole in his chin.

As soon as the flag dropped, Daniel Vejmelka (Czech Republic AC Sparta Praha) and Robin Kelly (Carlow Dan Morrissey Speedy Spokes) jumped away. While they were quickly brought back, the aggression set the tone. The attacks continued and the bunch split into two separate parts, with other riders scattered further back.

11.22: There is a 28 seconds gap between the first and second groups; the action is really on today!

11.25: The riders are now racing through Castlebar, and the gap is growing further. It is up to 56 seconds; James Gullen (Britain East Midlands Metaltek) has attacked and is ten seconds ahead. The fact that one rider has been able to push forward suggests that the first group is not riding flat out.

11.30: There is now a group of seven riders trying to bridge the gap between the two big bunches. They are 42 seconds back, eight seconds ahead of the other chasers.

Race leader Pirmin Lang (Switzerland Atlas Jakroo) is in the first big group with, presumably, most of the GC riders.

11.36: After 22 kilometres of racing, Gullen has been caught by the next bunch. The chasers between the ttwo groups have been caught and now there are just two big groups, 54 seconds apart.

11.43: It’s gone up further to one minute 30 seconds, so this split between the groups could well be permanent today. The yellow jersey bunch is a large one and so numbers aren't been called out.

11.44: David McCann (Taiwan RTS Racing) wants to try to keep the impetus going and has pushed clear alone. He’s a past winner of the race, and is one of the most experienced riders in the field.

However his move didn’t last long; he’s clearly just trying to get a group established, rather than go on a long distance solo run.

11.47: Ryan Sherlock (Tipperary Carrick Iverk Produce) is clear and has been joined by McCann’s team-mate Martyn Irvine. Both are very strong riders; is this the beginning of a significant move?

11.50: The answer is no; they have been caught, 31 kilometres into the race.

Martyn Irvine won a stage last year. He’s qualificd for the Olympic Games, where he will compete in the track omnium events.

Sherlock is an Irish based amateur rider who is trying to make the breakthrough. He’s ridden very strongly this year and knows that a good An Post Rás performance could open some doors to go to the next level.

11.51: The big front group of 70 riders or more is lined out in one long stream. It is now one minute 32 seconds ahead of the next large bunch, so it’s continuing to pull away.

12.00: McCann clipped away again and prompted a move to go clear. He’s been joined by four others – Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton Sean Kelly). Nicolas Baldo (Switzerland Atlas Jakroo), Thomas Rostollan (France AVC Aix en Provence) and Wouter Sybrandy (Britain IG Sigma Sport).

12.03: The second big group on the road is now two minutes 30 behind; goodnight, that’s game over for today unless there is a major stall (unlikely).

12.05: Despite the quality of that five man break, they have been caught by the yellow jersey group. Lots of very fast racing going on. They have been doing approximately 50 kilometres in this first hour of racing, albeit with a slight tailwind.

12.06: By the way, thanks to An Post - in addition to sponsoring the race and the An Post Grant Thornton Sean Kelly team, it’s also backing this live coverage. A very good sponsor for the sport, and one with several other involvements, including the An Post Cycle Series.

12.11: Correction – with lulls, the average speed for that first hour of racing was 46 km/h. The damage caused is the now-three minute gap between the two big groups.

Seven riders have now clipped away from the yellow jersey group. These are Ronan McLaughlin (Belgium An Post Sean Kelly), Nicolas Baldo (Switzerland Atlas Jakroo), Martyn Irvine (Taiwan RTS Racing), Ben Grenda (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp), Philip Lavery (Britain Node4 Giordana Racing), Fredrick Johansson (Britain UK Youth Cycling) and Brian Ahern (Dublin Dundrum Town Centre).

12.12: Ahern has now been dropped by that group, so there are six leaders. They are six seconds clear.

Have heard from Tony Gibb of the Metaltek Scott team – he’s trying to secure a spare bike for Dale Appleby, one of the riders. If anyone can help, contact him via Twitter at @agibby76. The bike should be 58 to 60 cm in size.

12.15: Two other riders have now bridged across to the leading six, making it eight out front.

They are Jiri Nesveda (Czech Republic AC Sparta Praha) and Richard Lang (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp). The gap is up to eight seconds.

12.17: However the peloton has responded and now, 52 kilometres after the start and 83 from the end, they have been caught.

12.20: We are now travelled through Charlestown, and there a traffic backlog. The marshalls will have to move this on very quickly. The problem is caused by a large truck up ahead, which has now been waved forward. Should be fine.

As is the case on other stages, we hover ahead of the race until a break is established with a decent gap. Once its got up to a minute or so, we can drop in behind them.

12.25: Four riders have attacked - Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), Mark Pedersen (Denmark Blue Water Cyclin), Peter Hawkins (Britain IG Sigma Sport) and Christian Varley (Isle of Man). They have been joined by Jonathan Fumeaux (Switzerland Atlas Jakroo), so there are five leaders.

12.29: The policing of these moves continues and the peloton has once again responded – it’s back together out front.

With the race heading to Donegal, Ronan McLaughlin – who is from that area of Ireland – is particularly motivated today. He’s just been brought back, but has attacked yet again, 64 kilometres in. This time he’s alone and has now a ten second lead.

12.32: The bunch has stalled and he’s pulling further ahead. He’s got a twenty second advantage and will hope a small group manages to get up to him.

12.33: Christopher Jennings (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) has jumped clear and is chasing McLaughlin.

12.38: Jennings was joined by Sondre Hurum (Norway Oneco Mesterhus), who made a great effort to win yesterday’s stage.

They are 30 seconds back, while Rolf Nyborg Broge (Denmark Blue Water Cycling) is a further fifteen seconds behind.

12.40: The peloton is one minute twenty back at kilometre 70. The leaders are 65 kilometres from the finish, so they are over halfway there.

12.43: Those chasers are inching a little closer; they are 28 seconds back now. We are sitting behind them and they are sharing the work equally. They have a tailwind, which will help.

12.44: Meanwhile Broge is 53 seconds back, with Robin Kelly (Carlow Dan Morrissey Speedy Spokes) at one minute 50. There is another chaser behind him, then the peloton at two minutes 55 seconds.

The bunch has switched off for now, giving this break a chance to get established. That’s good news for McLaughlin, who should have company soon.

12.50: McLaughlin isn’t waiting around, so these two are still quite a way off. He’s on a mission…

Jennings is 28 seconds off the race lead, so that’s why McLaughlin isn’t letting him get up too easily. As McLauglin’s team-mate Connor McConvey is equal on time to the race leader, McLaughlin needs to protect that position.

McLaughlin himself started the stage three minutes 43 seconds back, losing time yesterday. We think he probably came down in one of the crashes.
12.59: Martyn Irvine (RTS Racing) has attacked behind. He’s one of the riders who is over a minute back. We’ll keep you posted on what’s happening there. For now, though, it’s McLaughlin and the two chasers, who are 33 seconds back. They aren’t getting across to him – he’s motoring.

13.02: Irvine has caught and dropped Robin Kelly. We’ll try to get a time gap for him.

13.04: Okay, here we go: McLaughlin leads, the two chasers are at 40 seconds with 45 kilometres to go. Irvine is one minute 50, and the main field is at three minutes 43 seconds. Kelly is back with them now.

13.07: The second bunch – which was created when things split earlier – is even further back.

13.09: The peloton is now three minutes 52 behind.

13.11: McLaughlin is completely focussed, and looking good. He’s made steady progress each year and it’s great to see him being so aggressive. He’s being pushed along by this tailwind, and has a 50 second lead on Jennings and Hurum.

13.14: Irvine is two minutes twenty back, so he too is losing ground. We are waiting to see where the bunch is; ah, three minutes 40, with McLaughlin approximately 45 kilometres from the finish.

Irvine has sat up; he knows it’s impossible for him to fight for the stage today. Better to wait for the bunch and save it for another day.

13.18: McLaughlin is passing through Sligo, or rather the outskirts, now. The bunch is chasing behind, so he’s got to hammer it.

The bunch is three minutes 30. He has a chance, but it’s an outside one.

Stand by - we have some video coming of the leader, the chasers and the earlier McCann break.

13.27: Jennings and Hurum are holding their deficit at 57 seconds. So they are not moving forward or back, but the peloton is drawing gradually closer to them. The bunch is three minutes ten back with 108 kilometres covered, 27 kilometres left.

McLaughlin’s team car is alongside, with manager Kurt Bogaerts giving him advice and encouragement. He’s in a good position, although he could do with another thirty seconds to a minute on the bunch.

If he does stay away, it will be a phenomenal performance.

13.38: McLaughlin is inside the final 20 kilometres. He’s one minute ten seconds ahead of the chasers, and two minutes 40 seconds up on the bunch. It’s possible….

13.42: The next time check will be very important.

We are placing the video from earlier on the home page – excuse the typo near the end, it’s being fixed!

13.44: Latest time gap: one minute nine seconds to the chasers. Two minutes 24 seconds, with approximately 15 kilometres to go… He’s really riding very well. Unless the bunch ramps the pace up significantly, Ronan McLaughlin should stay clear.

13.49: The chasers are at one minute 18 seconds. McLaughlin is ten kilometres from the biggest win of his career, but a group of riders has got up to the chasers and is moving very quickly.

13.54: There are eighteen chasers now, with the bunch further back. The yellow jersey is in this group, and racing hard to try to get back.

13.55: The chasers and the jersey group have merged. The gap is down to 53 seconds…this is nail-biting stuff…

13.59: He’s inside five kilometres to go, with a time gap of 45 seconds…. Going to be a very dramatic finish.

14.00: It’s now thirty seconds….

14.02: Philip Lavery (Britain Node4 Girodana) and James Gullen (Britain East Midlands) are clear and chasing..

McLaughlin has 20 seconds with two kilomtres to go....he’s flat out..

14.04: He’s inside the final kilometre...it’s really eyeballs out as he tries to hang on. He’s ten seconds clear, and they are still closing....

14.06: Arrghhh...he was caught with literally 150 metres to go... swamped right before the line..

14.07: We think the winner is Lasse Norman Hansen of Denmark Blue Water - bear with us. We were situated 100 metres before the line..

Correction - stage winner was Mark Pedersen, Hansen’s team mate... He just beat Marcin Bialoblocki, the stage one winner..

14.13: What a brave, brave ride by Ronan McLaughlin. A really superb performance, and what a pity he didn’t stay clear. He gave it everything and was caught 100 metres from the line.

He got medical attention afterwards, so that shows how exhausted he was and what he gave to try to take his first Ras stage win.

14.16: McLaughlin has improved steadily each year and many of those who have followed his progress would like to see him take a big victory.

Bear with us as we await more results - the judges are sorting through it all now.

14.30: Ok, here’s the provisional stage result and GC:


An Post Ras stage 4, Westport to Bundoran:

1, Mark Sehested Pedersen(Denmark Blue Water Cycling) 2 hours 55 mins 36 secs
2, Marcin Bialoblocki(Britain Node4 Giordana Racing)
3,Remi Sarreboubee(France AVC Aix En Provence) at 2 secs
4,David McCann(Taiwan RTS Racing )
5, Gediminas Bagdonas(Belgium An Post Sean Kelly)
6, Dale Appleby(Britain East Midlands Metaltek)
8, Lasse Norman Hansen(Denmark Blue Water Cycling)
9, Philip Lavery(Britain Node4 Giordana Racing) at 6 secs
10, Ronan McLaughlin(Belgium An Post Sean Kelly)

General classification after stage 4:

1, Pirmin Lang(Switzerland Atlas Jakroo)
2, Richard Handley(Britain Rapha Condor Sharp)
3, Marcin Bialoblocki(Britain Node4 Giordana Racing) at 3 secs
4, James Moss(Britain Node4 Giordana Racing)
5, Connor McConvey(Belgium An Post Sean Kelly)
6, Gediminas Bagdonas(Belgium An Post Sean Kelly) at 15 secs
7, Remi Sarreboubee(France AVC Aix En Provence) at 19 secs
8, Mark Sehested Pedersen(Denmark Blue Water Cycling)
9, Nicolas Baldo(Switzerland Atlas Jakroo) at 20 secs
10, Wouter Sybrandy(Britain Team IG - Sigma Sport) at 21 secs


We’ll leave it there for now - need to get video footage and quotes. Thanks for reading, and come back later for full results, a report, photos and video!