Slovenian Borut Bozic of the LPR team galloped out of a heaving peloton to win Friday's third stage of the Tour of Ireland as the race reached Ennis.
First year professional Bozic took his third win of the season when he held off T-Mobile's Bernhard Eisel, Max Richeze of Panaria and former Tour De France green jersey winner Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) on the line. The leader's jersey still remains on the shoulders of Cooke's teammate Stijn Vandenbergh.
"Tomorrow is going to be a long day," said Vandenbergh. "But I hope it be like today with a group going away that will not be a challenge for the overall lead and if it finishes in a group we have Baden Cooke for the sprint. Today it was good that CSC road for Breschel (Matti) and T-Mobile for Eisel (Bernhard). We don't need to go on the attack tomorrow. We can follow the guys high up in the classification."
Cooke attacked into the final corner with 300 metres to go, couldn't hold out and was overtaken by the podium finishers at the line. "I didn't know how far out the last corner was exactly," said the Aussie. "My motto is, if in doubt, hit out. I got into a good rhythm and then slammed it into the 11 about 100 metres out and almost stopped. Unfortunately it was 50 metres too long for me today and I got swallowed up."
"The reason we race bikes is to win. Plus... we all need contracts at the end of the year."
Baden Cooke (Unitbet.com)
Stage winner Bozic was delighted with his first victory in the company of the top sprinters: "Yesterday my team rode really well for me into Killarney and I just had a very bad position. I made a mistake. Today I didn't make a mistake. Last year I won 11 races, but this year I have only three. It's my first year as a professional and the racing here is much higher standard, much faster. Today I was the fastest and I am very happy!"
An early six man breakaway group went clear at Ballybunnion after just 50kms of the 194kms stage from Killarney to Ennis. Containing Mexican Moises Chavez (Panaria), Denis Van Winden (Rabobank), America's Patrick McCartney (Slipstream), Norwegian sprinter Edvald Boassen Hagen (Maxbo-Bianchi) and Australian duo Ben Day (Navigators) and Zakkari Dempster (AIS), this sextet looked like staying away when they built up a lead of almost six minutes on the main peloton.
But with the CSC, LPR, T-Mobile and Plowman Craven squads intent on a mass sprint finish, the leaders were back in the fold with eight kilometres remaining.
With eight riders within 43 seconds of his yellow jersey, race leader Vandenbergh and his Unibet team face their biggest challenge of the Tour when the race starts and ends in Galway this morning, tacking in a scenic but rugged 232kms loop through the Connemara mountains. Despite losing Jonas Ljunglad to a crash where his hand went into his wheel, yesterday, Baden Cooke still thinks the soon to be defunct team can win the Tour outright.
"I think the tactic we used today was a good one," Cooke said. "Yesterday we tried to chase everything and really got smashed. Today we let it go and after we got the chase started later one, we rode for about 50kms and stopped."
Cooke is adamant that the squad will fight for the victory, despite the fact that the team will disappear from the sport at the end of the year. "We're not riding on the front for the fun of it," he added. "I think we can do it. Stijn seems to be stronger than Ljungvist and Olsen in the hills. We're all mates. Stan has helped me this season, so I'm more than happy to help him. I think we can take it all the way to the end. The reason we race bikes is to win. Plus... we all need contracts at the end of the year."
Results
1 Borut Bozic (Slo) Team L.P.R. 4.21.11 >2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile Team >3 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >4 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com >5 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >6 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC >7 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >8 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Continental >9 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team >10 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank Continental >11 Gene Bates (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >12 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Rabobank Continental >13 Paidi O'Brien (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >14 Joachim Bohler (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >15 Rieno Stofferis (Bel) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >16 Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >17 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com >18 Toms Veelers (Ned) Rabobank Continental >19 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team >20 Thomas Berkhout (Ned) Rabobank Continental >21 Evan Oliphant (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >22 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Unibet.com >23 Tony Gibb (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing >24 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >25 Craig Lewis (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >26 Marco Marcato (Ita) Team L.P.R. >27 Timothy Duggan (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >28 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >29 Martyn Irvine (Irl) Irish National Team >30 James Millard (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing >31 Roberto Traficante (Ita) Team L.P.R. >32 Ryan Bonser (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >33 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >34 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >35 Glenn Bak (Den) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >36 Michael Ford (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >37 Simon Holt (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >38 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC >39 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >40 Ian Stannard (GBr) T-Mobile Team >41 Gert Vanderaerden (Bel) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >42 Kristian House (GBr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team >43 Andy Guptill (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >44 Simon Clarke (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >45 Daniele Colli (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >46 Stijn Vandenberg (Bel) Unibet.com >47 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team >48 Adam Bonser (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >49 Svein Vold (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >50 Paul Griffin (Irl) Irish National Team >51 David O'Loughlin (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team >52 Hamish Haynes (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >53 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) T-Mobile Team >54 Alessandro Maserati (Ita) Team L.P.R. >55 Mike Friedman (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >56 Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >57 Francesco Tomei (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >58 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Rabobank Continental >59 Moises Aldape Chaves (Mex) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >60 Nazareno Rossi (Swi) Team L.P.R. >61 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >62 Rob Partridge (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >63 Simon Richardson (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing >64 Isaac Speirs (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >65 David McCann (Irl) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >66 Daniel Fleeman (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >67 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Continental >68 Daniel Vaillancourt (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >69 Marcel Beima (Ned) T-Mobile Team >70 Roger Beuchat (Swi) Team L.P.R. >71 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC >72 Patrick McCarty (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >73 Stephen Gallagher (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >74 Philip Deignan (Irl) Irish National Team >75 Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >76 Chris Newton (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >77 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC >78 Derek Burke (Irl) Irish National Team >79 Mark Cassidy (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >80 Ian MacGregor (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >81 Tom Diggle (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >82 Brian Keneally (Irl) Irish National Team >83 Stian Sommerseth (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >84 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC >85 Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >86 Filippo Savini (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >87 Gordon McCauley (NZl) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing >88 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC >89 Matteo Priamo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >90 Samuele Marzoli (Ita) Team L.P.R. 0.22 >91 Simon Gaywood (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing 0.31 >92 Glen Chadwick (NZl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.42 >93 Aaron Olson (USA) T-Mobile Team >94 Lasse Bochmann (Den) Team CSC 1.34 >95 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 1.39 >96 Sven De Weerdt (Bel) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed 2.37 >97 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS 2.56 >98 Troels Vinther (Den) Unibet.com >99 Adam Bergman (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light 7.24
General classification after stage 3
1 Stijn Vandenberg (Bel) Unibet.com 12.20.08 >2 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 0.20 >3 Aaron Olson (USA) T-Mobile Team 0.21 >4 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS 0.24 >5 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi 0.25 >6 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Unibet.com 0.27 >7 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.28 >8 Craig Lewis (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >9 Glenn Bak (Den) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly 0.43 >10 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 13.15 >11 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Unibet.com 13.28 >12 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi 13.30 >13 Borut Bozic (Slo) Team L.P.R. 13.34 >14 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile Team 13.35 >15 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Continental 13.43 >16 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >17 Moises Aldape Chaves (Mex) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >18 Thomas Berkhout (Ned) Rabobank Continental 13.45 >19 Kristian House (GBr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team >20 Michael Ford (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >21 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >22 Alessandro Maserati (Ita) Team L.P.R. >23 David McCann (Irl) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >24 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Rabobank Continental >25 Matteo Priamo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >26 Marco Marcato (Ita) Team L.P.R. >27 Timothy Duggan (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >28 Paul Griffin (Irl) Irish National Team >29 David O'Loughlin (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team >30 Ryan Bonser (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >31 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) T-Mobile Team >32 Daniel Fleeman (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >33 Hamish Haynes (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >34 Mark Cassidy (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >35 Adam Bonser (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >36 Chris Newton (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >37 Philip Deignan (Irl) Irish National Team >38 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >39 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 13.57 >40 Roberto Traficante (Ita) Team L.P.R. 14.00 >41 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC >42 Brian Keneally (Irl) Irish National Team 14.04 >43 Francesco Tomei (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare 14.05 >44 Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 14.11 >45 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 14.12 >46 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 14.17 >47 Ian MacGregor (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 15.15 >48 Gordon McCauley (NZl) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing 15.16 >49 Lasse Bochmann (Den) Team CSC 15.37 >50 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 19.54 >51 Roger Beuchat (Swi) Team L.P.R. 26.33 >52 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Continental 39.46 >53 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 39.49 >54 Paidi O'Brien (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly 39.50 >55 Patrick McCarty (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >56 Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light 39.51 >57 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Rabobank Continental >58 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com >59 Andy Guptill (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >60 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank Continental >61 Toms Veelers (Ned) Rabobank Continental >62 Mike Friedman (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle >63 Nazareno Rossi (Swi) Team L.P.R. >64 Tony Gibb (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing >65 Gene Bates (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >66 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >67 Evan Oliphant (GBr) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed >68 James Millard (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing >69 Daniel Vaillancourt (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >70 Joachim Bohler (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >71 Ian Stannard (GBr) T-Mobile Team >72 Simon Clarke (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >73 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS >74 Svein Vold (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >75 Marcel Beima (Ned) T-Mobile Team >76 Rob Partridge (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >77 Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >78 Simon Richardson (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing >79 Stephen Gallagher (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >80 Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light >81 Isaac Speirs (Irl) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly >82 Daniele Colli (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >83 Stian Sommerseth (Nor) Team Maxbo Bianchi >84 Tom Diggle (GBr) Recycling.co.uk >85 Samuele Marzoli (Ita) Team L.P.R. 40.13 >86 Derek Burke (Irl) Irish National Team 40.26 >87 Glen Chadwick (NZl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 40.33 >88 Simon Holt (GBr) Recycling.co.uk 40.35 >89 Gert Vanderaerden (Bel) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed 41.08 >90 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare 41.17 >91 Martyn Irvine (Irl) Irish National Team 41.21 >92 Filippo Savini (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare >93 Rieno Stofferis (Bel) Murphy & Gunn - Newlyn - M. Donnelly - Sean Kelly 41.53 >94 Simon Gaywood (GBr) Plowman Craven - Evans Cycles Racing 42.33 >95 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS 42.45 >96 Troels Vinther (Den) Unibet.com 42.47 >97 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 43.01 >98 Sven De Weerdt (Bel) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed 44.39 >99 Adam Bergman (USA) Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light 48.45
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