Picture Credit ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Roscommon’s Daire Feeley sits in 9th place overall following his 23rd place finish in today’s stage of the An Post Rás which finished in Buncranna.
Day four of the eight route took the riders into the heart of Donegal where they faced a challenging route including five categorised climbs with the monstrous Mamore Gap rearing its head just over 10 kilometres before the finish.
Following yesterday’s fierce day of riding, today’s stage required a more measured approach with the riders patiently waiting to make their move. The first hour saw a flurry of attacks but nothing of considerable substance to establish a decent gap. At 50km, An Post Chain Reaction rider, Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz opened up a lead with a group of six chasers catching him to establish a leading break.
Approaching the first of the ascents, the leading group were clear of the peloton with a healthy one minute fifty second advantage. Gruffudd Lewis (Britain Madison Genesis) proved strong over the climbs, impressively claiming the first three which included Maghera Beg, Slavery Hill and Old Mountain.
The break was eventually reeled in but following the third climb, Storer and Sitler began their attack, going clear by 47 seconds. Kasperkiewicz gave chase and joined briefly but couldn’t keep pace. It was Storer who edged Sitler to take the Pinch Mountain prime, and subsequently pushed clear to take the category one Mamore Gap. From there on in, the Australian had the stage settled, finding the legs to establish a one minute gap over Sitler.
With one kilometre to go, Storer had the stage in the palm of his hands and he cruised into Buncrana where he was welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers.
Today’s result also means that Daire Feeley is now placed first in the Irish County Rider classification and third in the Under 23 classification. His team; Galway iTap are third in the Irish County Team category.
Regular updates and action footage of this year’s An Post Rás are available on www.anpostras.ie, twitter.com/anpostras and facebook.com/anpostras