McCANN WINS RAS STAGE FOUR
Rapha Condor?s Chris Newton was denied a second consecutive stage victory when he suffered a front wheel puncture inside the final two kilometres as the FBD Insurance Ras headed from Corofin to Tralee.
Newton looked strong and was in a small break of five riders heading into Tralee on some wet and slippery roads, but the puncture put paid to his chances of victory.
Although he looks set to be credited with the same time as the leading group, Newton will be bitterly disappointed not to have taken the time bonus of winning the stage.
But although McCann is now in yellow following the retirement of former leader Mark Cassidy, Newton is just one second further back.
Stage four was once again punctuated with attacks; the first serious break of the day involved Newton?s team-mate at Rapha Condor Kristian House and rival Simon Richardson of Plowman Craven.
They were joined by four other riders, but an eager bunch soon chased them down.
A surprise attack got clear shortly after half distance with Iranian Abbas Saeidi Tanha going it alone, and building up a huge lead of almost six minutes before being dragged back after around an hour and a half of solo freedom.
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His break coincided with a crash in the bunch which included yellow jersey leaders Mark Cassidy, and although he chased back to the bunch, he later abandoned the race with a suspected fractured elbow.
Newton and McCann were quickly on to a break with around 70 miles covered, with other top names in the break including Simon Richardson, Kit Gilham (Kinesis UK) and Dean Downing (Rapha Condor-Recycling).
But as they headed for the finish McCann attacked just as Newton punctured, and crossed the line ahead of Poland?s Wojciech Dybel, while Bulgaria?s Bogdan Stoychev beat Simon Richardson to the final podium spot.
FBD INSURANCE RAS STAGE 4 RESULTS (Stage four, Corofin to Tralee, 156km).-
1. David McCann (Ireland) 156km in 3-53-36
2. Wojciech Dybel (Poland) at 2sec
3. Bogdan Stoytchev (Bulgaria)
4. Simon Richardson (Plowman Craven)
5. Dean Downing (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling)
6. Levi Heimans (Netherlands)
7. Tiedt Yannick (Stevens Von Hacht)
8. Roger Aiken (Ireland)
9. Stephen Gallagher (An Post)
10. Khormizi Razaei (Iran) all same time
50. Chris Newton (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling) also same time
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 4
1. David McCann (Ireland) 156km in 14-22-35
2. Chris Newton (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling) same time
3. Roger Aiken (Ireland) at 6sec
4. Rob Partridge (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling) at 7sec
5. Alex Higham (Plowman Craven) at 9sec
6. Andrew Bye (Surrey League) at 56sec
7. Dean Downing (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling) at 1-04
8. Stephen Gallagher (An Post) at 1-05
9. Khormizi Razaei (Iran) aat 1-07
10. Kieran Page (Pezula) at 1-11
POINTS COMPETITION
1. Dean Downing (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling) 37pts
2. David McCann (Ireland) 29pts
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS
1. Chris Newton (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling) 25pts
2. Khormizi Razaei (Iran) 23pts
UNDER-23 CLASSIFICATION
1. Dale Appleby (Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling)
TEAM CLASSIFICATION
1. Stena-Rapha-Condor-Recycling
RELATED LINKS
Reaction: Chris Newton on his stage win
Stage three report: Newton takes the stage
Stage two report: Dean Downing beats Evan Oliphant at the finish
Stage one report: Isle of Man's Hanson wins Ras first stage
2008 FBD Insurance Ras preview
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