RAPHA WIN RACE AGAINST TIME TO REACH FERRY PORT

Rapha-Condor-Recycling?s riders and manager John Herety made a frantic dash to catch their ferry after finishing the final stage of the FBD Insurance Ras yesterday.

The stage finished in Skerries to the north of Dublin and, with three riders due on the podium for the final presentations of the race, Herety knew he?d have to put his foot down (sticking to the speed limit at all times, we?re sure) to get their early evening ferry.

?I can only describe it as a stupid dash,? said the Rapha boss. ?We had three riders on the podium and had a military operation planned that meant Dean, Rob and Dale had to leave the podium still in their kit and get straight in the cars so we could get to the port.

?It was an eventful drive, to say the least, and we arrived with seconds to spare. We were the last cars on the boat. It was worth it though, otherwise we wouldn?t have got out of Dublin port until 10pm.?

Rob Partridge was Rapha ? and Great Britain?s ? best-placed rider overall, finishing third 1-43 behind winner Stephen Gallagher.

Dean Downing was seventh and took a convincing win in the points competition, taking the green jersey. Dale Appleby was the best under-23 rider, finishing 12th overall.

Of the other Brits, Alex Higham rode consistently all week to finish fourth overall. Kieran Page, riding for Irish squad Pezula was eighth.

Simon Richardson, who had one day in yellow before being well and truly ambushed on Saturday, slipped to 19th overall but he?ll reflect on a successful week after he also won a stage.

And Kit Gilham, the Kinesis rider, deserves full credit for an excellent win in the king of the mountains competition, which he targeted from the first couple of days and rode aggressively but cleverly to maximise his point-scoring opportunities.

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How the Brits have done at each Ras since 1998 ? compare this year's performance with previous years.

Brits at the Ras