McCann poised to strike in Thailand

Cycling News: David McCann is poised to strike going into today's penultimate stage of the Tour of Siam in Thailand following a strong ride on yesterday's 164km leg to Phetchabun.

McCann and Paul Griffin jumped to third and sixth overall respectively after infiltrating a long breakaway which gained considerable time on the main bunch. McCann placed an excellent fifth on the stage, 16 seconds behind the day's winner Shinichi Fukushima of the Bridgestone Anchor squad, while Griffin was 24 seconds further back in eighth.

Fellow Giant Asia rider Ryan Connor finished just over 10 minutes down in 14th and, after taking six points from mountains primes yesterday, has moved up into an excellent second in that classification. The Giant Asia squad came out best in the day's team award.

The Tour of Siam continues today with a 164km leg from Bung Samphan to Pak Chong. McCann is third overall, just 35 seconds off the race lead of Jacob Nielsen (Denmark National Team). Griffin is up into sixth, one minute and 24 seconds back, while Connor is 39th overall.

Meanwhile, David O'Loughlin's strong showing in the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under continued yesterday when the Mayo rider moved to second overall in the mountain competition and finished 14th on the 139km stage to Victor Harbor.

The Navigators Insurance professional went clear with 25 others some 28km after the start in Glenelg and rode strongly, placing second on the Sellicks Hill climb behind Gene Bates of the UNI SA team. The prime win moved Bates to the top of the King of the Mountains classification, but O'Loughlin is on equal points, setting the scene for a ferocious battle over the next couple of days.

Luis Sanchez (Liberty Seguros) and Johan Van Summeren (Davitamon-Lotto) slipped away from the fragmenting group in the closing kilometres, finishing in that order. O'Loughlin came in with a 10-man bunch sprinting for sixth place, while team-mate Ciarán Power was part of the main bunch 30 minutes back.

O'Loughlin is 25th overall, two minutes and 12 seconds off the race lead of Sanchez heading into today's 152km race to Hahndorf.

* The annual ecumenical service of the IVCA takes place in the Church of St George and St Thomas, opposite the College of Catering, Cathal Brugha St, this Sunday at 3.0 p.m. All members, as well as relatives of deceased members, are welcome to attend.

TOUR OF SIAM (Thailand) - Stage Two: 1, Kaoru Ouchi (Shimano Racing) 177 kilometres in 4 hours 28 mins 23 secs; 2, S Baek Park (Seoul City); 3, M Reihs (Denmark National Team). Irish: 13, P Griffin (Giant Asia Racing Team); 14, D McCann (Giant Asia Racing Team) both same time; 66, R Connor (Giant Asia Racing Team) at 6 mins 57 secs.

Stage Three, 1, Shinichi Fukushima (Bridgestone-Anchor) 164 kilometres in 4 hours 15 mins 8 secs; 2, J Ulzii-Orshikh (Marco Polo) at 16 secs; 3, J Hun Kim (Seoul City); 4, N Ching Wong (Hong Kong National Team); 5, McCann; 6, J. Nielsen (Denmark National Team) all same time. Irish: 8, Griffin, at 40 secs; 14, Connor, at 10 mins 3 secs.