Scanlon contests stage finish

After finishing in the main bunch on day one of the presitious Essor Breton race in Brittany, Connacht team rider Mark Scanlon yesterday placed an excellent second on the second stage. The 20-year-old broke clear with five other riders towards the end of the 155 kilometre race and finished just behind winner Frank Laurance of the Brittany Super U team, who takes the overall lead. Scanlon is now 10th in the general classification going into this morning's 26 kilometre team time trial, one minute and six seconds behind Laurance. He is leading the young rider competition and is also sixth in the points ranking.

However, three of the Connacht team - Michael Devins, Dave Nugent and crash victim Vincent Gleeson - were eliminated after finishing outside the time limit on the first stage, making today's task for Scanlon even tougher.

Elsewhere in France, Team Ireland rider Michael McNena took his first foreign win of the year on Saturday when he outsprinted a French rider to win the opening stage of the Elan Varios race near Nice. McNena and Tommy Evans, riding together for their French VC La Pomme team, then lost out by just two seconds in the Team Time Trial, which saw McNena concede the yellow jersey by the same margin. However there was some consolation when Evans rode well on the afternoon stage to finish third overall.

Meanwhile, Paddy Moriarty of the Dublin Skip team leads going into the final day of the Tour of Ulster. Moriarty had placed sixth on the first stage, two seconds behind the victorious Cidona Carrick rider Martin O'Loughlin. However, O'Loughlin missed out when a large breakaway group went clear half-way through yesterday's 79 mile stage, from which Moriarty and eventual stage winner Paul Healion spring-boarded clear. The event concludes today with a three-mile time trial and a 62mile afternoon road race.