Cycling/FBD Milk Rás: Elated after their stage win on Tuesday, the Team Ireland squad were in a more sedate mood yesterday evening in Letterkenny.

Four hours of bucketing rain did little for the spirits of any rider, but the green-jerseyed quintet had a tougher time than most. Punctures, crashes, dangerous breakaway groups and long, tiring miles spent at the front of the bunch; days don't come much harder.

The good news is that Tommy Evans remains in yellow. Ciarán Power and David O'Loughlin are 30 seconds off his lead, giving the team a strong hand for today's first mountain stage. And yet yesterday's 107 miles brought several reminders of how easily things can change in this sport, and why an Irish win is not a foregone conclusion.

The day's drama began inside the first 10 miles when four riders raced clear and opened a dangerous lead. Morale on a high after Tuesday's stage win, Power set off after Lancaster Life Repair rider Kevin Dawson and the Irish trio of Eddie O'Donoghue (Dublin Usher Insulations), Brian Kenneally (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) and Ray Clarke (Meath Lee Strand), but was hauled back by an attentive main bunch.

An immediate counter-attack by eight rivals threw things into immediate disarray, with Power and Evans stranded in the main bunch and only O'Loughlin present to police the move.

Both front groups merged 12 miles into the stage and continued to build their lead, their chances enhanced considerably by the representation of most of the major teams in the move. O'Loughlin's presence up front was a big plus, but team manager Frankie Campbell was concerned that the Mayo rider was too isolated.

Deciding the move was too dangerous, he asked Vincent Gleeson and Andrew Donnellan to drive the pace of the bunch but the duo had little chance against a dozen committed riders.

With only the Sportsbook.com team willing to help, Power and Evans then had to come to the front and drive the peloton along. Finally, after many miles of effort, they started to make inroads into their deficit. By the 39-mile mark the field had the leaders in sight, but within seconds O'Loughlin crashed and Evans punctured.

Blighted by bad luck, the Irish team could only watch as Moriarty, Dawson, and Kenneally seized the opportunity to jump out of the failing breakaway and surge clear again. And when big dangerman Chris Newton bridged the gap, the alarm bells began to ring once more.

The team had to wait until Evans regained contact before starting to chase again, and finally managed to reel in those up front.

Moriarty, however, was on a high after his second place on Tuesday's stage and it wasn't long before he tried again. Forging clear with Kazakh rider Andrey Medyannikov and Kildare HirEquip's Brian Ahern, the trio were soon bolstered by the support of Kevin Dawson (Lancaster Life Repair) and the Germany Rg Gutersloh/Neheim rider Patrick Kohler.

With the Kazakh best placed overall, 9 minutes and 17 seconds back, the group was no danger to Evans' lead and so the Irish team were content to ride tempo. Medyannikov led Dawson, Ahern and Moriarty over the day's sole climb, the third category Barnesmore Gap, and the five continued to work together until Dawson attacked 10 miles from the finish.

He built his lead all the way to Letterkenny, where he clawed his way up the steep finishing climb to take his first ever stage win. Next home were Kohler and Medyannikov, with Moriarty and Ahern fourth and fifth and the frontrunners of the bunch snapping right at the latter's heels.

But the drama wasn't over yet for the Irish team. Power crashed while jostling for positions for the sprint, and limped over the line at the rear of the bunch. Cut and shaken, the Waterford rider headed straight into the team van.

Campbell was relieved that things worked out in the end. "It was a hard day out there. We had to do a lot of riding, Tommy had a puncture and two of the guys crashed. Ciarán went down in the last kilometre and ended up with a cut on his knee. David went down earlier on. He needed a bike change but fortunately he was okay."

The net effect is that the three Irish riders remain in the running for victory, but so too the 14 others within 30 seconds of Evans. That sets the scene for a big showdown on today's first mountain stage of the race.

The riders face five major climbs, including the category one ascents of Ballagh hill and the gruelling Gap of Mamore; the Irish team will be hoping for better luck today.