Leader accepts yellow jersey reluctantly

CIARAN POWER of the Ireland team is the reluctant new leader of the FBD Milk Ras. Welshman Matthew Postle lost out on yesterday's sixth stage of 84 miles from Killorglin to Bandon and plunged to 60th but Power is disappointed to be only ahead on points. He is equal on time with Andy Naylor (Stoke) and Gethin Butler (England North East).

Power was in a breakaway group of seven that had a lead of a minute and 40 seconds with 20 miles to go and he looked set to take over by a safe margin but the group was caught on the outskirts of Ban don and Power stayed on the same time as Naylor and Butler.

Ian Gilkes (Britain) kept going well to take the stage but Power earned eight points for finishing eighth to bring his total to 28. Naylor improved by two to 26 while Butler stayed on 23.

Power did not know he was the new leader and the yellow jersey presentation was delayed until he was summoned to the platform. He said: "I thought we would stay away and I would have taken the lead but after we had been caught I did not know I would have the jersey."

Ireland team manager Frankie Campbell said: "We did not want to take over the lead like that by such a narrow margin. If the group had stayed away and Ciaran took the jersey by the margin they had out on the road that would have been fine but to have to defend it like we will have to now with such hard stages to go is no advantage."

After Power, Naylor and Butler at the head overall, Karl Donnelly (Dublin-IRC) is next at 30 seconds with Andy Roche, riding for Kerry, at 1:08 and then Peter Daly (Ireland) at 1:15. Postle came in with a group at 17 minutes and 53 seconds. He was placed 108th and he is now out of contention in 60th overall, 17:38 behind the leading trio.

For the first time in its 45 years the Ras had a stage end in Bandon and Tipperary pair Raymond Clarke and Micheal Fitzgerald were second and third over the line on South Main Street, four seconds behind Gilkes. Fitzgerald took over the green jersey, as leader of the points classification, he is on 44 to 36 for Pelle Kil (Holland), who finished fourth.

After going through Killarney, Clarke was joined at the front by a group that included Gilkes, Brian Smith (Stoke) and Tommy Evans (Ireland). Smith led over the Ladies View and Moll's Gap climbs with Clarke second. The main group was less that a minute behind but when there was a regrouping at the front after Kenmare with about 100 together Postle was well in arrears.

As Postle continued to slip further behind there were constant breakaway attempts at the front. Gilkes was involved in a move with Daly but then at the Coomakista Pass climb Kevin Dawson (Britain) led over the Kerry-Cork border with team-mate Lee Davis second followed by Mark McKay (Stoke), Butler and Leslie McKay. Postle's group arrived over eight minutes later.

There was a promising break on the descent to Coolea when Daly was to the fore again with Leslie McKay, Power, Davis, Mark McKay, Butler, Donnelly, Roche and Dawson but they failed to work well enough together. Then at Ballyvourney, 54 miles, Power, Evans, Gilkes, Clarke, Denis O'Shea (Kerry), Richard Cahill (Cork) and Andy Mathieson (Scotland) forged ahead and quickly built up a lead of over a minute.

At 68 miles the gap was 1:40 but at the final mountain checkpoint of the day, the second category Templemartin (75 miles), the lead was down to 57 seconds with Mark McKay and Butler doing most of the work. With other teams lending assistance the margin was 45 seconds with six miles to go and as Evans and Cahill dropped off it dwindled to 15 seconds and then just 12 seconds with two miles left.

Just as the remainder of the breakaways were about to be reeled in by the fast-moving pack Gilkes went on and although chased furiously up along the finishing straight by Clarke, followed by Fitzgerald, Gilkes held on for a hard-earned stage win.