Cycling/ Rás: The Estonian Mart Ojavee and the Irishman Páidí O'Brien got their FBD Insurance Rás campaigns off to a good start yesterday when they placed first and second on the 157-kilometre opening leg from Naas to Templemore.
The Kalev Chocolate team rider was quickest in a flat-out 119-man sprint to the line, edging out Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M Donnelly Seán Kelly rider O'Brien and Petr Pucelik (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) for the victory and first yellow jersey of the eight-day race.
Dominique Rollin (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) finished just off the podium, while the former world junior champion Mark Scanlon (Ireland Subway) rode encouragingly well despite a lack of racing this season, netting fifth.
O'Brien was happy with his ride and said having team-mate Simon Kelly in the day's breakaway took the pressure off.
"We were happy enough for that move to stay away," he said. "When it became clear that the break was coming back, Kurt (Bogaerts, team manager) said we would do the sprint for me and Glenn Bak . . . he is also fast.
"With a kilometre to go Stephen Gallagher got me into a good position. Mark Cassidy was already far up in the bunch so he got me closer to the front and I did the sprint from there. I was happy to have that good position.
"It's hard to say if I would have won if the line was a bit farther away. I was coming from far back but I couldn't really see him (Ojavee) - I was concentrating on my own sprint. But I am happy enough to be up on the podium."
O'Brien said the Belgian-based Irish team will chase stage wins and the overall classification.
The stage was marked by a long-distance breakaway featuring six riders - Andrei Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate), Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands), Simon Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M Donnelly Seán Kelly), Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes), Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) and Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha).
They went clear in the first five kilometres, built a lead of approximately four minutes before the day's only categorised climb, The Cut, and resisted the efforts of several others to bridge across, including Dermot Nally of the Ireland Subway team.
They were, however, hauled back inside the final 10 kilometres, paving the way for the mass sprint.
The American Jesse Anthony won a stage of the M Donnelly Junior Tour of Ireland four years ago and said he was happy to be back racing on these shores: "I felt good riding in the break. I wasn't sure if it was going to stay away . . . it took us a good while to get a gap, but then when the lead went up we had a chance.
"But it's never easy for a break like that in a long race . . . where there are a lot of guys behind. It's the first stage, too, and everyone is psyched."
He was first to the top of the climb and takes the pink 'king of the mountains' jersey. Ojavee's sprint saw him jump to the top of the general classification and he starts today's 147-kilometre leg from Templemore to Loughrea in yellow. O'Brien is third overall, four seconds back, and is one of the Irish riders with the form to fare well this week.
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