The An Post Chain Reaction team were celebrating again today after Regan Gough sprinted to victory on stage five of An Post Rás in to Dungloe, Donegal today - the second stage win for the team this week.
The New Zealander edged out Australian Cameron Meyer (Australia National Team) who finished second ahead of third place Daan Meijers (Netherlands Delta Cycling). JLT Britain rider James Gullen was a close fourth and becomes the new general classification (GC) leader.
At 181.2 kilometres, the peloton faced a significantly longer route than previous days, testing the legs of even the most experienced riders. Adding to the fearsome challenge, riders had to also conquer two categorised climbs and two An Post primes.
It was a glorious day in Donegal with the temperatures increasing throughout the day. The stage proved to be eventful from the get go with groups instantly attacking only to be consistently reeled in by the peloton. The first serious move of the day came from Michael O’Loughlin (Britain Team Wiggins) and Thomas Rostollan (France Armée de Terre) who set up a thirty-five second advantage out front before being chased down heading to the climbs.
With two climbs in quick succession it was stage four winner Michael Storer who asserted his dominance on the mountains. The Australian took both the Anny Far and Near/Carnagarrow and Ballymastocker climbs (Cat Three) to extend his lead in the King of the Mountains classification.
The climbs took their toll, breaking things up with a strong contingent of six riders pushing on to establish a sizeable lead ahead of a chasing group of eight. The leading group included Cameron Meyer (Australia National Team), Edward Laverak (Britain JLT Condor), Regan Gough (An Post Chain Reaction), James Gullen (Britain JLT Condor), Ike Groen and Daan Meijers (both Netherlands Delta Cycling).
From there on the six riders worked well together, pulling clear by a massive seven minutes and thirty-five seconds with twenty five kilometres to go. From the leading group it was Edward Laverack who claimed the Dunfanaghy An Post prime and Daan Meijers who took the Falcarragh An Post prime. With a gradual uphill drag to the line, it came down to one final attack which was taken by Regan Gough who sprinted to the line ahead with of Meyer and Daan Meijers.
Following his fantastic win, Gough said:
“I made the front group so I had to sit and wait all day. I held tight and backed myself to go for the finish. It was a very warm day but riding on the coast, we got some lovely cool air which really helped!”
The stage was one of huge time gaps with the chasing bunch rolling in four minutes and thirty-eight seconds behind the leading group. It proved to be a decisive day with lots of jersey changes and a complete re-shuffle of the general classification (GC). New yellow jersey holder, James Gullen (Britain JLT Condor) said:
“It was beautiful and really hot today. I wish I could have enjoyed the scenery a bit more, but it was pretty hard work out there. It’s a lovely part of the world here!”
Michael O’Loughlin (Britain Team Wiggins) is the new Under 23 jersey holder while Daire Feeley (Galway Team iTap) retains the Irish County jersey.
Regular updates and action footage of this year’s An Post Rás are available on www.anpostras.ie, twitter.com/anpostras and also on www.facebook.com/anpostras
