Mia Griffin expanded her overall ascendancy impeccably on the third stage of Rás na mBan into Gorey on Friday. The sportswoman from Kilkenny bagged her second stage victory in a span of three days, outrunning Heidi Franz of Monarch Racing, Noor Dekker from JEGG DJR Academy as well as Irish fellow competitors Aoife O’Brien and Marine Lenehan from Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei in the group race to the finishing line.
In addition, Griffin seized the midway sprint in Kiltealy, earning herself an extra time bonus. This edges her total lead to 12 seconds, outpacing countrywoman and colleague from Das Hutchinson Brother UK, Caoimhe O’Brien. British team member Robyn Clay trails in third position, 23 seconds behind.
Griffin shared, “Our entire focus was on the sprint to place myself and Caoimhe as high on the general classification [GC] as possible. I also bagged the intermediate sprint, which I was pleased to do and it gave me a little more cushion for the lead.”
The stage, a 104.4-kilometre stretch, started in Kilkenny encompassing two categorised ascents. The initial climb, Sliabh Buí, fragmented the peloton and narrowed down the leading group to the most formidable contestants. The reigning champion, Manon de Boer from NWVG-Uplus, outpaced Griffin’s teammate Lucy Lee to the top.
Post this, another athlete from Das Hutchinson Brother UK, Frankie Hall along with Jazmine Lavergne from Primeau Vélo Groupe Abadie, broke away, accruing a lead of a minute and remaining undisrupted over the day’s second climb, where Hall was first to top. They were intercepted with a mere five kilometres to go, following which Griffin powered through to claim victory and reinforce her lead in both the overall and points contest.
Following a near-crash after an intermediate sprint, the cyclist managed to keep their balance and reach the finish, owing to the commendable leadout support from Lucy [Lee] and Robyn [Clay].
The prestigious international race, Rás na mBan, will carry on its next stage this Saturday, with the competitors set to ride a 101km stage, which includes making it from Kilkenny to the summit of The Rower and includes two steep ascents.
The third stage, from Kilkenny to Gorey, saw Mia Griffin from the team Das Hutchinson Brother UK clinch first place, covering a distance of 104.4km in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 36 seconds. She was followed by racers H Franz from Monarch Racing and N Dekker from JEGG DJR Academy. The sprint at Kiltealy featured the same trio as leading competitors.
The mountain primes of this stage included a category 2 climb at Sliabh Buí at the 70.8km mark and a category 3 climb at Ballymore at the 91km distance. These were conquered by Manon de Boer and Frankie Hall, respectively.
The best performing Irish team was Cycling Ulster.
As participants move on to the subsequent stages, the general classification places Mia Griffin from Das Hutchinson Brother UK at top place after the completion of three stages. She’s trailed closely by C O’Brien and R Clay from the same team. Other top contenders include H Franz from Monarch Racing and A Miller from Tofauti Everyone Active.
Rewritten Text: In the points category, Mia Griffin from Das Hutchinson Brother UK stands first with 29 points, followed by C O’Brien at 23 points and R Clay at 18 points. A O’Brien from Ireland and N Dekker from JEGG DJR Academy are fourth and fifth respectively.
Regarding the mountains category, Lucy Lee from Das Hutchinson Brother UK leads with 24 points. M de Boer from NWVG-Uplus is second with 22 points, and H Franz from Monarch Racing, along with K Hill from Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei, share third place with 11 points. F Hall from Das Hutchinson Brother UK is in fifth place with 5 points.
In the young rider category, Caoimhe O’Brien leads with a time of 7 hours 22’30”, followed by R Clay from Das Hutchinson Brother UK by 11″ and A Miller from Tofauti Everyone Active by 13″. A O’Brien from Ireland is fourth at 14″ and A Thomas from Primeau Vélo Groupe Abadie is fifth at 17″.
In the category of best Irish rider, Mia Griffin of Das Hutchinson Brother UK is leading with a time of 7 hours 22’18”. C O’Brien, also from Das Hutchinson Brother UK, trails by 12″. M Lenehan from Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei is at 29″, E McDermott from UCD cycling club is at 1’58, and G Fox from Greenmount Cycling Academy matches that time.
The team general classification sees Das Hutchinson Brother UK in first position with a total time of 22 hours 8’21. This is followed by Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei in second place, and Ireland in third with a time delay of 1’29. CCB p/b Levine Law Group shares the same time delay, and Monarch Racing trails at 3’34”.
In the Paddy Doran best Irish team classification, Cycling Ulster leads with a total time of 23 hours 11’04. UCD Cycling Club trails behind at 8’03”.