George Kimber climbs into yellow with commanding Wolftrap victory
GEORGE KIMBER CONQUERED the decisive Wolftrap ascent and soloed to victory as the Cycling Club Isle of Man rider took both the stage and the overall lead in this 70th edition of the Rás Tailteann.
Stage four from Ennis to Mountrath brought ferocious racing across 128.1km, with attacks from the very start and relentless pace all the way to the final climb.
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The flag dropped under blue skies and high speeds, with 24km covered in just 28 minutes — an average of 51.4km/h. The bunch stayed together through Bodyke and Whitegate, with riders like Clay Davies (21) repeatedly testing the waters.
After numerous failed attempts at attacks, a break of six finally stuck near the 90km mark: Dom Jackson (1) – Foran CT, Tom Martin (37) – Wheelbase/Cabtech/Castelli, Kim Satchel (60) – Good Guys Racing NYC, Cian Keogh (64) – Team Skyline, Gareth O'Neill (95) – Cycling Ulster and Evan Keane (117) – Pinergy–Orwell Wheelers.
After two hours of racing, the average speed remained a searing 50.4 km/h before hitting the Category 1 Wolftrap with three km of climbing ahead — and that's where the fireworks truly began.
From the yellow jersey group, Kimber, Dean Harvey, Jamie Meehan, and Adam Lewis surged clear, with Kimber, Meehan, and Harvey forming a lead trio on the descent.
With the bunch splintering behind, Odhran Doogan (Cycling Ulster) attacked in defence of yellow but was unable to bridge across.
Kimber rode away solo in the closing kilometres to take a brilliant win in Mountrath, with Meehan and Harvey completing the podium.
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