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The 42
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
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. Advertisement 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.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Second stage win in Rás Tailteann for Tim Shoreman; Odhrán Doogan retains yellow jersey
Rás Tailteann race leader Odhrán Doogan moved one step closer to success in the event on Friday, but he and his Cycling Ulster team were under real threat for approximately 100km of the 164km third leg to Miltown-Malbay. The Irishman started the day with a narrow lead in the general classification and experienced real danger when a 15-rider group went clear about 20km after the start in Cong. Racing through rain and on slippery roads, the breakaway move contained many strong riders, including 2022 Rás winner Daire Feeley (Burren CC), last year's runner-up Conn McDunphy (Team Skyline) and George Kimber (Cycling Club Isle of Man). The latter had started the day fourth overall, just six seconds behind Doogan, and became virtual race leader when the group built and maintained an advantage of around a minute. Doogan and others finally returned to the front approximately 40km from the finish, with stage one victor Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) best in a 60 rider sprint to the line. He beat Matteo Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey Pissei), Sebastian Brenes (Mexico: Canel's Java) and Matthew Teggart (Down Banbridge CC Specsavers), the first Irish rider home. Irish-based Italian Cigala remains second overall, just three seconds behind Doogan. Shoreman was well ahead at the end, taking advantage of his sprinting speed and also the skill honed by years of criterium racing in Britain. Full Stage 3 results from Rás Tailteann are now available. A huge day on the road into Miltown Malbay — check out the full classification sheet below. #RásTailteann #Rás70 #Rás2025 — Rás Tailteann (@rastailteann) May 23, 2025 "When I saw that we were finishing around a corner, I just knew I had to be first around that," he told RTE Online. "So that's what I did." Doogan took six seconds in time bonuses on the opening day and while he said he didn't expect to contend for the overall classification, he jumped to the top of the leaderboard on Thursday. Key rivals did what they could to depose him Friday, but he and his team rose to the challenge. "I was definitely nervous," he admitted. "But I knew the guys up the road had a big, hard day ahead of them. I knew I just couldn't let them get a big gap. So me and my team were able to control it." Team Ireland rider Dean Harvey was also in that big break. He crashed 85km into the stage and had to chase for several kilometers, but he was strong enough to go clear on the Corkscrew Hill climb approximately 35km later. However while he opened a lead of almost 30 seconds over eight other riders, a headwind made things too difficult and he was caught with approximately 40km to go. Doogan and others had bridged across to the chasers by that point and, following the climbs of Doonagore Cross and the category two Cliffs of Moher, the race leader himself showed defiance to attack alone with 11km to go. He didn't get far and came under threat again when George Peden (Team PB Performance) countered. The Team PB Performance rider had started the day just 11 seconds behind Doogan and became race leader on the road when he was 13 seconds in front with 9km to go. However he was caught inside the final 5km, with Shoreman winning the bunch sprint. Doogan was tenth and remains in the lead with two stages remaining. His rivals vow to keep attacking, but he's gaining confidence and will do what he can to win overall on Sunday. "There another big day tomorrow but I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to try to keep yellow for as long as I can," he vowed.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Odhrán Doogan retains yellow jersey as Tim Shoreman wins Rás Tailteann third stage
Odhrán Doogan successfully defended his yellow jersey on a tense, tough third stage of the Rás Tailteann on Friday, retaining his three-second advantage over closest rival Matteo Cigala. The Cycling Ulster rider came under repeated attack and had a nervous time when a powerful 15-man break went clear just over 20km into the stage to Miltown Malbay. The move spelt danger, containing riders such as the 2022 Rás winner Daire Feeley (Burren CC), last year's runner-up Conn McDunphy (Team Skyline) and George Kimber (Cycling Club Isle of Man), who was for a long time the race leader on the road when the group maintained a gap of around one minute. However Doogan and others finally returned to the front after about 100km of hard chasing, making the junction to the last remaining breakaway rider Dean Harvey (Team Ireland) approximately 40km from the finish. READ MORE Stage one winner Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) was fastest in the final sprint, beating Cigala (Carlow: Dan Morrissey Pissei), Sebastian Brenes (Mexico: Canel's Java) and Matthew Teggart (Banbridge CC Specsavers), the first Irish rider home. Doogan finished the stage in 10th. 'I was definitely nervous,' Doogan said after finishing the stage in 10th, referring to the moment he learned who was out front. 'But I knew the guys up the road had a big, hard day ahead of them. I knew I just couldn't let them get a big gap. So me and my team were able to control it.' Indeed, after the junction was made Doogan was strong enough to attack with approximately 11km to go, but this was reeled in, as was a solo move by George Peden (Team PB Performance), who was briefly race leader on the road. McDunphy is next best of the Irish in fifth overall, and although he crashed inside the final kilometre, he was given the same time as the bunch as per UCI rules. 'Coming into the line I fancied my chances for the sprint,' said McDunphy. 'To be honest, maybe not to beat Shoreman but I reckon I could have gone top five there, but a bit of a gearing issue caused me to hit the deck.' He also fell close to the finish on the opening day and while he has been able to continue, his sleep has been affected by the extensive skin grazes he has on his back. However, he pledged to keep trying. Saturday's penultimate stage from Ennis offers an opportunity for aggressive riders, with the category one Wolftrap climb summiting just 14km from the finish line in Mountrath. So too Sunday's concluder from Kildare town to Bective, with McDunphy, Feeley and others all pledging to continue their attacks. Doogan and the Cycling Ulster team will keep fighting. He said on Wednesday that he didn't expect to contend for the general classification, but still finds himself still in a yellow jersey which he hadn't anticipated. 'I changed my ambitions. I'm going to try to keep it for as long as I can,' he said.
Irish Examiner
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Donegal's Doogan takes Rás yellow as Perrett clinches stage two in Clifden
The yellow jersey changed hands after the second day of this year's Rás Tailteann proved to be just as stern a test of the riders' grit and guts as the first. Donegal's Odhran Doogan, representing Cycling Ulster, surged into the leader's colours taking the yellow jersey from Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase-Cabtech-Castelli) after 170.9km of hard road from Charlestown, Co Mayo south to Clifden, Co Galway. Englishman Will Perrett came out on top to take stage two honours and admitted it hadn't been easy going. "It was a really, really tough stage," said the DAS Richardsons rider. "This final run-in, it was just chopping off into the crosswind and that was so tough. I saw I had the gap and just committed. I managed to stay away [on my own]. I'm really happy. It's my first win at the Rás." Nottingham-born Perrett would have been claiming the yellow jersey were it not for a crash 3.5km from the end of the opening day's stage but has his eyes on moving up. The morning's leader Shoreman couldn't reel in a break from the main group but Doogan and a smaller chasing pack caught up with that leading bunch and he managed to finish third in the stage to take command at the top, thanks to his points tally from the climbs and sprints. In the process Doogan becomes the first ever Donegal man to wear the leaders yellow jersey of the Ras. Friday's third stage will see the riders set off from Cong, Co Mayo and then take the scenic route down the Wild Atlantic Way before an exciting end awaits them. Fans are likely to see a sprint finish as the rivals come into Miltown Malbay in Co Clare. Elsewhere Olav Kooij sprinted to victory on stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia as Isaac Del Toro retained the pink jersey in Viadana. Kooij was helped by a superb lead-out from Visma-Lease A Bike team-mate Wout Van Aert, with Casper van Uden second over the line ahead of Britain's Ben Turner. The 172km stage from Modena, the first opportunity for the quick men in a week, came down to the final few bends of a technical finish left slightly damp by earlier rain in Viadana, and Van Aert used all his experience to win the fight for position going into the final sharp left-hander. Team Picnic PostNL's Van Uden tried to go long with his sprint after being left with a slight gap as the road straightened out, but Kooij kept his cool to take the win while the Ineos Grenadiers' Turner held off Mads Pedersen for the last step on the podium. A small crash in the peloton with around one kilometre left to go neutralised the times for the overall standings, allowing the general classification contenders to sit up. Del Toro leads by 33 seconds from his UAE Team Emirates team-mate Juan Ayuso with Bahrain-Victorious rider Antonio Tiberi third. Bonus seconds saw Wednesday's stage winner Richard Carapaz move up to fourth, on the same time as Kooij's team-mate Simon Yates in fifth, one minute and 11 seconds off pink. With files from PA
