Aoife O’Brien surged into the overall lead of Rás na mBan after spearheading a dominant Team Ireland one-two-three on stage two in Gorey on Thursday.
The 22-year-old from Mullingar claimed victory at the end of a challenging 97km route around north Wexford, crossing the line ahead of teammates Emma Jeffers and Emer Heverin. The result moved O’Brien into the magenta jersey after overnight leader Alma Rasmussen of Denmark lost significant time following a crash-marred day.
Riders faced an undulating course featuring two classified climbs before returning to Gorey town centre. Former Rás na mBan winner Manon de Boer of WV Breda topped the first Queen of the Mountains ascent at Rednagh, while France’s Noemie Garnier reversed the positions on Sliabh Buí to move into the lead of the mountains classification.
The decisive moment in the general classification came after Rasmussen was caught up in an early crash. The Dane spent around 30km chasing back to the peloton before rejoining the lead group, but the effort eventually told and she was dropped on the climb of Sliabh Buí.
With Rasmussen distanced, Team Ireland sensed an opportunity and took control at the front of the race. O’Brien and her teammates drove the pace to protect their advantage over the former leader and set up what became a commanding finish, locking out the podium places.
“It was such a hard race,” said O’Brien. “All the girls worked so hard during the stage, so to pull off a win and also get the magenta jersey is really nice.”
The victory caps a strong opening two days for O’Brien, who finished second on Wednesday’s opening stage and now leads the overall standings by 10 seconds from Jeffers, with Heverin a further two seconds back. Vendee Feminine RVC rider Oceane Goergen is the closest challenger to the Irish trio in fourth place, 16 seconds off the lead.
O’Brien also leads the points competition and the Best Young Rider classification, while Gabrielle Fox now heads the Best Irish Rider standings after Cycling Ulster’s Erin Creighton was forced to abandon following the earlier crash. The race continues on Friday with a new 103km stage in Carrick-on-Suir, featuring the category-one ascent of Tickincor.