Castlebar Town Counciller Harry Barrett officially started the 113km stage from Lough Lannagh Holiday Village
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Within minutes of the race starting numerous attacks were jumping off the front.
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A breakaway group formed and quickly gained a sizable lead
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The Ireland riders are prominant at the front of the chasing bunch
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Two riders fall, one is the White jersey and it looks like the other is his team mate, both were near the back of the bunch when they fell. Although they lost a lot of time they both were back on their bikes chasing
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Back up the front the leaders were working well and opend the gap to 45 seconds
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The race leader was left to do most of the work to defend his jersey
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At Mulranney a chase group was gaining on the leaders
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Along Atlantic Drive the chasers had the leaders in sight
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The two leading groups joined up at around 40km into the race
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The leading group crossing the new bridge onto Achill Island at Achill Sound
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When they hit the 1st cat climbs on Achill, Mountains leader, Joren Segers when clear to take maximum points
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Local man Charles Prendergast from Mayo, would know this part of the country very well
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Amazingly the leader of the 1st year junior category who crashed in the early part of the stage was storming up through the field, on the climb he was in about 15th position
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The race leader Matt Bailey was further back in the bunch.
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After the climbs the leading breakaway had slimed down a bit to seven riders
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A new chase group formed behind and it included all the classification jerseys
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Back to the leaders with 15km to go and the attacking started
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At 7km to go, none of the attacks were successful at this stage
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Then at the finish, Irish Junior Champion Charles Prendergast riding for the Stena Ireland team soloed home on his own
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Dominic Schils lead in the rest for 2nd place 22 seconds in arrears
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The Green and Yellow jerseys finished 8th and 9th 1' 28" down
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The top three finishers on stage 3
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Charles Prendergast goes into the Yellow jersey by a slim 1 second margin ahead of stage 1 winner Dominic Schils
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The Podium after stage 3, Dominic Schils (Green), Joren Segers (Mountains), Charles Prendergast (Yellow), Perry Bowater (White) and Gerard Madden representing the stage sponsors the IVCA
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M. Donnelly Junior Tour, stage 3, Castlebar/Achill Island/Castlebar, 113kms.
Details:
1 C. Prendergast (Stena Ireland), 3hrs.00mins.36 secs;
2 D. Schils (Lotto Interbike Olympia), @22 sec;
3 JC Nell (South Africa), same time;
4 P. Bowater (BCF West Midlands), st;
5 C. Nicholsan (Isle of Man), st;
6 R. de Greef (Tempo BMV Veldhoven), st;
7 I. Hassbroek (South Africa), @45secs;
8 L. Meintjes (South Africa), @1.28.
Overall after three stages:
1 Prendergast, 5.51.13;
2 Schils, @1 sec;
3 de Greef, @13
4 Nell, @14;
5 Bowater, @20;
6 M. Bailey (BCF West Midland), @34;
7 Nicholsan, @387;
8 Meintjes, @41.
1st Year Junior-Bowater.
Points-Schils.
Mountains-J Segers (Hand in Hand Baal.