It's a Callan repeat as Mia Griffin wins stage one of Rás na mBan in Kilkenny

Kilkenny's Mia Griffin celebrates winning the opening stage of the Rás na mBan into Callan Picture : Lorraine O’Sullivan

placeholder image — Kilkenny's Mia Griffin celebrates winning the opening stage of the Rás na mBan into Callan Picture : Lorraine O’Sullivan

Olympian sprints to victory on opening day

Kilkenny's Mia Griffin stormed to victory in stage one of the Rás na mBan in Callan, repeating the feat she achieved on the same stage last year.

The Glenmore cyclist, recently returned from competing on the track at the Paris Olympics, powered clear in the bunch sprint, crossing the line ahead of team-mates Robyn Clay and Caoimhe O’Brien in second and third.

One hundred riders from 14 countries assembled at the Hoban Hotel in Kilkenny City for the 74 kilometre long opening stage, with one categorised climb preceding two finishing circuits around the town of Callan.

DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK’s dominance on the stage was indicated early on, with Lucy Lee summiting the category three Curragawn ascent ahead of returning overall champion Manon de Boer of NWVG-Uplus, with the British rider taking the lead of the IVCA Wicklow 200 Queen of the Mountains classification heading into stage two.

A series of attacks and counter attacks followed the climb, with Frankie Hall, another of the DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK riders, eventually breaking clear of the main bunch. They were quickly joined by Team Aalborg Sparekassen’s Frederikke Aafeldt and Team Dan Morrisey’s Katy Hill.

The trio worked well together, swiftly establishing a gap of almost a minute on the bunch as the race entered the final 25 kilometres, and the first of two finishing circuits.

Behind in the peloton, the sprinters’ teams eventually got organised and started to close in on the three leaders, finally closing the gap with a mere three kilometres to go.

With the breakaway reeled in, Hall’s teammates immediately hit the front of the peloton, setting a ferocious pace to take control at the head of the bunch for the closing kilometres.

Griffin led into the final corner and opened up the sprint from the front, with no other rider able to match her power in the closing metres. British rider Clay followed behind, with Mullingar’s O’Brien closing out the podium on a dominant day for DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK.

Along with securing the overall leader’s magenta jersey, Griffin’s victory also secured her the lead at the head of the Cycling Ireland Points and Kilkenny County Council Best Irish Rider classifications, with Clay topping the Sport Ireland Best Young Rider standings.

Today (Thursday) the riders head into County Laois for a 104 kilometre stage from Portlaoise to Mountrath, featuring the fearsome climb of The Cut in the Slieve Bloom mountains.