Bennett finishes third on Tirreno-Adriatico stage

Sam Bennett once again underlined his superb sprinting ability with third place on stage one of Tirreno-Adriatico on Tuesday. The Carrick- on-Suir rider avoided a dangerous crash inside the final 400 metres, but was boxed in and thus unable to sprint to full effect.

A gap opened up closer to the line and Bennett squeezed through to notch third, finishing just behind the day's winner, Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal), and runner-up Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo), the three-time Tour de France green jersey.

Bennett, in his second year as a professional, last month clocked up his first win of the season for his Bora-Argon18 team. He took the final stage of the Tour of Qatar and received notification from his team that he would likely be given a slot on the squad for the Tour de France in July.

He will be the squad’s protected sprinter there, making his debut in the world’s biggest race.

Martin 114th

Fellow Irishman

Dan Martin

(Cannondale-Garmin) also finished in the main bunch. Bennett is 49th overall after the prologue plus first stage, while Martin is 114th overall.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Roche rode strongly for his Sky team in the finale of stage four at Paris-Nice, ramping up the pace on the final climb in order to pave the way for a one-two on the stage by teammates Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas.

After making the deep effort, he sat up to save his energy for the remaining stages and crossed the line 33rd. He is in the same position overall.

Defends title

In other news, 2014 An Post Rás winner

Clemens Fankhauser

has confirmed that he will defend his title in May, with the Austrian rider returning as part of his new Hrinkow Advarics CYcleanG squad.

The squad line-up is yet to be finalised for the event, but his team-mates are likely to include former Austrian hill climb champion Josef Benetseder plus the experienced former Pro Continental rider Dominik Hrinkow.

The 2015 An Post Rás will begin in Dunboyne on May 17th and include stage finishes in Carlow, Tipperary, Bearna, Newport, Ballina, Ballinamore, Drogheda and Skerries. It will total nearly 1200km and include 21 categorised climbs.