ANDY ROCHE is the new leader of the FBD Milk Ras as it enters the vital closing stages today and tomorrow. There was another change around at the top yesterday when Roche, who is from the Isle of Man but is riding with the Kerry rode powerfully to take the lead by 14 seconds from Gethin Butler (England North East).

Ciaran Power of the Ireland team slipped to third another 20 seconds behind, on the same time as Andy Naylor (Stoke).

Yesterday's 94 miles from Bandon to Tramore was expected to be the calm before the storm, as today's stage to Carlow includes three first-category climbs and then there is the Carlow time-trial tomorrow morning, before the afternoon finale at Swords. However, instead of taking it easy yesterday, there was hectic racing all the way.

When Power's team-mate Peter Daly went over three minutes clear in a breakaway group, he looked all set to take over the lead but there was a regrouping at Dungarvan and Power seemed to have saved his position.

Then in the fast run along the coast in the last hour the lead changed several times as Karl Donnelly (Dublin-IRC), Butler and Roche came into the reckoning and although Roche finished only seventh, nine seconds behind Frenchman Stephane Calvez, he emerged at the top of the leaderboard.

Roche, riding in his fourth Ras, was born in Douglas as were his father and mother but his grand-parents came from Kerry and he took out Irish citizenship this year and was a member of an Irish team that raced in France.

Twenty miles after leaving Cork, Daly and Evans contributed to the work at the front of a breakaway group of 14 and, with 50 miles covered at Youghal, the advantage over Power in the yellow jersey back in the main pack was 3:20 - the biggest margin achieved 50 far this week.

Then a group of 13 - including Donnelly, Roche, Mark McKay (Stoke) seventh at 1:15 and Calvez - set out in pursuit of the leaders and this started a frantic reaction which resulted in the big lead being nullified by the time Dungarvan was reached.