Alexander Kristoff followed last year’s successful script and launched an early sprint with 350 meters to go, but Mark Cavendish, as he continues to do with his blossoming career, is following his own plan. At stage 3 of the Tour of Ireland from Ballinrobe to Galway, that plan was simple: win.

Cavendish was one of many riders to go down on slick tarmac just over the top of the final categorized climb, but Columbia put him back into the front group and wound it up in the closing kilometers to 70kph.

The dead-flat run-in along Galway Bay featured a slight chicane with about 350 meters to go. It was there where last year Edvald Boassan Hagen — now on Columbia but then a teammate of Kristoff — launched a surprise long-range sprint that stuck for the victory. This year, Kristoff tried the same.

Columbia patrols at the front.

Photo: Pete Goding

“I started a little bit early, trying to surprise [Cavendish], but I couldn’t hold the pace all the way to the finish,” said Kristof, who also went down in the crash over the last climb. “Last year Edwald managed to do it. I couldn’t, but it’s all right to try.”

Kristoff hung on for fourth in the stage behind Bernardo Riccio (Tinkoff) and Julian Dean (Garmin-Chiptole), thereby retaining the points jersey.

With road rash on his hip and down his leg, Cavendish wasn’t exactly chipper at the finish. As he has all week, the stocky sprinter attributed his win largely to the efforts of his team, which controlled the race all day.

In the closing kilometer it was Columbia’s Canadian Michael Barry, fresh off his ninth place Olympic finish, selling out for his man Cavendish, following a fierce pull at the front by Dean’s teammate Magnus Backstedt.

With two more stages remaining, Cavendish dismissed suggestions that he could carry the yellow all the way to the race’s end in Cork on Sunday.

Cavendish seems to enjoy his time in yellow.

Photo: Pete Goding

“No, my form’s not good enough,” he said. “My hip is sore. Hopefully I’m okay tomorrow.”

Early aggressions
The day got off to an active start with numerous small groups darting off the front, only to be quickly retrieved. A light mist dampened followed the race on and off for most of the day, which took riders over more tight, winding roads. Race radio crackled numerous times with warnings to watch out for sheep on the road.

Before the first of four categorized climbs, two men managed to get clear: Kieran Page (Pezula) and Kurt Hovelijnck (Topsport Vlaanderen). They worked well together to build a maximum advantage of more than five minutes.

Hovelijnck pulled over to the side of the road for a nature break at about 90km into the 200km stage, and was later reabsorbed by the field. Up ahead, Page soldiered on over narrow and rough chip-sealed roads as the air turned wet, and the rolling roads gave way to steep mountainsides punctuated by waterfalls and scores of nimble-footed sheep. He kept his lead up through the rain and over the second climb of the day, but gave up the ghost at 135km.

Racing in Ireland offers its own unique character.

Photo: Pete Goding

“It was lovely weather, yeah? For a guy who’s been living in the south of France for three years it was exactly what I wanted to see,” Page joked at the finish, where he finished more than six minutes behind Cavendish.

Page’s Irish Pezula squad is folding at year’s end, and the riders are clearly motivated to make an impression. On Thursday Pezula’s Fredrik Ericsson spent more than three hours off the front alone.

“We were already in the limelight being an Irish team in the Irish national tour,” Page said. “And we’ve got to step up as we’re all looking for jobs. We’ve got to make the best of it.”

Slippery slope
Columbia patrolled the front of the field for the entirety of the wet stage.

“We tried to control it, but it’s getting harder day by day,” said Columbia’s Bernie Eisel. “It’s a hard job for us, most of all for Frantisek Rabon, Adam Hansen and Morris Possoni. We were all working, but they did most of the work.”

Hansen also went down in the big crash over the last climb with about 25km to go. He was loaded into an ambulance with a deep gash in his arm.

An Post’s Daniel Lloyd went down while off the front.

Photo: Pete Goding

Although most of the other crashed riders remounted, there were a lot of battered and bloody bodies at the finish. Among them was An Post’s Daniel Lloyd, who had been off the front with Simon Clark (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) when he went down. Lloyd crashed in the exact spot as claimed Cavendish, Hansen and the others minutes later. The duo had a three-minute gap at the point.

Riding in the red king of the mountains jersey, Team Type 1’s Matt Wilson kept it upright and delivered at the KOM points along the way.

“But half the team crashed,” Wilson said. “I got points on every climb. I should have a commanding lead by now, so I can relax a little bit and start to think about GC.”

For his part, Columbia director Brian Holm said he’s not thinking about the final overall classification.

“Here we consider the stages like one-day races; we take it day by day,” he said. “Building the tactic on trying to be second on [on GC] Sunday doesn’t sell any tickets, you know? We try to win every day. Maybe we win, maybe we don’t. But we’re not yet thinking about going to [the race finish in] Cork. That’s more for Michael Barry. But after working so hard the last three days, he’s screwed. Although, I keep asking him how he feels, expecting him to say he’s tired, but he says, no, I’m fine. He and Adam [Hansen] have been unbelievable. They’re both just a little bit stronger than everyone here.”

Hansen suffered a big gash on his right arm.

Photo: Pete Goding

With all the talk about stage 5’s finish in Cork — four circuit laps that include the 25-percent St. Patrick’s Hill — Team Type 1’s Wilson has been asking around.

“I’ve heard mixed reports. Some people say it’s hard, but it could be a group at the finish. But someone else told me it will come in in ones and twos, the climb is that steep,” Wilson said. “I’m of mixed emotions: I want it to be hard enough to break it up but not hard enough to get rid of me.”

The Tour of Ireland continues Saturday with stage 4 from Limerick to Dingle. The 186km stage includes the Cat. 1 Conor Pass, which falls 50km from the finish.