Tour of Ireland underway for Team Garmin

Yesterday saw the opening stage of the Tour of Ireland for Team Garmin. The Emerald Isle offered some interesting terrain shall we say, with bumpy narrow tracks on the road from Dublin to Waterford.

With a bout of sickness in the camp effecting Irish National Champ Dan Martin and Chris Sutton, the omens weren’t good ahead of this tricky stage en route to the crystal county. But the determination of Dan to show his metal back in his homeland was there for all to see as he got through with no time lost.

The only guy capable of topping Team Garmin’s speed machine Julian Dean in the bunch sprint was the fastest man in ’08 Mark Cavendish. Back from his disappointments in Beijing, Cavendish raced to the front after being led out by Team Columbia and only Dean was close enough as he crossed the finishing line.

Stage 2 heads out from Thurles to Loughrea today, so keep an eye on the blog for the latest news. Alternatively check out ITV4 for daily highlights of each stage.