Britain’s Natalie Grinczer (Fusion RT) has taken victory in the fourth stage time trial in Barefield this morning.
Grinczer raced through the 8km out and back course six seconds faster than Frenchwoman Coralie Demay (Team Breizh Ladies) with Germany’s Stephanie Pohl (South Netherlands-Energy HR) a further second in arrears.
Overall race leader Emma Norsgaard Jorgensen (Team Rytger) finished 12th in the stage, 25 seconds behind Grinczer and 19 seconds behind Pohl who now takes over the An Post pink jersey for the stage five circuit race on Saturday evening.
Top Irish rider on the day was Ulster’s Eileen Burns who was off 54th of the 97 riders and whose 12m28s time stood until Grinczer, seventh on GC going into the stage, completed her effort.
Irish road race champion Lydia Boylan (WNT) was just 0.27s behind Burns in fifth with Nikki Juniper (Giordana Triton) and Eileen Roe just two tenths of a second apart in the battle for sixth.
In the overall standings Stephanie Pohl now leads Eileen Roe by seven seconds with Norsgaard Jorgensen now third, 13 seconds in arrears and four seconds ahead of new fourth placed rider Grinczer.
Norsgaard Jorgensen retains her lead in the Womenscycling.ie Young Rider classification by that four second margin to Grinczer.
Lydia Boylan is now sixth overall from Nikki Juniper ahead of Angela Hibbs and Eve McCrystal, the latter named the best placed locally based rider for the Clare County Council green jersey classification.
Grace Garner (RST) remains in control of the NDC Points classification with Mirthe Wagenaar virtually assured of the Wicklow 200 Queen of the Mountains Classification.
Saturday evening’s penultimate stage is the 40km, ten-lap circuit race at Ballyalla, a predominantly flat and fast circuit race set to offer more opportunities for the sprinters.
