Cycling: Karwowski fourth at Ireland

Cameron Karwowski. Photo / Greg Bowker.

New Zealand cyclist Cameron Karwowski was pipped for a place on the podium in a frantic final sprint on stage three of the Tour of Ireland.

Karwowski, supported by his BikeNZ-Pure Black Racing under-23 teammates in the lumpy 144km stage to Westport, positioned himself well for the sprint but had to settle for fourth.

It was a day of drama with a number of bad crashes, including one which ended the tour for teenage Auckland rider Dion Smith who broke his arm and wrist. He will spend the night in Gallway Hospital before surgery.

Reigning champion Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Sean Kelly Team) finished first just ahead of opening stage winner Marcin Bialoblocki (Britain Girodana) who recovered from a crash and rode back to the peloton over the final 40kms.

The An Post Sean Kelly riders attacked aggressively with 7km to go but Karwowski positioned himself well for the final sprint.

"It was a fantastic performance from Cameron and another outstanding effort from the team to support him on what was a demanding day," coach Dan Healey said. "The climbs were difficult and there were so many bad crashes. It is a real shame for Dion who was really enjoying a strong tour."

Karwowski moved to second overall for under-23 riders and 12th overall, 28 seconds behind leader Pirman Lang (Switzerland) who finished in the peloton to retain the yellow jersey despite trailling the leaders by more than two minutes at one point.

Of the other BikeNZ-PBR riders, Scott Creighton was 35th finishing in the second bunch, seven seconds behind the leading group after a strong supporting role. Piet Bulling and Taylor Gunman were in the pack 3 minutes 17 seconds down with the team reduced to four riders.

Olympic-bound cyclist Sam Bewley has joined fellow Kiwi Julian Dean in the Orica-GreenEDGE outfit upon the departure of Australian Robbie McEwen. Bewley, 24, will represent New Zealand in the team pursuit at London before switching his focus 100 per cent to a road career. APNZ