There was another Irish win in the FBD Milk Ras yesterday with Paul Griffin of the Carlow-Morrissey's team first at the end the sixth stage of 95 miles from Castletownbere to Mallow.

Three miles from the finish, Dave Williams (UK Bentec), Griffin and Mick O'Donnell (Wicklow) went ahead of the leading group of 15, and inside the last mile they were joined by Jeff Wright, a team-mate of Williams.

As they started the final sprint, O'Donnell could not hold his place and although Griffin had to contend with the English pair, who had won the second and third stages, he held them off in the battle up Bridge Street to the line.

Griffin (25) is from Tralee and last year he raced with the ACBB team in Paris. This is his fifth time in the Ras but his first stage win. He took fifth place on Wednesday's stage, despite finding the going difficult in the breakaway group. He said after the finish yesterday that there were no ill-effects from Wednesday: "I felt strong and was willing to go with another early break. I tried a few times to get away and eventually got into the break that mattered. It was all a bit frantic towards the end but it worked out very well."

When the leaders went to over three minutes up, Williams was again in a position to threaten the overall race situation - he was lying seventh at 3:46 - but the gap was down to 2:08 at the finish and it only meant that Williams moved up one place but he is now just 1:38 behind Sigvard Kukk of Estonia.

With no other changes to the top placings, Kukk is still 12 seconds ahead of Tommy Evans, with his Ireland team-mate Ciaran Power third at 57 seconds.

Stephane Rifflet (France) follows at 1:17 with Wayne Randle (Manchester) at 1:17 and then Williams with Griffin up to seventh at 1:41.

Heiko Szonn of Germany, who was lying sixth, and South African Morne Bester were involved in accident with an oncoming car and both are out of the race. Bester suffered a broken leg and the German received cuts and abrasions which required hospital attention.

Irish champion Morgan Fox, leader of the Belgian team, was forced to abandon as a result of injuries he received in a crash on Saturday. as attempt off near Glengarriff. Kosie Loubser (South Africa) the leader for three days until he was replaced by Kukk in Castletownbere, also withdrew yesterday. He had been getting attention for an ingrowing toenail but could not continue beyond the 30 miles mark.

Loubser was involved in the first move of the stage when he went ahead with David O'Loughlin (Mayo) soon after the start. O'Loughlin led Loubser at the first third category hill at Traflask, 11 miles, but when that move failed a more decisive event occured when small groups linked up at the front.

There was a strong Irish representation in Griffin and teammates Mark Kiernan and Ruairi Mitchell as well as O'Donnell, Paddy Moriarty (Kerry), Philip Cassidy (Meath) and Alan Buckley (Limerick). Also included in the group were Wright, Mario Bolz (Germany), Jerome Onesime (France), Mark Lovatt (UK Bentec), Gary Dodd (Surrey) and Richard Hobby (Lincoln).

At 53 miles, the leaders were two minutes ahead and although Power tried to get a chase organised, he dropped away and then Williams left the pack with Uwe Hardter (Germany) and went in pursuit of the leaders. There was still no reaction by the Estonian or Ireland teams and Williams and Hardter joined the other 13 at 65 miles.

The lead hovered at around three minutes between 70 and 80 miles but was gradually eroded. However, up at the front there was some furious activity inside the last 10 miles. First O'Donnell split the group with an attack and was joined by Hobby, Cassidy, Williams, Hardter, Griffin, Moriarty, Wright and Lovatt.

Then with three miles left, O'Donnell was at the front with Griffin and Williams while Wright clawed his way back. But in the final sprint, it was Griffin who had the edge over the two Englishmen for a great win.

Today, there is a 96-mile stage to New Ross and although no big moves are expected before tomorrow's trek through the mountains to Ballymore Eustace, Power has an added incentive to be to the fore near the end as the race passes the house of his 94-year-old grandfather, Tom Power, who will be out to cheer him on.