Ahern came into the stage finish today with the main chasing group, who caught the last breakaway rider in the closing kilometres. Getting up for the sprint, Ahern finished in 15th position, which was enough to get him into the day's prizes.
The stage today was incredibly fast and marred by a series of big crashes, forcing Ahern at one point to bunny hop a fallen rider at 65kph.
After finishing with the main bunch on Stage One and losing a small amount of time on Stage Two after losing contact on the final KOH, Ahern is now 53rd overall and only 3 minutes 26 seconds down on the race leader, Switzerland's Permin Lang.
Also enjoying a very good Rás is Orwell's Odhran Connors, who has ridden very strongly throughout and now sits in 8th position in the A2 category.
Orwell's Rás novices - Pat O'Brien, Dan Whiting and Aidan Collins are all fairing very well with the step up to racing against the professionals. O'Brien is 17th in the A2 classification, followed by Whiting in 21st.
Aidan Collins slipped down that classification today to 28th after being unlucky to lose contact in the fast and furious initial part of the stage, when the bunch at some points was travelling at speeds over 70kph. A gutsy ride, which saw him battle bravely first to get back on and then to limit his losses saw him finish well within the time limit,which is a great achievement given the speed of the stage.
O'Brien, Whiting and Collins are all in their first full season as A2 riders and their performance at the Rás is a testament to the big commitment they have made in training and racing themselves up this level.
Dave McLoughlin was the club's unluckiest man at this year's Rás. Racing as a guest for LK Bikes Donegal, McLoughlin was involved in a crash on Stage Two, which unfortunately ended his race as he was brought to hospital as a precautionary measure. He was released after one night under observation and is already recovering well from the crash.
