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Summary
Seven-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong pulled out of the third and final stage of the Tour of Ireland with back problems, while Briton Russell Downing won the three-day race. Downing celebrated his 31st birthday with victory after taking a five-second lead into the final day and finishing second to Norway's Lars Petter Nordhaug, who won the 168-km rain-soaked final stage from Bantry to Cork. Captain of team Saxo Bank Stuart O'Grady attacked tour leader Downing going into the first climb of the day. He also made his presence known to Jay Thomson of MTN Cycling in the town of Cork, where Thomson came off his bike after struggling with the pressurised conditions. O'Grady powered on as a front group formed. In this group was the yellow jersey of Downing. At the back of the group was last year's winner Marco Pinotti of team Columbia, who finished fifth overall - 49 seconds behind Downing. Armstrong pulled out of the race inside the last 50 kilometres ahead of the first climb of St Patrick's Hill in Cork, considered to be the hardest challenge of the tour with 25 percent gradient ascents. The Tour de France champion felt it wasn't his day after suffering with back pain.
