August 22, 2007 - Cork, Ireland - After weather-related travel delays kept Craig Lewis stuck in Greenville, SC Sunday and most of Monday, he was lucky to make the start of the Tour of Ireland.

The 26 hour travel marathon landed Lewis at the team hotel after 10pm the night before the race. With no chance to ride before the start of the five-day race, and barely time to catch up on sleep, Lewis made the most of Monday’s stage 1.

70km into the 174km stage from Kilkenny to Cork, a dangerous breakaway of 10 riders escaped from the peloton, representing most of the major teams in the race. Lewis picked the right group to join, as this group worked well together and built a lead of 13 minutes.

Lewis ended up finishing 8th on the stage, 15 seconds out of the race lead.