Bjornar Vestol of the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team came heart-breakingly close to a glorious result in Malaysia this afternoon. He saw the possibility of both the leader's yellow jersey and a great stage victory slip away from him just one kilometre from the finish in Sitiawan at the end of today's 3rd stage in the Tour

Ciaran Power

of Langawi. But there was some recompense in the form of yet another top-10 finish, as Irishman Ciaran Power delivered his first result for his new team.

The sizeable frame of the big Norwegian was seen shooting out of the bunch with 50kms of the short stage still to ride. He joined forces with Jan Koerts of Farm Frites, and along with a rider from Mroz and a Malaysian, they built a lead of over two minutes. With 25kms left, Vestol's work up the road was causing major panic in the main field. Only 45 seconds adrift in the morning, the field realised that not only could Bjornar take the stage victory, but the coveted leader's jersey too. No less than nine other teams shared the work at the front of the bunch, as they charged along at 60kmh in pursuit of the four fugitives.

But they refused to give up without a fight. With just 5kms to go, they were still working desperately together, the yellow jersey by now unlikely in the face of the approaching bunch, but a stage win still tantalisingly close. Then, just before they flew under the red "1km to go" banner, they heard the roar of the bunch envelop them, and it was all over.

Tour de France stage winner Damien Nazon of the new French outfit Bonjour demonstrated his exceptional sprinting abilities to take the stage in front of the experienced Canadian Gordon Fraser.

"So close. One thousand metres: can you believe it?" asked Bjornar when he arrived at the team's hotel, still waiting for the reality to sink in. But, as always, there was still a huge smile across the big man's face, and plenty of slaps on the back for one of the peloton's most popular riders. As well as the friendly words, there was an arm round the shoulders from manager Keith Lambert. "It was a great effort by the lad. He showed what sort of form he's got at the moment, and I'm sure we'll see a lot more of him in the next week or so."

Bjornar managed to hang on to the coat tails of the bunch, crossing the line in 124th spot, but losing none of his good overall placing. Ciaran Power (left) was some 114 places above him over the line, continuing the excellent impression that the young man from Waterford is making in his first race for the team.