Argentinean Maximiliano Richeze of Team CSF Group Navigare used the Tour of Ireland stage 2 – won by Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish – to signal his strong comeback following an exclusion from the Giro d'Italia in May. The 25 year-old sprinter was stopped from racing the Italian Grand Tour due to a positive steroid control taken in April's Circuit de Sarthe.
"I am happy to be racing again. It is beautiful for me to be here, and so any sort of placing will make me happy," said Richeze, who finished third in stage two. His last race was the Giro di Toscana in May – finishing fourth – nearly four months since his first race back, in the Coppa Bernocchi. His last wins were in April's Presidential Tour of Turkey – stage six to Antalya and seven to Alanya.
