2012 Tour of Connacht

Wow – I have had more races than I can remember over the last few weeks and it has been great. After a couple of weeks of a 'break' from racing (well, I did the National XC Champs and a TT the day before, but that was very different mentally from on the road), I got right back at it with the Tour of Connacht.

The Tour of Connacht ran for many years – it was however retired for a while but in 2012, it was back on the cards. Going there, I was using it as training to get the legs going again for the following big block of racing.

Stage 1 – 95km flat

Unfortunately a small peloton started the race (50 riders maybe), but as always, attacks aplenty. Three riders got away and shortly afterwards a small chase of seven formed, I was in the chase. We worked well together but as the kilometers ticked by, we slowly lost the numbers. In the end, I rode the last 30k on the front pulling back the break to under a minute. I came in fourth while Charles Pendergast won the stage.

Stage 2 – 9km TT

Warmup, almost miss my start, pedal pedal pedal, done and I won. Unfortunately Charles, who was in yellow going into the TT and 55 seconds up on me had mechanical issues which meant I was now in yellow. I didn't really want the yellow jersey yet as without teammates and such a small peloton it would be hard to control. The evening stage also had an uphill finish which would have been perfect for me.

Stage 3 – 85km – uphill finish

Lots of attacking, some GC guys got away, rode on the front for 70ish km. Ended 4^th on GC and Charles had a great ride to claim back the overall despite the mechanical gremlins in the TT.

Horrible weather (it's Ireland, that happens) but a good weekend of training – this event should grow further next year.

2012 Mullingar 2 Day

I had a great experience last year at the Mullingar 2 day, this year I was back to defend my title with my now National Road Race Champion wife tagged along for company (and to try and win the women's race – she did!).

The course looked great – two relatively long road stages and one timetrial (short and sweet). My first thank you to the race organization – thank you for giving us stages of a decent length. 142km and 114km for the two road stages – it is annoying seeing races advertised as 140k and then finding them much much shorter on the day. You need long races to progress, to get stronger, to be able to compete against the Pros when the Ras is on... Watch out for the guys who rode this tough race in two weeks – they'll be flying!

Stage 1 – 142km – lumpy

Aggressive peloton from the start – it took a long time for the main break of the day to escape, six guys forged ahead without me (how could they! :P), but I quickly followed in a group of five creating a lead of eleven about 60 kilometers into the race. For those interested – my normalized power for the first 1.5 hours was 345W.

Once the group of eleven came together, for the next 50 kilometers the pace dropped dramatically. Everyone worked (so there was no attacking/shedding of 'deadwood') and we made good progress distancing the peloton – the overall and stage would be between the eleven of us. With 35 kilometers remaining, the fireworks resumed – after a lot of attacks and counter attacks, I found myself off the front with DID Teammates Fiachra O Muire and Timmy O'Regan – two guys on form lately with Fiachra having had a great ride the week before in the National RR Champs – they would be very tough opposition. We combined well until we hit five kilometers to go – the teammates attacked me one after the other hoping for me to crack, but honestly, as the kilometers ticked by I felt better and better – I was enjoying this. Knowing that there was a strong group of eight riders still chasing us I didn't want to stall too much and somehow we did keep moving to the finish. More attacks but with about 300 meters to go, I launched my own sprint and just held off Fiachra with Timmy coming in a few seconds behind. Both Timmy and Fiachra are strong sprinters in that situation and I was very happy to hold the teammates off.

Edging out Fiachra on Stage 1

Stage 2 – 3.3km TT – hill/drag

Despite having a horrific TT Nationals (every year or two I have a very very bad day – TT Nationals was one of those days – my wattage for the TT was MUCH less than normal training on the TT bike... I still finished fifth in Elite Men but it unfortunately is a day I'll try to forget) I really enjoy TTs. Thanks to my coach, I have a warmup that is perfect for me and this one went to plan. I arrived down at the start on my Shiv for the mostly uphill challenge, warmed up and ready to go. I pretty much nailed it – 4:34 later I was finished and won by 22 seconds. Like the day before I had great legs.

Stage 3 – 114km – lumpy

Yellow jersey on my back, peloton wanting to follow it, no teammates and a strong team with two guys close to me on GC against me - I knew this was going to be a tough one! Instantly, the attacks and counters went against me – I had gone into it prepared to throw it away – I couldn't ride 114km chasing everything. A dangerous move with Timmy (who was 33 seconds back from me) got away. Another group got away too and with 45 kilometers traveled the peloton with me in it found itself 3:30 back. Don't panic. There are other individuals in the race, other teams and soon a small group of us started to ride on the front – guys would come and go from it, but things kept going. We kept things steady – and we started to eat into their advantage. I guess the guys knew that if we could get things close I would do the rest and they would still be in the running for a stage. As the kilometers ticked by, minutes were been chopped off the groups lead and with 45 kilometers to go, we caught onto what we thought was the lead group. As we joined up with the 10 riders, I had a look around to find the danger men were not there, another four up the road I was told. With the race mostly together at this point, there was much less help given my way (I remember all the guys who were riding with me – don't worry about that!) so it was a yellow jersey followed by a peloton for much of the rest of the race. A long solo timetrial at the end of a tough race – I actually really enjoyed it. There were a few strong riders up the road, but I could optimize my pacing – and I wasn't going to start playing games... This would be interesting. As we got closer to the finish, the lead groups advantage edged away – with 5 kilometers to go it was 1:08. Timmy had 33 seconds on me but he had been riding a long time and the last few kilometers was on a drag – I dug in and rode as hard as I could to the line pulling back all but seven seconds – I had done enough to retain the yellow jersey (and still get eleventh on the stage!).

It was a hard stage – but I was happy that I had the strength and determination to finish it off. So many times in cycling it is easy to give up, throw the race in – be content with riding along in the peloton. But one of the big lessons I have learned is never give up – I have won races this year were at the midway point I was minutes behind a front group – anything can happen – and if you have a few strong riders coming together and being determined, almost any deficit can be pulled back.

Husband and wife claiming the wins - Photo Joe Duffy

Thanks again to Lakeside Wheelers for putting on an amazing weekend of stage racing – four concurrent races on great courses with challenging distances. If we had more regular stage races like this (long tough stages) before the AnPost Ras, county riders would be so much better prepared to show the UCI Pro riders who is boss. Thanks.

Marshaling, food, prizes, everything – top notch.

Irish Cycling report, Irish Examiner report, Sticky Bottle report.

2012 AnPost Ras Stage 8

The final video blog from the eight days of racing.

Many thanks to the Iverk Produce/Carrick Wheelers team and management for taking me on over the week. A great bunch of guys on and off the bike and I had a fabulous time - THANKS!

Also, thank you to all involved in putting together and running the race - I would guess that for the complete peloton this will be a highlight of the year. Thanks to all the spectators and supporters on the route for making us feel like stars and finally to all the riders for making the race.

2012 AnPost Ras Stage 7

A day in the sunshine with some not so nice crashes at the end.

2012 AnPost Ras Stage 6

Hot hot hot!!! Came close to a great result, but fell 150m short. Don't think there were many riders anywhere in the peloton that were feeling good by the end - a hard hard day.

2012 AnPost Race Stage 5

Mountains, yeah - well, small ones (longest climb was 7:36 - what I would give for some 20 minute+ climbs), but mountains all the same!

Thanks a million to the whole team for keeping me fed and watered during the day.

2012 Tour of Ulster

This was the third year I have ridden the Tour of Ulster – each year I go into it with no expectations, no goals other then get great pre Ras training in a super well organized and safe race. Usually there are three long tough stages with a short time trial on the second day – this year was similar although the second stage was shorter than usual.

With family in the area, it is also an opportunity to spend time with them – racing all over the world, almost every weekend of the year for the last few years, the amount of family get-togethers I have had to miss is huge – this is always a chance to rectify that a little.

Stage 1 – 142km rolling roads

The race started pretty fast (actually, I attacked at the drop of the flag – sometimes that works) but was still together after the first 20 kilometers. We had been riding fast for a while though and coming up to a town where the race split last year, I knew it was a good time to make things happen. Coming up through the town's main street drag, I rode full out, 40 seconds at about 700W splitting 25 riders off the front of the peloton – as my legs started to clog up, some Node 4 guys (UK UCI team) came through and kept it going. We all rode well together to establish the break and that was it for the day.

The rolling roads and pace made our break's numbers drop from around 25 to eleven with eight kilometers to go. Three teams with three riders and then myself, Greg Swinard and Anthony Walsh. It was going to be tough for us individuals – attack, attack, attack – all of us tried – eventually a rider from each of the teams got clear and the others looked at the 3 individuals to chase. We did, but only got within seven seconds of the leaders, who fought it out for the stage victory. I finished 7^th @ 10 seconds. 

Stage 2 – 110km flat

With Eurocycle's Adam Armstrong in yellow, his team rode to control the race. There were obviously attacks but the team rode well and with 15km to go it was still together. Then a dangerous move with three (of the ten) guys high on GC in it got away. Adam rode his legs off chasing and in the last ten kilometers, I was up there too. The gap was kept to a minute – not great, but not an end to the GC.

Stage 3 – 3.3km Time Trial

Unfortunately my new Time Trial bike hadn't arrived in time so it was the road bike with clip-ons for this one (It is a Venge though – so pretty fast anyway). Basically, straight down a main road into a headwind, a fast corner onto a parallel sheltered road back up to the start. It was a cool little course for such a short TT. My warmup was good and my race reasonably well paced – I finished 6^th @ 6 seconds. First guy on a road bike – I'm thinking the Shiv (my new TT bike) would have been worth 6-10 seconds – next time.

Stage 4 – 124km rolling circuit

4 celcius, pouring rain, grim – but from when I woke up in the morning I felt great. I mentioned in the Ras Mumhan report that I like racing in terrible conditions – as long as I have the right clothing (I'm not so happy about training in it though).

Enjoying the crap weather - Photo from Cycling Ulster

With the yellow jersey, Matt Higgins of the UK team Node 4 Giordana, having only 3 riders left on his team (Philip Lavery had to pull out midway through the first stage due to sickness) – it was always going to be a struggle for their team. Other GC hopefuls started the attacks from the gun but Node 4 looked to have things under control. 20 kilometers in, on a twisty stretch of road a big group rolled off the front – crap – I was midway in the peloton. Do or die, I had to be there – I made a big effort and bridged solo across. Soon afterwards, Conor Murphy and Greg Swindard attacked out of the break - 2^nd and 3^rd on GC. I attacked and dangled solo off the back of them. Soon I was joined by Conor Mc Allister and Javan Nulty. We were sitting around 20-40 seconds off the lead duo but continued riding tempo. Eventually, four others joined up with us including Adam Armstrong, the yellow jersey and John O'Shea. Matt Higgins had no teammates with him – didn't look good for him. The group of 8 rode tempo with Matt doing most of the work – I had teammate John O'Shea for company, which was great. With 30 kilometers to go, Conor and Greg, who were off from the guts of 80 kilometers, were brought back – within a few seconds of that, I attacked and instantly got a gap – quickly I was joined by Adam Armstrong. He was sitting 15 seconds further up in GC than me and riding strong all weekend. We rode hard and within seven kilometers had a minute gap on the yellow jersey group. When I was in Adams draft, I say he was either in the 11 or 12 cog - trucking! We continued to ride and the gap quickly grew. Adam rode all of the climbs full gas (only very short climbs 30-45 seconds on the course) to show me that he wasn't going to be dropped.

Winning the stage - 2nd overall

As we raced into the center of Dungannon, I claimed the sprint and second overall with Adam winning GC. We pulled out 5:30 on the yellow jersey group – crazy. Teammate, John O'Shea claimed 4th and 1st A2 rider overall.

5 wins, 2^nd, 6^th and a 7^th in 9 days – form is coming along well.

I would just like to thank the race committee, moto riders, marshals, commissaires, spectators, sponsors etc... Thanks for putting together and being part of such a great event. To the racers for making the race. As always, to my and my team's road related sponsors – Cycleways and Zipvit (and Lightweight too) – best equipment, best nutrition – thanks. Finally, a huge thanks to Stewart Carr for working with the Iverk Produce team over the weekend – you were a godsend – everything ran smoothly when you were involved – thanks!

Report available on Sticky Bottle and Cycling Ulster.

2012 Connemara Bogweek 2 Day

I was looking through the racing calendar and the Bog Week 2 day popped out at me. There were two (more) local tough races (both under 100km though) available but three stages over two days, including a time trial in an area of Ireland that I did not know had me sold. All my focus is on the AnPost Ras in a few weeks so I wanted hard racing – the closer races would have had a more competitive field but going to a stage race, as a marked man and with no teammates – I knew the racing would be very tough for me in Connemara – it didn't disappoint.

Stage 1 – 80km rolling

The first stage started at 2pm so shortly after 8am I left Dublin for the 3.5 hour drive over to Tullycross, Galway. As I got closer to the venue, driving became more difficult – not due to the quality of the roads or traffic but due to the stunning nature around me - I had to stop to admire. As I mentioned, I had not been here before so everything was new to me. Ireland really does have a LOT to offer.

The unusual thing about the Bog Week 2 day stage race is that is ran as a handicapped race. Basically, the A1, A2 and A3 riders race together but the A3 riders get a large handicap to give them a fighting chance. So at 2pm, the A3 riders set off while the A1/A2 folks waited for 3.5 minutes.

Our course for the day was 2.5 laps of a rolling circuit, with a total distance of 80km. There were no real climbs but lots of wind and some heavy bumpy roads (and even some bulls on the road that we very carefully had to navigate around). Our group combined well for the first lap, but the second lap was attack after attack – at times I wasn't so sure we would actually catch the A3 group at all. With about 9km left to race, I finally escaped the A1/A2 group and rode solo across to a freshly splintered A3 group. When I caught them I rode straight through them and continued to the line to claim my first win of the weekend. I was glad to see a few of the A3 riders stayed ahead of the combined A1/A2 field.

Stage 2 – 5km TT – rolling/bumpy/windy

Again, the location for the TT was stunning, a rolling course, bumpy roads and a huge headwind made it tough going for everyone but I have had a good focus on my TT skills these last few months and I was able to claim the win by 30 seconds. It had been a long long time since I last raced my TT bike – I missed it, I really do like time trials...

Stage 3 – 85km rollling

As I mentioned earlier, the A3 riders get a handicap over the A1/A2 group. What makes it peculiar is I'm now in the leaders yellow jersey, but I started 3.5 minutes behind the person who is sitting 3rd on GC, just 1 minute behind me. He is now the virtual yellow by 2.5 minutes and I have not even pushed my pedals! I have no teammates so I had a few choices... Before I started the stage, I was prepared to throw it away if no one would ride, I would not pull a peloton around for 85 windy kilometers... Over the first 10km our work rate was patchy, so the A3 group actually extended their lead to 4 minutes. So I decided to go into attack mode – basically, the last 70km I was mostly off the front, either by myself or with one or two others. With 25km to go, a move stuck - Padraig Marrey and I made it across to the A3 group. They rode with us for a few kilometers but on the final KOM, they dropped off the pace and we rode a two man TT to the finish. I had a little more left in the legs at the end and claimed my third win of the weekend.

Winning the final stage in the yellow jersey - photo Michelle McCarron

The weekend of racing was fun. The race was through some of Ireland's most beautiful landscapes, the organization was spot on and the people in the area (restaurants/accommodation  etc...) were incredibly friendly. This is a relatively new race and I would really like to see it grow over the next few years.

2012 Ras Mumhan Part 3

The week after Ras Mumhan I stayed at my parents house which was half way to a race I was racing in Northern Ireland. I usually sleep very well in my family home – no noise, no ambient street lights, anyway...

4am, I wake up in a sweat – I have just had a nightmare, I'm traumatized. Usually, when you have a nightmare and wake up you slowly you realize what is happening, it was all just a dream and you calm down... My nightmare was that I lost the Ras Mumhan yellow jersey on the final day of the race – but there was no waking up from this nightmare...

Stage 4 – 110km 3 large loops, 10 small laps

On the night before the final stage, rain woke me, and as we settled down for breakfast it hadn't eased. I actually like racing in the rain, I like racing in poor conditions in general. After many years spent in muddy forests with horizontal rain in your face, racing on the road like that almost seems nice. If I can avoid training in the rain, I will, but racing – no bother.

With pretty extreme conditions outside I checked with the commissars what the rules were in relation to rain capes/over coats. I was told, as a jersey wearer, that I had to wear the jersey on top – okay, rain cape under jersey – with the look of the weather out there, I wasn't going to overheat!

Until this point in the race, I have not needed to call on the help of my teammates – today would change that. Almost from the start, my team rode on the front keeping the pace high and discouraging attacks against me, the yellow jersey wearer. There were still a couple of dangerous moves but with the pressure the guys laid on, (and one or two things I chased down) all was under control with 70km raced. Indeed, my teammates (mostly Cat 2 level riders) rode so hard they had the peloton lined out and even strong Irish "cycling royalty" falling off the back into the calvacade. If there was ever any doubt in my mind about the “power of the yellow jersey”, these guys dispelled it – each guy rode like three guys!

We reached the small circuit as a peloton. From there on, other than John O'Shea (who rode like a motorbike), my team was gassed from keeping the pressure on the peloton all day. The rest would now be up to the two of us. Obviously, there were attacks from the other GC riders, I saw them, closed them down and was even away in a few moves that I hoped would stick. Eventually, a small move got away, two dutch guys and an Irish guy. No jerseys, none of the guys close to me, or so I thought. The number of every rider up to three minutes down on me was on my bikes toptube.

It would work well for me to have a small move just a little up the road, hoping it would keep the bunch more controlled. I wanted to keep the break close enough so that with a few laps to go, the other sprinter teams could take over, keep the speed high, reel it in and get their stage win. But even if the break stayed away it would have been OK (so I thought), because 2^nd on GC was only 2 seconds behind me and with time bonuses given to the first 3 riders over the line, that would be still surmountable if it came down to a bunch sprint.

Photo - Pat Doherty

I kept a good tempo on the front with a few other riders but with a couple of laps remaining, I found out that the white jersey (who conveniently was wearing his normal team kit covering his race numbers) was part of the three person break. F**K. They had 1:08 – Dennis only needed 39 seconds with a win bonus of five seconds. I looked for some allies to help me bring them back, but I guess three hard days racing and cold rain had sapped most riders will to race/win. Even the teams I expected to ride for a sprint gave up. I was left to ride it back myself with a one hundred strong peloton watching. (There were a few riders who came through and helped – I'll remember that!).

Photo - Pat Doherty

Final lap, the gap had come down but it was going to be very tight. I was riding as hard as I could in full TT mode, coming down to the penultimate corner I just drew off the front and a few other riders came through. This corner was tricky, actually a little dangerous with standing water. All weekend, I have been very confident with my bike setup and was coming into the corner at full speed – unfortunately, my full speed was faster than the guys in front, they braked a lot, I tried to, but the carbon brake pads didn't work as quickly as I hoped. It was them or me, I tried to make a maneuver around the outside using a wall as a berm but it didn't work – I hit the wall, heard buzzing, saw stars, but was back on my bike sprinting back up through the peloton before it even passed. My stomach was sick.

I crossed the line – looked down, blood covered the top tube of my bike. I knew it would be tight – did I keep the jersey? I walked over to the start line, the commissaires worked through the results but eventually turned to me – they didn't have to say anything, I was dejected. 2nd.

Dejected

Ras Mumhan was my first goal of the season – I wanted the GC win – didn't care about stages, didn't care about mountain jerseys, I had one single goal and I almost made it. I had ridden an almost perfect race. There are some many ifs and buts with the finish and it has taken me a week to get over it. If I had known who was in the break earlier (we were given excellent time splits throughout, but not one breakdown of who was there), if the guy hadn't covered his numbers/jersey (is that even allowed?), if if if... It is over, done, and I move on. It was my first goal of the year but I have many – bigger goals – and I have a hell of a lot of motivation for training/racing when I think I'm already at my limit.

Just a few thank yous, thanks to my team for the weekend – Iverk Produce/Carrick Wheelers – you guys rode your legs off for me and you were a great bunch to spend time with – thanks and I'm sorry I didn't finish it off. To the riders for making a great race (especially the riders that committed in breaks etc... with me over the weekend). To the race committee, moto riders, marshals, commissaires, spectators, sponsors etc... like every year, we enjoyed the experience and I hope you guys got to see some thrilling racing. Finally to my/my teams sponsors that helped me over the weekend – Cycleways and Zipvit – best bikes, best nutrition – thanks.

As I said, I was dejected from it all – it is one thing when you don't win due to tactics/strength etc... but I did feel pretty unlucky for various reasons.

Anyway, as I said, I have other goals, onwards and upwards.

Link to Sticky Bottle article here, Irish Cycling here, results here and some great photos here.

2012 Ras Mumhan Part 2

When it takes me a week to write a simple blog post about a race – you know it was tough. In this case, not physically tough, just mentally. Before I get to that, I'll talk about the 3^rd stage. Then I'll get around to the final stage...

Stage 3 – Waterville – 142km rolling

I always knew that the Waterville stage would be tough – rolling, heavy, windswept roads – every year the peloton breaks into small groups by the end. The first and second stages were unusual for this race in that they were basically bunch sprints – well, the first day was a standard bunch sprint while the Connor Pass stage had an almost full peloton hit the base of the final climb. With constant cross winds and roads that continually rise and fall, the tired legs from hanging on from two days of tough racing would give up and gaps would appear – going into the race, I looked forward to this stage the most.

With Mark Dowling in control of GC (and him having 2.5 teams present to help defend that!) - it was always going to be tough. I had thought about attacking early to put his team under pressure and as we summited the first climb, the time seemed right – I attacked on the descent and quickly got a good gap. Irish Paralympic rider, Damien Shaw, had already attacked on the climb and we quickly started working towards catching an early strong break (if we caught them, I think we would have had the firepower there to have stayed away all day - the GC would have been very different). We didn't get there, but we were told the peloton was splitting and that we had a chase group just behind us. When the small chase caught us, we were about 12 riders – unfortunately, only a few were committed and after 30km away, the peloton reeled us in – job done for now.

Everyone knew the race would split when we hit Valentia Island – strong crosswinds and a steep narrow climb on a country lane would break things apart.

As we got to the island, teammate John O'Shea protected me from the wind and lined me up for the climb. I hit the climb first and rode hard – I didn't think I was going full out, but looking at Strava, I still covered the 4 minute climb 30 seconds faster than the previous two years (when I was going full out!) - as we crested, the pressure continued as I and a few other riders felt the race was being made. As I looked around once things settled – there was no yellow jersey – happy days, now I'm committed.

The group was still pretty big – about 20 riders, some where dropping wheels so I and a few other committed riders (the foreign guys) forged ahead attacking out of the group. Those strong enough, eventually caught back on and a strong group of 10-12 was formed. Over the final 50km, I did the lion's share of riding, but I was second on GC – it was to be expected and I felt great. With 20km remaining, we mopped up the final break remnants, Adam Armstrong who had been out almost all day in the break was the last. Almost immediately, Conor Murphy, Adam's teammate, attacked – I was riding tempo on the front – I was happy to see him go. He has a really aggressive, never say die, riding style, is a fellow “Monaghan man” (we went to the same school), and more importantly, he was a great carrot for the other riders in the group wanting to win the stage.

Sprinting for 2nd - Photo Pat Doherty

Our group remained riding steady, 4-5 guys riding, but hearing the yellow jersey was 2:30 back with 10km to go – things looked pretty good. Colin Parry, 3^rd on GC was with me and hadn't touched the wind in the last 20km. He was only 4 seconds back on me so I waited for his attack. With 6km to go, Dennis Bakker (hadn't rode in the last 50km!) attacked hard with Colin on his wheel, I just about got on taking another two break riders with us, Damien Shaw and Andy Betts. Dennis kept the speed high. As we arrived into Waterville, Conor Murphy just stayed clear for the stage, Colin took me in the sprint and I finished 3^rd. With Mark finishing a few minutes later I was now the yellow jersey by two seconds over Colin and Dennis in 3^rd.

Happy in yellow - Photo Pat Doherty

So far, everything to plan.

Sticky bottle piece is here and the Irish Cycling piece here. Full results here.

2012 Ras Mumhan Part 1

Ras Mumhan - probably the toughest stage race Ireland has to offer outside of the AnPost Ras. Small, rough, hilly roads in Ireland's most picturesque county - I love it.

Two years ago, Ras Mumhan was my first proper experience of stage racing as a road cyclist. I was there to use it as training for mountain bike racing but that experience and my subsequent ride in the UCI 2.2 Ras helped push me towards making a transition from the mountain bike to the road bike. Like when I race mountain bike marathons (typically very hard 4-6 hr mtb races) - I have a passion for stage racing, the longer and harder the better.

This year, Ras Mumhan was the first race where I wanted to be fast. Each race I go to, I'll do my best at, but this was the first of the year that I put priority onto. I had a goal - win it - I wasn't there for a stage, a mountains jersey, I wanted to win the overall. This year in Irish racing I'm the "lone wolf" (or so I was called) for Cycleways CC - I have no teammates - an interesting situation but one which makes consistent racing very hard. My goal was to win the GC, so for the weekend, I became part of the Carrick Wheelers Club - at least now I would have a few teammates!

My preparation throughout the winter and early season has been almost perfect - my health issues from last year are resolved. In general I feel great and last years huge number of races (about 90-100 race days) - despite feeling crap most of the time, has left me with a huge deal of racing experience which I can now benefit from.

Stage 1 - 105km - flat with a few hills on small roads

Of all the stages in the race, this was the only one I was nervous about. In Ireland, stage races are not won on the first day, but usually, for 95% of the peloton, they are lost. This year, I would be at the front of affairs all day and in any dangerous breaks... Well, that was the plan.

The stage started fast, very fast, some good wide roads and a tail/cross-wind meant we averaged over 50kmph for the first 20km. For the next 30km we were on small hilly roads where my cyclocross bike would have been more accustomed. I was off in a few moves that were brought back but eventually three strong riders got away. With such a strong, large peloton and windy conditions, they were not that much of a threat and they dangled off the front for the next 40km.

After a crash scare (where I lost my teammate and former winner, John Dempsey - a rider I knew I would need later in the weekend), things where together and a bunch lined up for a sprint. With a few kilometers to go, over a Cat 4 climb, I stretched my legs a little to see how the bunch would react - they followed, but I more wanted to see how the legs were - they were good.

As we dashed into Killorglin, weary of splits in the bunch as we ran to the line, I moved to the front and sprinted to 15th. Stage 1 complete, didn't have to go hard and I lost no time - job done for the day, I was happy.

Report and results from Sticky Bottle.

Stage 2 - 125km - Mountain finish on Connor Pass

I love this stage - it actually isn't that hilly until the final six kilometers where we scale Connor Pass, but the stage remains tough throughout.

The first obstacle, was the small windy roads around the Dingle Peninsula - last year, a number of Ras Mumhan riders races were ended here in crashes - I couldn't let this happen. My plan was simple, stay at the front. If I had to ride more in the wind, fine, I have enough of a fitness base to burn some extra energy just to be able to mitigate the risk of crashing.

There were crashes throughout the day, thankfully, I didn't see or hear of them until after the stage - I remained at the front throughout.

Like the day before, a small break of strong riders escaped 30-40km into the race. The peloton was happy to have them there even when the gap drifted up to three minutes. The roads where heavy and the winds strong and five riders would have a tough time staying away. If the break was within 2-3 minutes at the base of the Conor Pass, I would be happy.

With 20km to go, Mark Dowling's DID teams went to the front of the still huge peloton (120+ riders) to pull back the remnants of the break - a mass of blue and white on the front made short work of it and we hit the base of the climb with two riders remaining just 30 seconds ahead.

As I had mentioned before, my plan was GC - when we hit the base, I went to the front and rode hard - 26.5kmph up the almost 7% slope for the first 5 minutes. From there to the top, I did what I could to maximize the time gaps. Half way up, only Mark, UK rider Colin Parry and a teammate were left. I assessed the situation, asked for help (we were riding for the race overall, not just the stage) but I got the "I'm about to blow response". Playing games, attacking, sitting up etc... crossed my mind - although a stage was not the goal, I would dearly loved to have gotten this iconic stage after finishing 2nd on it the last two years. I knew I could win the stage if I played - but GC was more important - riders to distance - I continued full out. With 100 meters to go, after doing all the work on the climb, National Hill Climb Champion, Mark Dowling nipped by me for the win. He attacked hard (my powermeter says my final 12 seconds was 1,000W) and nabbed the stage. I got second but more importantly lay second overall, two seconds (time bonuses) behind Mark.

Almost - photo Pat Doherty

I was disappointed not to have won the stage but I knew I had rode well and didn't use too much energy - energy that I would need in the following days tougher, windier and hiller stage. I didn't have a team that could defend for two days so just being off yellow wasn't that big of a deal. The peloton was together with six kilometers to go today - I knew that would not be the case in the Waterville stage.

Report and results from Sticky Bottle.

Part 2 soon.

2012 Des Hanlon Memorial RR

The Des Hanlon Memorial is one of the biggest one day races in Ireland – a few years ago, it was actually my first ever road race (glutton for punishment) – that day I thought all Irish road races were like that (well, my N=1 experience told me that).

At almost 160km it is one of the longest races in the Irish calendar and has a bit of everything – I would describe the course as hilly but nothing too selective – the steepest climb is about 7 minutes at 4.4%. The race wears you down with the constant ups and downs and draggy roads. Its place in Irish cycling means that everyone turns up for it so the winner is always very well deserved - there is no armchair ride to the finish here.

Most years, the winning break goes about 20-30 minutes into the race – 10-15 strong riders leave and that is that – this year was different. After the first lap, the peleton of (around?) 200 had been wittled down to about 60. Still a large number of riders on the testing course. The great weather these last few months has left us with a very strong Irish peleton.

For me, I felt yesterdays race in my legs for the first hour – after that though I came around and felt good for the rest of the race. I stayed attentive and remained at the front for the race, probably riding more than I should have. My brain kept telling my legs to attack, my legs, well, they mostly did what my brain said.

The climbs of the final lap came around and the front group was down to about to about 20 riders. With some strong sprinters still in the mix, my plan was to hit the final climb full gas. It worked mostly to plan but I took Mark Dowling (2011 National Hill Climb Champ) with me – at the top of the climb we had 20 seconds on a chase group of Thomas Martin and in form Peter Hawkins. Unfortunately, by the base of the main descent (it was into a headwind so not very fast), two become four. We rode steady for the next eight kilometers. With one kilometer to go we started playing around a lot only to see chasers riding through public traffic that stretched behind us (getting a lot of shelter no doubt), that scuttled my plans for what I wanted to try coming into the finish – Peter and I seeing the chasers get closer started out our sprints with 250 meters to go. Peter claimed the prestigious win, I finished second with Paudi O'Brien claiming third from the chase group which almost caught us.

Peter was "ecstatic" - me on the huds - Photo Tony Quinn

Weather was fantastic, it was a great race and I think I rode a reasonably smart race - I could have been more conservative at times. I missed out on the win which I am disappointed about but I did have a great weekend of racing.

Many thanks to Carlow CC for running such a great event year in year out – why can't we have hard races like this every Sunday – it would surely get everyone in great race shape for the Ras in a few months! One of the things I have noticed while riding the Ras in 2010 and 2011 is that a huge number of the county riders (amateurs) keep up with the full time Pros (and even kick their butts) until around 100km - then most die off - is it a coincidence that most Irish races are 100km or less?

Looking through some data afterwards – the 7 minute climb I mentioned, when I attacked on the final lap (after 3.5 hours of very hard racing in the legs) I covered the climb 30 seconds faster then I did in the Ras as part of the front group – glad to see things coming along well after the disappointments from last year.

I'll also answer something I'm asked about a lot - what did I eat/drink in the four hour warm race – well, I had no team support so no bottles from cars (although Team DID and Eurocycles did have bottles in the car to give me if I really needed them - thanks guys).

2 750ml bottles of Zipvit EnergyExtreme

1 Zipvit Sport ZV7c Caffeine Gels (usually only one during a race)

4 Zipvit Sport ZV7 Gels

1 500ml bottle of water I got from a random dude on the climb/feedzone – THANK YOU – I drank it in seconds

Report on Sticky Bottle and Irish Cycling

So the million dollar question - did racing (and winning) the day before hurt my chances at claiming the Des Hanlon Memorial - possibly - I love to race and back to back hard race days prepares me well for my goals later in the year. I would do the weekend the same again.

2012 Lucan GP

This weekend I was doing a double header of races. The Lucan GP on Saturday and the biggie of the weekend (actually, biggie of any weekend in Ireland), the Des Hanlon Memorial.

Training went well during the week – I feel the form is coming along well, not “firing on all cylinders” yet, but very much in the right direction.

Sun and warm temperatures (for March in Ireland) greeted us – the course was flat but strong winds and exposed roads meant that it was going to be difficult for everyone. Our race was 75km, a combined A1 and A2 field with the A2s getting a 40 second head start. Once the flag was dropped, we immediately went to work and brought back the A2s – I guess they just waited for us.

Splitting it in the winds - photo by Mick Lawlor

As soon as it came together the race splitup into groups – the strong cross winds breaking the peleton into groups of 20. Lots of riding later, we hit the penultimate lap (4 laps). I seemed to roll off the front but not wanting to ride 35km by myself I eased off hoping for a few riders to come across – no one did and I got swallowed by the lead break. Hitting the final lap with very strong cross winds, I rode hard on the front spliting the race up again – Mark Kiernan attacked and I followed, soon we had a gap and we rode hard enough to the finish. I had more in the tank and claimed the win with Mark securing second.

Too windy to take the hands off the bars! Photo by Graham Healy

Win number two for the year – I ended up riding harder than I meant to (considering the race the next day), but a win is a win!

Sticky bottle report here, and Irish Cycling photos/report here.

2012 Newbridge GP

The big race of the weekend – a stacked Irish field and across the 3 categorised races, there were 400+ racers.

In the A1/A2 race, the A2 riders got a two minute advantage over us. Over the first half of the race I ended up riding a lot and pulling some groups across with me - all part of the game. Lots of attacking, groups splitting, groups reforming but with two laps to go I was in the lead break of 12. Coming up to the bell lap, I attacked over the top of the hill and onto the descent, when I was brought back, Fraser Duncan counter attacked and went off on a solo run towards the finish. He dangled off the front while we played games for the next 15 kilometers – going up the final climb, in form Peter Hawkins and Greg Swinard attacked a counter to my move – they got the gap and the rest of the break looked at me... I didn't react immediately (Greg and Peter were super strong all day and would work well together to catch Duncan). Eventually, I attacked out of the break pulling Mark Dowling with me. Mark, having been brought back from an earlier move wasn't able to help much as we plummeted down to the finish. I caught the three riders in the final 150 meters but didn't have enough to get by for the win. Peter Hawkins won, I finished 4^th.

Cross the line for the bell lap - Photo Amy-Norah Farrell

The sprint for the win

Sticky Bottle and Irish Cycling reports.

2012 Carrick Wheelers Cup

I had ridden the St. Patricks Day race in Dunboyne several times before but this year, I decided to travel down to Carrick-on-Suir to race on our national holiday. I had heard that the course would be pretty selective – but unfortunately it wasn't as hilly as I expected with just two shorts drags (Coming up to 11 months now since I last needed my small ring in an Irish road race).

Nice weather, and a big peleton for the start. We would do three laps of the course to total 100km. There were several moves off the front over the first lap but nothing stuck – on the second lap, as we passed the start/finish, I moved off the front with ten others – we stayed away for a few kilometers but were pulled back before the second drag. I kept riding and by the time we got half way around the race distance we were 18 riders off the front.

There were several digs to split things up a bit but nothing got away – we rode pretty easy until the final 15 kilometers where the cat and mouse games began. In the end, it was together (in the break of 18) for a sprint finish. I got things mostly right for the sprint and ended up 3^rd. The two guys in front of me (and behind me) being very strong sprinters – for me, I'm happy enough... My only mistake was not having more confidence in my own sprinting ability.

Me, the sprinter - photo by Joe Cashin

Good safe racing in a beautiful part of the country.

2012 Wallace Caldwell Memorial RR

Well, I just finished building up my new road race bike on Friday (Thank you Cycleways) - a Specialized S-Works Venge. What a way to go on its first ride - winning the Wallace Caldwell Memorial road race - first round of the Ulster Classic series...

Bling

I did make it a little hard on myself though - midway way through the race I had to make a huge bridging effort (about 20-30 minutes) across from the peloton to the break (which was a counter to a move I was in). I had a few riders with me bridging at the start, but I was the only one to make it. Just as I got to the break, the attacks started - fortunately it was on a climb so I was able to recover a little and made the final/winning break of 6. We rode the next 40km steady enough - the final climb (more like a couple of kilometers of a drag) came with 10km to go. Everyone in the break knew I was the one to watch when climbing and they just sat on my wheel - I made a bunch of jumps stinging their legs (and mine!), then Gary (Audi rider) made an attack towards the top, I countered, got 3 meters and went into Cancellara mode for the final 8km to the line. I had a good gap so could enjoy the finish.

Smiling - photo from Marian Lamb

Sticky Bottle and Cycling Ulster reports.

2012 Annaclone and Traders Cup

Racing handicaps, oh how I dislike you.

Many races in Ireland at the start of the year include race handicaps so that all category of riders can race within the same race and have a fighting chance at a high finish – it makes good sense. Both races last weekend, the Annaclone GP and the Traders Cup used this.

Conor Ryan and I in Annaclone - photo by Marian Lamb from here

Unfortunately, either there wasn't enough A1 riders (in Annaclone, 7 riders chasing down 60, 6 minutes up the road in a 60km race just didn't work), or the gap was too big. Both days, the A1 riders worked pretty well together from the start - we did make an impact on the lead, just not enough, quickly enough. It was a frustrating weekend as I felt I didn't really get to race – just ride a fast group ride...

More racing this weekend – I don't think the Cycleways Cup (130km) has any handicap...

Good job on Mel winning the women's race at the Traders Cup - report here.

2012 Ned Flanagan Memorial

The Ned Flannagan Memorial is a new race on the Irish calendar one week earlier than the usual start of the Irish road racing season. Fortunately, bright blue skies welcomed us as we lined up for the 70km race around one of Ireland's flattest counties.

After a winter of training without racing you wonder how the legs are doing. For me, training has been going really well, I feel happy, healthy and the problems that plagued me last year are gone. This is all good to know when you are out training – but still, we train to race... How will I feel racing?

Several weeks ago I spent a week training with the AnPost Sean Kelly team in Calpe, Spain – they had a great setup and spending many hours on the road training with the team (a very highly regarded UCI Continental team) – I was confident that the season would start well – still, you need to race.

The Ned Flannagan was been run as a handicap race with the lower categories getting a head start – the A1/A2 category would start last and (hopefully) chase down the rabbits before the finish.

The race started without much collective urgency to catch the leading groups – we were a large group (about 50 riders) with about 70 already ahead of us – but the long straight road and slight headwind blunted the groups appetite to ride hard.

I knew after about 18km we would make a turn that would send us up a slight drag and give us a cross wind. I waited until that point to make my move – after several attempts, a break of 8 of us got away from the peleton – we worked well together and quickly caught the lower categories. Once there, we all moved to the front and continued pushing the pace.

Another few kilometers down the road, a small group of us now forged the lead break. Unfortunately, coming into the town of Athy – a wrong turn was made. I reacted first and got back on the correct road quickly but the damage to our break was done. They were swallowed by the now 100 strong peleton – I was still off the front and I saw a rider bridging. With almost 40km to go, I decided to wait for him. As he got on my wheel, I realized who it was, Robin Kelly – one of Ireland's strongest sprinters.

We worked well together in the road and built up a good gap on the peleton. I felt good the whole way in and could see that Robin was tiring. Not wanting a sprint finish, I made several attempts to get away heading into the finish but unfortunately, without a huge distance or any drags/climbs, it was hard for me to drop the strong sprinter.

We sprinted into Monasterevin, he won, I came second with the peleton coming in a minute later. I picked up the prime in Kildangan, but unfortunately no win.

A well run event, in sunny conditions raising money for the charity Rehab – sure what else would I be doing on a Sunday morning in February?

2011 LKHC - Mount Hamilton

And there we were, lined up for the final round of the LKHC series – the annual, Thanksgiving trip up Mount Hamilton. The 30 kilometer climb has two short descents but is a pretty steady 5-6% the whole way up with the first half being slightly shallower.

Like last year, the weather wasn't exactly playing ball – we had to wait until the morning of the event to see if it would go ahead – there was a tropical storm coming in across the area – not a problem at low altitude but it does become a problem at the altitude we climb to (and for descending afterwards). 140 riders lined up at the start and off we went. There were two plans of action I had to choose from. 1) Full gas from the the start and try and smash the record or 2) Sit in for the first half, do my turns on the front and then attack. With the weather, I decided the later option was appropriate (of course, all that can change as soon as you start racing).

The first half of the race was at an easy pace – Mel (who broke the female record last year, and will go on to break it again this year) was still with us at the start of the second part of the climb – a great ride by her – there was only about 20 riders left in the front group.

Almost exactly half way through the climb, I saw a slightly steep section – time to go – I accelerated and kept it going. Eventually, I saw that Eric Wahlberg had also escaped the front group in pursuit of me. He hovered around 15-20 seconds back for about 15 minutes. With about 5 kilometers to go, I no longer saw him and I continued on my pace to the finish line.

Photo via Christine Costa

Despite riding the first half of the course slower than last year, my pace on the second half meant I broke the record from last year (and won of course).

Conditions at the top of the mountain were bleak – low visibility, cold, windy - felt like home. Everyone grabbed their extra clothes and made it off as quickly as possible – I wish I could have been more leisurely and chatted with more folks.

Thanks again for putting on a great race and something fun that I look forward to in the winter. Hopefully, in 2012, Ireland will have a similar (if smaller) series – I know we have enough good climbs in the Dublin area!

Results are up here and my ride details are available on Strava.

2011 LKHK - Kings Mountain

Like others years, it is November and I have found myself in California for some early winter training. Long rides with lots of tempo riding is on the cards – but first – there are a couple of Low Key Hill Climbs to do. I find them to be great markers for where my body is at this time of the year. Since September, I have taken a few weeks very easy (with a few cyclocross races breaking up the coffee shop rides) and last week I spent a week in Gran Canaria with my parents (of course my bike was with me) and resulted in a big week of rides – 31 hours, 18,000m of climb in 7 days.

The first hill climb I'm doing in California is the penultimate of the series – it is one of the de facto climbs in California – Kings Mountain Road. A perfect 6.8 kilometer ribbon of tarmac weaving up the mountains gaining 500 meters of ascent. The record for the climb (at least, the known record) was set in 1996 by Tracy Colwell at 19:51. I figured that this race would be a perfect 20 minute power test...

With jet lagged legs my brother and I rode over to the start – entry was closed 4 days earlier when 150 riders had signed up! Amazing. In order to keep the race/timetrial more manageable, the race would be started in waves of 15 rider groups – the first group, the fast guys, swelled to 36 riders.

Before we rolled out to the start line, the race organizer, knowing my climbing abilities, announced that if a rider wins ahead of me, he will give him $100! wow, some pressure now – and what if I punctured?? (I was riding my beautiful Lightweight G3 tubular wheels).

Like in Hicks Mountain last year, the race started at a frantic pace – the first minute was around 500 watts! Much too hard for these guys (and me) for the 6.8 kilometer climb. After a couple of minutes, the pace eased a lot, too much, so I went to the front and started riding hard. I would look around from time to time to see the line of riders behind me getting shorter and shorter, eventually there were only a few left. I eased off and Emilio Barzini went to the front – I tried to use his draft but unfortunately he was having some gearing difficulties and staying close to him was too dangerous... 6 minutes into the race, I had enough (remember, I was trying to do a 20 minute power test) and accelerated to drop my remaining companions. From there to the top I rode a pretty hard pace – I didn't feel I had good legs (all the training and flying lately still in them) but I knew I was making good pace when I passed the point I usually finish my 15 minute threshold drills and only had 13 minutes on the clock.

Photo from here

I pushed on to the line and crossed in 19 minutes – I broke the record from 1996 by almost a minute – my VAM on the 7% climb was 1550m/hr... pretty good I hear for a guy just restarting training. (A VAM calculator here)

It was great chatting to a lot of the guys before and after the race – organization was fantastic as usual and I look forward to taking part in the final round on Thursday up Mount Hamilton.

Results of the race are available here and the Strava segment is here. Garrete Lau has some nice pictures here.

The results of the power test - I'm happy with where I am at...