2012 Suir Valley 3 Day

This was my fourth time heading down to the Suir Valley 3 day. Each year, Clonmel CC put on a great show. A strong peloton, a testing course and safe, fast roads – I love this race. This year was no different.

Stage 1 – 125km rolling with one long drag/climb - 1st

The stage started on a long straight road into a block headwind that we used for the National TT Championships earlier in the year – attack after attack went but no one was making any headway. It wasn't until midway through the stage that a strong break got rid of the peloton. I wasn't there but wasn't overly panicked as there was a long climb coming up that would wreck havok on both the break and the peloton. For the weekend I had two teammates, Michael Lucey and Charles Pendergast – we made sure that the peloton didn't stall and the plan was that I would bridge to the break (15 riders initially) over the long climb.

We hit the climb and but it was more a long drag – I ended up towing the peloton along for a few kilometers until the elastic finally broke and I was off solo. 30 minutes of hard climbing and descending later and I got to the break. My final few kilometers as I chased the break down from being just 15 seconds ahead I averaged 46kmph – once I caught on, the speed dropped to 38kmph for the next chunk and the peloton almost came back on us...

Things finally got moving and on the final short KOM there was a sprint for the mountain points – I followed wheels (had no interest in the points) and as we crested the riders sat up – I didn't and suddenly I was away with two passengers, Sean Lacey and the Isle of Man's Darren Bell. I rode hard and as we hit the final drag with 250m to go Darren opened the sprint, Sean then passed him and I had enough left to pass them before the line and claim both the stage and yellow jersey.

Sprint Finish - Photo: Jonathan Ryan www.tipperaryphotos.com

Sticky Bottle Report

Stage 2 – 93km rolling

Wearing yellow, todays stage was mostly about keeping the other GC favorites in check. Midway through the stage a small break escaped with a few guys lower down on GC. My team and I kept that in check and brought it back close with about 20km remaining. From there on, the peloton that smelled a sprint finish kept things together and a sprint finish we got.

In the final few hundred meters I was sitting in around 10th place as we entered the technical finish. Unfortunately, there was some traffic on a bridge and a guy in front of me misjudged a roundabout crashing – suddenly I found myself move from around 10th to 30th. On the line, there was a split and I lost a few seconds to second placed rider Sean Lacey – he was now in yellow by a second. With a TT later in the day I didn't worry much about it (the stress of worrying about it would cause my TT more damage than a couple of seconds) – but still, not so nice to lose out on something silly.

Sticky Bottle Report

Stage 3 – 1.2km hill climb TT - 1st

This time trial was a real feature of the race this year again (last year was the first time running on it) – something different from every other Irish race I have done, and if it was 8 times longer, would be a focal point of the Giro d'Italia!

It started off with 250 meters of good quality tarmac and then two steep tight switchbacks followed by 700 meters of what could be described as an 'unfinished' road surface. There were holes, rocks, and cracks everywhere - it was cool!

I went through my usual warmup on the rollers and got to the startline with lots of time – I was ready.

3, 2, 1, go. With such a short time trial, it is mostly just flat out – not much pacing – the only pacing is that I try to hold back for the first 30-45 seconds. As I reached the finish, I felt that I pretty much left everything out on the tarmac, I had no regrets about how I rode it – as it turned out, I really nailed the stage with a time of 3:20, putting 13 seconds into 2nd place and 36 seconds into the yellow jersey. Another stage win, a trophy - the Joe Kelly Memorial Trophy (this stage now has a perpetual trophy) and back in yellow.

Photo - Jonathon Gibson

Another highlight of the evening was to chat to Sean Kelly after the TT. Sean is from the area and is often out to watch this race - amazing to chat and get advice from such a legend of the sport and I was happy to introduce him to Mel too.

Sticky Bottle Report

Stage 4 – 120km rolling with one short climb

I have seen the yellow jersey change so many times in this race on the final day even with big strong teams that I knew we would have our work cut out for us. I had to choose a tactic, Isle of Man and Speedy Spokes, in addition to having 2nd and 3rd on GC were also by far the strongest teams in the race and were very experienced (both had A and B teams in the race). My main challenge had to lie with them. Me, well, our team had two other riders, Charles and Michael.

Attacks, and more attacks – eventually a big group got away with 4th, 5th and 6th on GC. 2nd and 3rd on GC were with me. The gap to the break quickly ballooned and my team and I were forced to start riding. 30km into the race we lost Michael Lucey and at the base of the main climb 70km in (about a 7 minute affair), I lost Charles who pretty literally rode himself into the ground all weekend – sitting behind him was like motor pacing!

As I crested the climb, only 4 of us remained (1st, 2nd, 3rd on GC with a Speedy Spokes teammate). As we got to the base, we worked together to chase the break but as a couple of groups caught on (well, the peloton was simply sitting in all day), the collaboration ended and it was basically just me chasing the break for the rest of the day – of course I was attacked the whole way in (with the break 3 minutes up the road, I don't really understand that tactic). I pulled back a few minutes but didn't catch them all – I lost out on GC by about a minute in the end finishing in 4th.

Sticky Bottle Report

Over the weekend, I had a great time, nailed two stages, but didn't hold onto yellow. The way I rode (or had to ride) the stages really set me up for my next goal though – Kermis racing in Belgium... More on that in the next posts.

Many thanks to Charles, Michael, Stewart Carr and my wife Mel over the weekend – we had a great time – a roller coaster of a race and definitely an experience I'll remember.

Also, thanks again to Clonmel CC - you guys really do put on a fantastic show. Thanks!

2011 Suir Valley 3 Day

Like last year, it was the August bank holiday weekend and I found myself down in Clonmel. Last year I was using the race as a tune up for the MTB Marathon World Championships, this year however I arrived a little more rested and coming into good form.

I'll write another post specifically about it, but over the last few weeks, I have been starting to feel much much better and the Anemia (and other things) that has plagued me and my racing this year seems to be leaving – I'm starting to feel strong on the bike again – a feeling I hadn't had since February!

Back to the racing.

Stage 1: 105km

The first stage, like all the racing this weekend, started out fast with small groups getting away and being brought back. Soon we hit the Category 1 (well, Irish category 1, in the Tour de France, it would be a Cat 3) climb of The Vee – I had not been up it before but it was cool with an amazing view over Munster. The speed up the climb and descent was fast enough to break the peleton into many pieces – with the lead group becoming around 50 riders. After the descent a break escaped (which I wasn't part of) – I had thought my teammate was in it and didn't chase (he had been unfortunate and actually punctured at the top of the climb and due to the chaos on the climb, took a long time to get a new wheel not being able to get back on). Over one of the later climbs, Tigernach Murphy and an Isle of Man rider and I clipped off in pursuit of the 13 man breakaway mopping up (and quickly dropping) some of the riders who couldn't handle the pace of the break. We rode hard for 20 kilometers and pulled back about a minute before been caught by the remnants of the chasing peleton. About 7 kilometers before the finish, a small group of us forged ahead again after the break getting to within 48 seconds but the proper catch wasn't made. I finished 1 minute back from the race winner (who got additional time bonuses).

Stage 2: 92km

This was another quick stage taking us slightly over 2 hours to cover the 92 kilometers. Again, there was constant small groups getting a few seconds and being pulled back with nothing sticking for long. I was content to ride in the middle of the peleton watching what was happening. On the climbs, they were ridden at a good speed but there were no real big attacks – also the climbs where shallow enough that we were riding at 35kmph up the 4% drags so drafting had a huge benefit – there wasn't anything too selective. On some of the descents and flat roads around Dungarvan the speed was crazy – the peleton was lined out to 300 meters in one long colourful band as we averaged 65kmph – this was just like the AnPost RAS. On the smaller roads back towards the finish, a break got away but was whittled down to AnPost rider Ronan McLoughlin, Damien Shaw and my teammate, Paudi O'Brien. They hit the finish line 20 seconds ahead of the chasing peleton (which I was in) with Paudi getting to throw his arms in the air for victory!

Stage 3: 1.1km uphill timetrial

This time trial was a real feature of the race this year – something different from every other Irish race I have done, and if it was 8 times longer, would be a focal point of the Giro d'Italia!

It started off with 250 meters of good quality tarmac and then two steep tight switchbacks, then 700 meters of what could be described as an 'unfinished' road surface. There were holes, rocks, and cracks everywhere, with water bottle high grass in the middle of the road – it was cool!

By the time my race start arrived, it had been raining for several hours and the course was now slick too. I heard some of the earlier riders talk about how slippery it was but I knew with my MTB and Cyclocross background, it shouldn't be an issue.

The time trial itself went pretty well – I pushed hard the whole way up but I did misjudge the middle section and finished with too much left in the tank - I left seconds on the course – I do wish I prerode it instead of driving up it in a car. I did finish 3^rd though with at time of 3:28 – 4 seconds off Conor McConvey's time who now took the yellow jersey of race leader.

I must say it again – that hill climb was a real highlight of the weekend – the road conditions and rain in my opinion only added to it all! Next year, use the full original length – that top section was cool!

Stage 4: 116km

Sitting in 9^th, at a minute back from Conor, I had hoped that I would be a little off the race leader (and friends!) radar. I woke in the morning feeling strong (as I mentioned earlier, a feeling I'm only getting again after months of feeling terrible, morning, noon and night) and knew that I would be on the attack. There are only so many 'bullets' that I could use during the race so I had to be reasonably clever about when to really go for it. The pace was very fast from the start, and I followed anything that looked dangerous, but I felt it was simply too fast for anything to stick without all the 'danger men' present so I bided my time. 15 kilometers before the only category climb of the race I made a move, I got a good mix of riders with me and we rode hard but were caught several kilometers later – time to rest a little before the climb and get ready again.

The climb was ridden at a good pace, nothing too hard and I moved towards the front at the top. An attack on the climb would be too obvious (and marked) so as we hit the top, I accelerated over and into the fast technical descent - oh, it was pouring rain too! The race had been on and I knew it would be treacherous but I felt it was a great point to get away. As I got to the bottom I was really glad to have the company of Tigernach again – a strong timetrialist who is also coming into great form. We worked hard together to get a good gap and then went into team time trial mode. After about 10km, the gap had extended enough so that I was now the yellow jersey “on the road”. Damn, I wish that climb was closer to the finish – holding a speeding peleton off for 45 kilometers is tough going!

After a while Tigernach started to tire – I needed to keep going, trying to stay around 48-50kmph on the straights. After a while, Tigernach dropped off but for me, a bunch sprint (in horrible weather) wasn't an option so it was still all or nothing and I was committed. Another 5 or 6 kilometers later I got pulled back. We were away for the guts of 30km.

Our next card was for Daniel Clifford, our sprinter, to go for a win. He was being minded by Mark McKinley so I felt that the best thing for me to do was to attack some more and make sure I'm the one in the moves that get off the front of the peleton before the finish and the speed remains high – it was fun (and a lot safer) but it all came together for a bunch sprint with Daniel taking it – our teams second stage win of the weekend.
Irish Cycling report from the stage here.

Again, it was a great weekend of racing, thanks to the orgainizers for putting in all the time, work and resources to make this a great, safe weekend of racing. For next year, how about the Suir Valley FOUR day? Almost a 45kmph average for the weekend – fast for Irish roads!

Finally, thanks to my Sportactive team and teammates for a really great racing weekend.
Results etc... are available on the website.

2010 Suir Valley 3 Day

The Suir Valley 3 day has been done and dusted. A well run race with a beautiful route taking us through the August bank holiday weekend. I had had a hard training block right up to two days before the race in preparation for the World Marathon Champs and wasn't so sure how my legs would feel – not much short, high intensity over the previous two weeks so I was pretty certain I was in for a shock come race day. For the event, I was racing for the first time with the Engrave.ie racing team – they share some common sponsors and it was an honor to be riding with them over the weekend – I had a great time and soaked up as much of the experience these guys have to offer. This is how it went down (I'll be a little more brief than usual – too many things going on!):

Stage 1 - 116km

As I warmed up for what I expected to be a fast start, the rain started – it did not bode well. I knew that the first hour or two of this stage was going to be very fast and that the chances of crashes, if it rained would rise dramatically... I laughed a little to myself as we were about 3km into the stage when mother nature unleashed all her fury. A truly impressive amount of water fell from the sky that made breathing difficult at times. Before long, the inevitable crashes started – I was fortunate and just missed the first one (some minor two wheel drift to get by) but my teammates where not so lucky getting caught up in it and eventually losing a lot of time due to the split. Not that I needed any more convincing but I briskly hurried my butt up to the front of the peleton where I knew it would be safer (There were multiple broken bones/bikes in the two big crashes on the first day). In the first hour of racing, despite the horrific conditions, we still covered 47km. Pretty quick going...

As the first major climb got underway (I use major in a very minor way – no big hills where climbed in this race – I guess you could classify the roads as lumpy) a few of us clipped off the front: Mark Cassidy, Stephen Gallagher, Sean Lacey, Conor Murphy, Andy Roche, Stephen Barrett and myself. A little while later we were also joined by Adam Armstrong, Martyn Irvine, Thomas Martin and Conor McConvey. We rode together until some of the later climbs when 3 of them clipped off again (I was feeling terrible on the bike – no legs at all) and I waited for others to work to pull me across (I would do my bit, but I wasn't going to do all the bits!). Conor Murphy and Thomas latter TTed their way over leaving 5 up front, us and then the peleton. Later, a few more from the peleton got across to us. By the time we hit the line, the 5 up front had 35 seconds on us and we had a further 4 minutes on the peleton. The Suir Valley winner would come from our group.

Stage 2 – 92km

A funny stage – a few moves would go, get a little time, then get brought back. I made a few attempts too but nothing was working and my legs still felt like soggy pasta – I could ride around endurance all day but there was no snap.

With 1.5km to go and a very technical final last stretch I wound myself up and made a dash for a break to victory – unfortunately, some other rider infront (I was attacking from 15^th or so) no longer thought that riding in a straight line was optimal and moved over left blocking me. Jamming on the breaks, feeling I'm about to do an endo and seeing a telegraph pole get close to my left shoulder. The thoughts of being in a sling on my wedding day calmed my ambitions and I rode in to the finish to get the same time as the winner.

Stage 3 – TT – 1.4 km street circuit

Power, power, power, AHHH, you stupid man, brakes, get out of my way, brakes, gone, idiot, power power, corner, power, power, suffer, power, power, corner, power, lactate acid, power, done. 1 minute 47 seconds – should have been better but my legs started to feel that they were coming around. A stupid person walked out in front of me while I was doing 50kmph on the closed circuit – how much did that cost me – a few places on GC in the end...

Stage 4 – 98 km

Finally, there was something in my legs to give. A few early digs in the stage bridging to early breaks had my legs nicely ready for the first big climb when my teammate and I bridged across to a 4 person break. As 6, we stayed away for a long time but got expanded by another few about 35km from the finish. With about 20km to go, some of the teams wanted to bring down the break and stopped working (I wasn't doing too much, I had my eye on the prize, but I was riding through). With 13km to go, we were caught. Another small break got away a few km later and I should have been there – I wasn't, and rode in towards the front of the group in an interesting finish. (A few kicker climbs, followed by many roundabouts and finishing on a ramp in a hotel parking lot)

A stage races worth of kit

Summary

A well run event that I enjoyed – I was glad to finish safely and was 15^th on GC in the end. I was tired going to the race but the legs came around a bit for the final stage. I had my training all planed attached to various goals I have and this didn't feature highly (thus, the fatigue) – I wish I did arrive a little fresher though – the win in this race is well within my ability.

Congrats to my RAS teammate Thomas Martin for winning the overall in a daring move on the final day.

Also, many thanks to the Engrave.ie team for taking me on for the racing – I had a great time and enjoyed your company and picking up new things.