Back in Belgium!

I’ve now been here in Oudenaarde, Belgium, for the best part of a month and I‘ve settled in pretty well at the Hof ter Kammen. The lads here at the house are great company and we all encourage each other so morale is generally good.

The first few weeks I had to be very patient and wait for my knee to mend. Some really good news though – my injury is now under control.

I went to see a really great guy called Luc Wante – Luc is the coach of Garmin-Sharps’s Sep Vanmarcke, winner of this year’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He cracked me back into place, straightened me up and told me he thought that I had an ongoing problem probably caused by the accident I had in September with a jeep.

So it was good to finally nail down my problem and I had full confidence in Luc when he told me I could race again in a week or two. However, I’m not 100% fixed as I’m still aware my left leg feels a bit different to my right. But finally I’m able to ride my bike again – that’s the main thing.

After I went to see Luc I did a good solid weeks training and another few days of intensity before I tackled my first “kermesse” in Moorsele.

I was sceptical about how my race would go with such little training in the past month or so, but I surprised myself. As soon as the race started I was almost instantly re-accustomed to the different, crazy, style of racing that Belgium offers.

Bodies everywhere, rain, wind, cobbles, the sound of brakes screeching as we flew through the corners. I thought to myself: “I’m home again”. However crazy Belgium is though – I love it and I’ve missed it very much.

With storm-like conditions we took to the start line to tackle 120km of pain, I rode a good race to be fair and got in a few moves to be chased by some of my Belgian “team-mates”. So team orders are obviously not so strict here! I even had legs enough to try a solo effort from the peloton with 2km or so to go, for roughly 18th place as there was a breakaway. But I was to be caught within the last 300m by a peloton screaming behind me. I was swamped and ended up 36th from 72 starters. So a pretty OK debut into Belgian elite kermesse racing.

Two days later we went to the beach! Not for sun-bathing and relaxing like any normal person would do though. Instead we took to the beach for the exact opposite – another kermesse of death! With only two races on that day the number of starters was up to over 150 riders, the race had two long 2km straights every lap (on the same road) with crosswinds. So the only way to describe the race was “gutter-death”.

Again I felt good. I got into an early breakaway but it was just a little bit too big so half of us decided to take advantage of the group size and leave the same few guys to do all the pulling. We got caught pretty soon afterwards. It was worth a shot though. I finished a solid enough 67th in what was the main peloton, going for a placing in the mid 30s. The average speed for the race was 43.7km/h for roughly 110km. So yeah, it was pretty hard considering it was lined out nearly all the way.

After a few days easy I got called up to ride a Belgian Cup “Zillebeke-Westouter-Zillebeke”; nearly 100 miles, nine bergs, wind, rain, muck…. Another fun day in the saddle! Around 160 riders took to the start-line to brave the elements. The race was rapid as always; line-outs, small lanes, big roads – Belgium continues to surprise me.

A breakaway formed of roughly 20 riders near the town of Kemmel (home of the infamous Kemmelberg) but unfortunately I was to miss it. I got to the finishing circuits with the next group of riders which contained 60-odd guys. Covered in dirt, wet to the bone and to top it off – grit in the mouth (the worst) it was only here I realised I literally had no brake pads left; “Oh sh*t” I yelled coming down one of the descents into a sharp right hander, bumped and bashing everyone around me! “Phew” a sigh of relief… But then I realised I had to do four more laps of these circuits! “Uh oh; This is gonna be fun” I thought.

Somehow I made it to the finish rolling in for 56th place – happy considering it was only my third race as an elite and the fact it was a Belgian Cup with some of Belgium’s biggest amateur teams in the field. I did have to fight a lot stay as close to the front as I could all day so I was more mentally drained at the finish than anything.

I’m still wondering how I didn’t come off but all in all, a great experience and another successful day and some more racing km’s in the legs.

Signs of progression have been showing and that is the most important thing for me; I want to be constantly climbing that ladder. Next up for me is some more classes in the school of hard knocks; Belgian kermesse races before some more Belgian Cups and Interclubs in Flanders! I’m now also working towards a stage race in Spain at the end of September, so hopefully everything will go to plan with that.

Sticky Bottle - Link

Until next time,

Eoin

Article on Sticky Bottle; Irelands Premier Cycling Website!

“I’m in the Mecca of cycling; just landed into the kermesse school of hard knocks”

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/im-in-the-mecca-of-cycling-just-landed-into-the-kermesse-school-of-hard-knocks/

McCarthy is part of the Ireland development set-up and has gone to Belgium to further his trade

With the Leaving Cert out of the way, Fermoy’s Irish international Eoin McCarthy is back in Belgium with the ASFRA-Flanders Racing Team. He’s looking to race hard and learn fast as he throws himself into the life of a full-time bike rider. In this dispatch he gives us a flavour of life in the famous Flanders region as he gears up to get going.

I’ve finally arrived in Belgium – Hof ter Kammen, Leupegem, Oost-Vlaanderen to be exact. Where I live is a mere 1km from the infamous Koppenberg and roughly 2km from Oudenaarde; the new finish of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen and the Ronde’s museum. So I am in the epicentre of what some people might call “The Mecca” of bike racing!

Although all is well here I’m not in perfect condition myself. A week before the Nationals I finished my exams and went straight into a hard training block to try and limit my losses in Clonmel and to help set me up for a bashing here. But after a few days I picked up an injury. I could feel a little niggle on my left knee and ignored it for another few days but, after a terrible Nationals TT where the pain was excruciating, I went to a specialist and turns out I had tendonitis.

I have been resting for a week and a half now and am making progress but I’m guessing I won’t be racing for another three weeks or so – just to be safe. Looking at some of my friends and people I know, and listening to my coach, if an injury isn’t treated with respect you can turn a fortnight’s disruption into a year-long problem. I have looked at all of the things which could have caused it and have them all nailed down so hopefully I will be up and running again in no time!

After this injury is sorted I plan to get racing on the local kermesse scene – known as the school of hard knocks, where being “in the red” is a common thing! I will go into battle with the many Belgians and riders from all over the world who are all after one thing – a pro contract! So the racing never fails to disappoint, unless you have a bad day, then it’s not so nice.

As the season goes on I hope to ride some Interclubs and stage races with the team and start looking towards 2013 already. The first year senior is always a transition year but with the Leaving Cert and this injury it looks as though this year will be a learning year more than anything.

I’m here until October at Hof ter Kammen with five housemates; four Brits and Paddy Clarke from west of the Shannon. The set-up here is perfect; it’s home from home really. Having been here last year I really feel better this time because I know where everything is; I know if I have a problem where I can get it sorted. And I get on with all of the lads – so it couldn’t be much better!

I’ve just got to start racing and get some results, then maybe things will become better. It’s hard being off the bike though, I wasn’t even off the bike this much during my exams. But when not riding my bike I like to sit in the Markt (Square) in Oudenaarde with the lads, drinking coffee and relaxing while watching the women walk past.

I’m not lying; I had to ask the lads today “Are there any bad looking girls in Belgium?” So that dampens the disappointment a bit – it’s the best past time I’ve ever had…..

Until next time.

Eoin

@Eoin_McCarthy

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/im-in-the-mecca-of-cycling-just-landed-into-the-kermesse-school-of-hard-knocks/

Tough times never last, but tough people do...

The last few weeks have been busy to say the least. I finished my exams on Friday the 15th of June and went straight into training and racing. I am now a full time cyclist and what a feeling that is! Although things are not all running smoothly the last week or so has been tough...

I rode the Cork Championships and finished 3rd behind "fast-man" Paidi O'Brien and "man of the Ras" Eddie Barry after 2 days of training hard. I was active from start to finish and surprisingly felt really good after just finishing exams. After a number of attacks I finally got a gap and was joined by 3 more riders and the winning breakaway was formed. Unfortunately I just got caught out leading out the sprint - so 3rd it was!

Sticky Bottle Report: Cork Champs

Photos courtesy of Karen M. Dunne

200m to go...

The night after was the Stephen Roche GP in Dundrum, Dublin. I've never raced it before so was really excited to give it a go as it always looks like a great event. The circuit is so small it is really reminiscent of a Belgian criterium! All was going well and legs were feeling good until about 7-8 laps to go when someone smashed my back wheel breaking spokes, so it was game over! Although the night was great my 2 little bro's, Dion and Jack both won their races so a successful night for us.

Sticky Bottle : Set of photos from Stephen Roche GP

On the attack!

Nico Roche and I at the Roche GP

Nationals...

Warming up 

I only rode the TT this year but not too much to report on it to be honest, basically in the days leading up to it felt a bit of stress on my knee cap and found out the morning of the TT that I had some inflamed tendons (Tendonitis). I got the green light to ride it after being strapped up. Turns out I could barely push the pedals into the headwind, for the first half I had to stay in the bars and not the extensions. There was too much pressure while on the extensions. My first half was absolutely terrible, I nearly got in the car but knew at the halfway point it may improve with the tailwind and by god it did! Not trying to make any excuses, just explaining why my performance was severely under par. I did a time of 51mins 50secs for the 35km course. Respectable enough considering how badly things went! 

For the TT I am going to do something very unorthodox of myself. I will post a Garmin file! I want ye to see for yourselves how I couldn't push into the headwind for the first half, and want ye to see how big the improvement was on the way back to Cahir. It was like turning the turbo setting from 10 to 1! Here it is:

Nationals TT File - P.S. Started 15secs early, Stopped 15secs late.

Photo of me in action courtesy of Ciaran Fallon 

I tested my knee the day before the Nationals by riding the course in some very good company (Matt Brammeier, An Post lads, etc..). The knee was 50/50 and wasn't feeling the best. After an excellent talk with top coach Andy Sparks, I was advised by Andy, my coach Martin O'Loughlin and Paddy Doran to give the Road Race a skip. Thankfully I did - however much it killed me to do it! I went to the Fermoy Physiotherapy Clinic where I was checked out and the diagnosis is a mild Tendonitis. A week or so off the bike and I should be back to normal - but I am going to treat this with respect! Better to miss a few days longer rather than turning a short term injury into a potentially year-long one. Just disappointing as I spend a lot of time keeping my body in good nic, but I guess thats just the way it goes!

Finished exams, nationals are over and now putting together the finishing touches before I start getting my things together and packing for Belgium where I will spend the remainder of my season. I will again be based in Oudenaarde, in the region of Flanders where my team "ASFRA-Flanders Racing" are based also. So I'm looking forward to leaving next Tuesday! My next blog will be from Belgium and I will spend the next few weeks over there recuperating and looking after my knee.

Until next time...

Eoin

Exciting Times Lay Ahead...

Quick update today before things get busy. I am currently in the middle of my last exams "EVER" in school so therefore things are very quiet on the racing front. I have however been training! Not as much as I'd like but just doing enough to keep some sort of fitness. 

However I have raced 2 league races, 1 being a TT and the other is 30km road race where I placed 2nd on both occasions. The TT was held in Patrickswell, Co. Limerick on course #1 of the Cycling Pursuits  Time Trial League, Patrickswell-Croom-Patrickswell (18.5km). I was very excited about the TT which is unusual, but the reason being it was my first proper TT of the season (The other being the short 2-3km TT in Ulster) and I was interested to see how it would feel. I had been working on my TT position and got to put it to use by placing 2nd with an average speed of 43.4km/h with a time of 25.05 for the very rolling course (That was with leg warmers, jacket, normal helmet etc..) - It was fun! 

The other race was my local league race in Fermoy. Attacked, attacked again, and again... and after a series of attacks, must have been about 7 brainless attacks I eventually got away and was joined by 2 others. One being a man fresh off the RAS who beat me in the end which is pretty understandable. 

Weather has been generally fantastic in the past month however it.. (See pictures..)

Went from this...

To this!

The last few days have been pissing down with rain. A months worth of rain in 36hrs! I was forced onto the turbo trainer which is always a good motivation test every now and again. So hopefully I will get out tomorrow in some decent weather.

When my tests end I will then for the first time in my life become a full-time athlete - which for me is a very exciting prospect! I will have a week or so to prepare for the Nationals including the Stephen Roche GP on Wednesday the 20th, Friday the 22nd the National TT Champs on my training roads in Cahir and then the National RR Champs on Sunday the 24th of June. It's not ideal but it is what it is now! A week following the Nationals I will be on my travels. Back to the school of hard knocks that is - Belgium! 

Until next time,

Eoin

Spring Racing & Tour of Ulster

Since my last blog (almost a month now) I have ridden 3 races - doesn't seem like too much when I put it in words to be honest, but it certainly felt like a lot. The "Visit Nenagh Classic", John Drumm Cup and the Tour of Ulster, which is 4 stages in 3 days, and that was with the National team. I was meant to ride the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic but due to some illness, that was short-lived (thankfully), I was unable to join my ASFRA-Flanders team mates at the start line. 

Great photo courtesy of Karen M. Dunne.

The past few weeks have been a little crazy for me. I have been racing on the local scene but haven't had much luck with punctures etc.. but mostly because of an "An Post Ras" offer that came my way. It took a lot of thought but I eventually decided not to ride it this year. It was a bit of a crazy thought considering it ends 9 days before my exams start - not a good idea!

Tour of Ulster - this year was my first year ever riding the Tour of Ulster so didn't really know what to expect, apart from some pain and suffering! The race has the reputation to be perfect preparation for the An Post Ras which usually starts a few weeks after, so all the top riders from Ireland and a few UK teams were present and trying to find some form from the race. I was racing as part of the Irish National  Team alongside: Stephen Clancy, Ryan Mullen, Shaun Rigley and Daniel Stewart. 

Getting ready to hit the roads of Dungannon...

Pictured here is the team with our super-soigneur
Austin Mooney and Manager Ryan Connor.

Stage 1 was 142km in length on some very rolling roads. The race started pretty quick with lots of attacks in which I was following and trying to make that vital split as Ryan (Manager) had told us the break escaped after 1km last year, so nobody wanted to miss it! Everything was still together after about 20km and shortly after that the race split on a small steep climb where I was dead. Really. I was swinging, lucky to just hang in the peloton at this stage! I really don't know what happened I've literally never felt this bad before and these roads that were so heavy definitely didn't do me any favours - I was dizzy and was finding it difficult to breathe, so therefore couldn't get into any moves. (I found out Monday that I have had a chest infection) At this point my race was up in the air but after a few gels an a full bottle of Zipvit Energy I was somewhat functioning again, but a little too late - the move had been made. Thankfully my team-mate Ryan Mullen had made the break and was looking good for the u23 jersey.

Look down the middle, next to Armstrong!

The break contained roughly 25 riders and there was another 50 or so in the group I was in - so with Ryan being up the road we had the excuse not to do too much riding, but all day long little groups were attacking us constantly and pinging off the front and actually making some ground. Hmmm... what to do? I just waited until 600-700m to go and attacked to come in 10 seconds or so ahead of "what was left" of the race to take 46th. Ryan got an excellent 12th place on the stage leaving him in the blue u23 jersey for tomorrows split-stage day. 

Warming up before Stage 2

Stage 2 was the shortest road stage of the weekend at 110km and was reasonably flat. The only real climb came after 18.5km, which wasn't so bad. Eurocycles now had the yellow jersey with Adam Armstrong so the stage was well controlled by them and they brought back most of the attacks throughout the day - it was sure to be a sprint finish, well thats what we thought! Roughly 10km to go a small group of 10 snuck away and gained a minutes gap. The group contained some dangerous riders so Adam rode his ass off for the final kilometers - but unfortunately they weren't caught and he lost the yellow to Matt Higgins of Node4-Giordana. 

The finish came a surprise to me as the sign reading "1km to go" was actually at about 300 metres to go before a blind corner so I ended up comfortably in the bunch in 31st. Stephen Clancy and Ryan Mullen placed highly in 12th and 13th respectively. A great day for the team, we kept hold of the u23 jersey and were active all day long but were just caught napping when the last break went but that racing eh...

Stevey and Ryan! 

On Saturday evening we had a short TT, basically straight down a main road, turned left onto a side road and back up the to a road parallel to the start, which was mostly uphill. The TT started on GC position so, apart from Ryan, we pretty much had a TTT (Team Time Trial for all you dummies). I placed a joint 23rd on the stage with Thomas Martin of Eurocycles @ 25 secs on the winner Matt Higgins of Node4 Giordana. Ryan put in a stormer and placed 4th on the stage, on a borrowed bike @ 5 secs. Bring on tomorrow! 

Our fantastic support team - Ryan Connor (Manager)
and Hugh, our mechanic. 

Stage 4. Hmmm, got a bit of "deja vu" when I pulled back the curtains Monday morning. It was reminiscent of Stage 4 of Ras Mumhan - polar-like conditions. 4 degrees and raining! A hard day at the office was in store for everybody. I usually go well in bad conditions though, not the most enjoyable but if it brings good legs its something I am not too disappointed in seeing.

We had to tackle 10 (or more or less 11) laps of a 12km-ish lumpy twisty circuit, so about 125km in total. Roughly 20km into the race a group of about 20 guys rolled off the front on twisty wet roads and this move looked as if it was gaining some ground. Ryan had been in the group so to make things a little easier to defend the u23 jersey I followed an attack from a rider from the Isle of Man and we rode well together to bridge the gap to the breakaway. When we rolled up behind the group, I started to realise what a good position we were now in - Many guys in the top 10  were here and a few k's later Adam Armstrong, Ryan Sherlock and Matt Higgins (Yellow) came up to our group. Things were looking good! 

Dead...

This group contained many of the big names in Irish Cycling and most of the guys in the top 10, so with guys marking each other it was hard to get organised and attacks were flying left right and centre. Both Ryan and I were suffering when Conor Murphy and Greg Swinand attacked so we couldn't follow. Some more riders left us and the front group now became very fragmented, its almost too hard to explain as I can barely remember. Anyway, after about an hour or more of racing (Not really sure) some more riders joined us and that's when Ryan, Ian Richardson (UCD) and Daniel Clifford (DID) attacked and tried to ride across to the front groups. I was happy to see this going as the best form of defense is attack. So I sat nicely in a group of roughly 15 riders including Tour of the North winner James Moss (Node4 Giordana). So I was happy to ride in this group with 12 riders in total ahead of us. A decent stage result was still on the cards.

The rest of the race was just the case of getting round and not getting caught by the bigger groups behind. Although a lot of guys packed, or DNF (31 to be exact). In the final 10km there was a lot of looking around and attacking going on, so one rider managed to get away and gain a gap on us. We had the same finish as Stage 2 so I wasn't going to be caught out again. This time I kicked before the corner and opened a gap in which I could hold off the rest of the guys to take 14th place on the stage. 

The "Lance" look... (Over the shoulder)

Nearly. There.

After all the stages I ended up 27th on GC, 5th u23, 4th A2 and we got 8th in the team classification - but mainly, Ryan held onto his u23 jersey which was our main goal. He also got into the top 10 with a 7th on GC. The mans a beast! All in all I am happy with how the weekend went for me considering I had a chest infection. I made a trip to the doctors the day after the race to find out I had to take antibiotics for the coming week, so considering that I did pretty ok. Adam Armstrong took the overall by 15 seconds to Ryan Sherlock after the 2 of them rode away impressively to finish nearly 5 minutes up on the chase group. What a weekend of racing it was!

Happy Ryan

I would just like to thank Ryan Connor (Our Manager for the weekend), Austin Mooney (Carer/Mammy) and Hugh (our mechanic) for all the great support. Thanks for a really enjoyable weekend - Im sure all the lads will agree! Thanks to Paddy Doran and my team-mates for a great weekend, to the other competitors and all the race organisation. 

I am now taking a break from racing until my exams in school are over. My next race should either be the "Stephen Roche GP" on the 20th of June or/and the National Championships which are the 24th of June. I will continue to train and after my exams I will be getting prepared to spend the rest of my season in Belgium.

Some more detailed reports can be found on some of the following websites:

Irish Cycling: http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/

Sticky Bottle: http://www.stickybottle.com/

Cycling Ulster: http://cyclingulster.com/

Tour of Ulster Website: http://www.tourofulster.com/

Stay Tuned!

Ras Mumhan and other news!

Since my last post I have had a lot going on between training and racing. I have ridden the Silver Pail GP in my home town of Fermoy and I did the very prestigious 4-day International "Kerry Group Ras Mumhan" which comprised of 4 road stages based in the very windy, wet and lumpy area of Killorglin!

The Silver Pail always has a special meaning to me as its the race that I have been doing since I started cycling and of course as it is around the roads in which I spend a lot of time on. Unfortunately for me I never seem to have any luck in the race. In saying that, I was 2nd in 2010 but thats the best it has been. Crashes and mechanicals have hindered me in all my other runs in the race. This year however I had good legs just couldn't get away! I attacked time and time again and followed a lot of attacks but unfortunately was pulled back each time. I gave a big dig inside the final kilometres to be caught again and swarmed by a peleton racing for the win. I rolled in at the back of the peleton. All in all, it was great training for Ras Mumhan which started 5 days after the Silver Pail. Not too much else to say on the race!

On the attack out of Glanworth!

The Kerry Group Ras Mumhan is probably the most prestigious and hardest stage race Ireland has to offer apart from the UCI 2.2 An Post Ras. It has been a big goal for me this year and it was a race I really wanted to do well in as it was the first real "tester" of the season here in Ireland. With small, rough, hilly roads in the Kerry countryside a good weekends of hard racing was always in store. Plus with 180-odd competitors from the best in Ireland has to offer to Italy, Holland and the UK it was to make the suffer-fest even more immense...

On paper, Stage 1 was set to be the "easy day" at 105km of mostly flat roads but everyone had fresh legs and it turned out to be a little different. Going into stage races its always Stage 1 that is the daunting stage (Well, for me anyway!). It's pretty unusual when stage races are won on the first day but they can definitely be lost and nobody wants to lose time. With the summit finish on the Conor Pass on Stage 2, the plan was to stay close to the front on Stage 1 and not lose any time as I knew Stage 2 was going to be the decider. 

Turns out it was a good day for me. The first 20km was very fast (50km/h + average) but then for the next 30 or 40 odd kilometres the race was on narrow, rough, lumpy roads which split the bunch in two (literally). After these challenging roads the race was quick but was never too hard, for me anyway! I was lucky to have good legs and after a crash scare inside the last 20km, in which I had to stop for, I got back on and managed to get in a group off the front containing the likes of Paidi O'Brien and Adam Armstrong but we were shut down like everything else was throughout. After many attempts inside the final kilometres from riders to try and go it alone a group of 80 or so riders came into Killorglin for a sprint finish in which Paidi O'Brien won. I rolled in mid-bunch in 38th place. Safe and sound, no time lost. Happy days! 

Next up was the Queen stage around the Dingle peninsula. The mountain top finish on the unforgiving Conor Pass! Before the difficult ascent to the Conor Pass we had to cover 120-odd kilometres of difficult Kerry roads. Luckily for me I managed to stay very close to the front around the Dingle Peninsula which was the most dangerous part of the race. Even at the front it was a little sketchy, I remember nearly overcooking some of the corners on the narrow, twisty, coastal roads - I can only imagine what it must have been like deep in the peleton.

Sitting 4th wheel around the Dingle Peninsula!

After a very active first 30-40km a small break managed to get away and the gap grew pretty quickly to 3mins or so. The peleton was in no real rush to bring them back but the closer we got to the finish and the Conor Pass the time gap was dropping, and with a D.I.D Dunboyne train on the front working for Mark Dowling the gap was to down to 30 seconds by the lower slopes of the Conor Pass.

Going into Ras Mumhan I was never too sure how I would fare out against the big boys on that day. First, it was the biggest race I had ever done and second the biggest mountain I would have raced on to date. Generally I see myself as someone who could always pull himself over hills pretty well but the big thing I asked myself was -"Can I climb?" and I knew that I would find out; no doubt about that.

I thought I was in the perfect position on the roads leading to the mountain, roughly 20 back sitting nicely behind the yellow jersey. Turns out I was wrong! When we hit the foot of the climb Ryan Sherlock rode to the front with Mark Dowling and a few International riders in the wheels and a gap opened straight away. At this point of the Stage I think everyone was feeling the full effects of Kerry's heavy roads!

I managed to get myself into a nice group on the mountain containing the fantastic Paul Griffin who has won many stages in the Ras Mumhan and placed on the podium on several occasions. Also in this group were 3 riders from the Dutch "West Frisia" team and 2 riders from the UK. I suffered my way up in this group, even managing to find myself a new max heart rate! I knew this stage would decide a lot so I really pushed myself to my limits. Paul left our group with roughly 1km to the finish, and looking back I should have followed him as it would have put me in the blue cat2 jersey. At that time the jersey was the last thing I was thinking about and in reality I probably would have blown! I surprised myself and nabbed 20th on the stage. I was now laying in 19th on GC going into Stage 3 in Waterville @1.32mins behind stage winner Mark Dowling. 

I thought most of the suffering had been over going into Stage 3, but the 143km leg around west Kerry with 6 KOH's (x2 Category 2's) and 4 primes the stage proved to be a very difficult indeed! Almost straight away a breakaway managed to establish containing around 10 riders or so. I tried bridging the gap with Conor Murphy (KOH Leader at the time and eventual stage winner) and Mark Dowling (Race leader-Yellow) but we were caught by a chasing peleton after a few kilometres leaving the breakaways gap to grow. 

Seen here on an early move on Stage 3

For the majority of the Stage I managed to stay near the front out of trouble but on Valentia Island was around mid-bunch and eating when we hit a steep Cat 2 KOH with grass and gravel in the middle. I dropped my bar and coke and weaved my way up a peleton which was really fragmenting! This hill really split the race and it was here that I heard a few riders had left the group to bridge the gap to the breakaway. I probably had the legs to follow, just a school boy positioning error! If I had done the race even once before I wouldn't have been so silly. I desperately tried to bridge gaps solo for the rest of my time around Valentia Island, but with strong winds and 45km still to race it wasn't long before I swallowed up into a now small peleton of around 50-60 riders. 

The race from here on was controlled mostly by D.I.D Dunboyne as they had to try and defend Mark Dowling's yellow in which he was at a big risk of losing. After my efforts on Valentia I wasn't the same, I was suffering over the remaining KOH's and on the run into the finish I did manage to stay near the front in the strong crosswinds, but I was swinging in the last few kilometres I really feeling the effects of the earlier parts of the challenging Stage. The break stuck and came in scattered between 1 minute 10 seconds to 30 seconds ahead of us who were @1.48 behind stage winner Conor Murphy of Eurocycles. 1km to go an Isle of Man rider left a gap open in a line out in the gutter forcing me to come around and close it which really put me in a bag. I was lucky to even get the same time as Paidi O'Brien who won the bunch gallop. I dropped 2 places on GC to 21st as some of the riders in the breakaway pulled back time on me. The stage was described as "epic" on Stickybottle.com! Ryan Sherlock, had now taken over yellow going into Stage 4!

Stage 4

I had a crazy idea in my head going into Ras Mumhan that Stage 4 would be some sort of parade or ceremonial race - something like Stage 21 in the Tour de France where we would ride easy until the circuits and then the racing would be on. It was a nice thought! The rain poured down all night in Killorglin and continued to rain all morning which straight up would make the stage mentally hard. Getting out of the warm camper into the cold and wet was a hard thing to do, but only 115km and Ras Mumhan was complete for 2012! 

The Stage is basically flat with a number of cat.4 climbs on each lap (4km or so) of the finishing circuit in Killorglin after 3 bigger laps of roughly 25km. The stage wasn't too difficult it was just the harsh conditions which made for a mentally tough day. I stayed close to the front for most of the day avoiding a few crashes and I ended up finishing in 13th place on the stage. I secured a joint 17th place on GC but listed as 19th and 5th in the u23 category. Dutchman Dennis Bakker won the race and writes his name into the history books as the youngest ever winner, at 18, after taking a fine solo win on Stage 4.

I am really happy with how my Ras Mumhan went, I didn't expect to get a top 20 in one of Irelands biggest and hardest stage races and with a joint 1st in the cat. 2 blue jersey competition and 5th in the u23's I have to be happy! All in all a great weekend. I have many people to thank. Firstly my Dad and brother Dion for bringing me and looking after me throughout the weekend and my Mam who catered for me all week with mainly nutrition, preferably red meat (I needed to get them Iron levels up) and general care. To everyone who sent me messages during the weekend and afterwards a big thank you if I haven't written back. And finally to all the photographers in which I used pictures from in this post! Wanda Clancy, Pat Doherty, Karen Dunne and Davie Mac...

Full reports on the race can be found on both the:

Ras Mumhan Official Website ( http://www.rasmumhan.com/ ) 

and Sticky Bottle ( http://www.stickybottle.com/ )

Next up for me is the N7 Visit Nenagh Classic on the 22nd of April. Really looking forward to that one! 

Thanks for reading.