We started the day on a low note, with one of the guys having to DNS due to a family emergency. Stephen had been riding high in the A2 cat, and would've been romping up the ranks in his Kingdom of Kerry, but it was not to be this year. Hopefully all goes well for him at home this week, and we'll see him back next year for more.
The rest of us settled in for 180km+ from Mullingar to Charleville. We were hoping for an early break to go, then a nature break and feed at 50km, with a nice steady chase into Charleville. Instead nothing got established until nearly the halfway point, which meant the fast start was extended long into the race.
It was particularly annoying that my GPS computer decided not to work this morning, meaning I had to mentally keep track of where we were on the route, and how long until the next key point.
As we head towards Nenagh, there’s a protracted lull as people stop for a nature break. Then a static feed goes horribly wrong, and combined with a couple of overtaking team cars, there’s a crash that blocks the road. A furious chase through Nenagh puts me back in the bunch.
Wisely our hard-working soigneurs Aishling and Mary chose a wider section for our feed zone, and the musette delivery was superb! Proper pro stuff, packed lunch on the bike! I was delighted with myself, stuffing my face with cake at the back of the bunch, until we turned a corner onto the KOM of the day.
All the Orwells were in there, and despite splits on the climb, we ended up in the same group on the far side. With a big bunch and only 50km to go, the pace slackened and most of the riders sat back to work on their tans. Our man Ronan clipped off with about 30km to go with a few other more dedicated souls to claw back some GC time.
It was a delight to come to hear Eoin Morton had won the stage - a hard-working, honest-riding county rider getting one over on the pros. Along with Bryan McCrystal, who’s probably disappointed not to have yellow, but he’s already shown he looks good in blue!
The rest of us settled in for 180km+ from Mullingar to Charleville. We were hoping for an early break to go, then a nature break and feed at 50km, with a nice steady chase into Charleville. Instead nothing got established until nearly the halfway point, which meant the fast start was extended long into the race.
It was particularly annoying that my GPS computer decided not to work this morning, meaning I had to mentally keep track of where we were on the route, and how long until the next key point.
As we head towards Nenagh, there’s a protracted lull as people stop for a nature break. Then a static feed goes horribly wrong, and combined with a couple of overtaking team cars, there’s a crash that blocks the road. A furious chase through Nenagh puts me back in the bunch.
Wisely our hard-working soigneurs Aishling and Mary chose a wider section for our feed zone, and the musette delivery was superb! Proper pro stuff, packed lunch on the bike! I was delighted with myself, stuffing my face with cake at the back of the bunch, until we turned a corner onto the KOM of the day.
All the Orwells were in there, and despite splits on the climb, we ended up in the same group on the far side. With a big bunch and only 50km to go, the pace slackened and most of the riders sat back to work on their tans. Our man Ronan clipped off with about 30km to go with a few other more dedicated souls to claw back some GC time.
It was a delight to come to hear Eoin Morton had won the stage - a hard-working, honest-riding county rider getting one over on the pros. Along with Bryan McCrystal, who’s probably disappointed not to have yellow, but he’s already shown he looks good in blue!
No comments:
Post a Comment