(Me On the right in red arm warmers winning sprint for 5th in Stamullen GP)
It’s been close to 3 weeks if not more since my last update, I have ridden 4 very good races since the last post and these include the Des Hanlon Memorial, the 4day stage race in Kerry "Ras Mumhan", The Pat & Monie Nolan Memorial and The Stamullen GP. 3 of these races are the peak of Irish racing, they are very tough and of long distance, The Des is 158km in length and Ras Mumhans stages range from 100km - 150km, With The Stamullen GP of 110km. The terrain in all is that of hills and tough roads. I found the distance in all no issue but it was more the Intensity that caught me out in the Des Hanlon and Ras Mumhan due to the lack of work in this part of my training, mainly down to knee issues back in Feburary.
Des Hanlon: The Des is a 158km One day race which covers 3 tough laps of a local circuit before finishing in Carlow town. The terrain is mainly all climbing; the hills are both steep and long. On the day the temp was very cold, almost too low for racing with an average of 1 degree Celsius. I found the race ok starting off, I felt I was capable of climbing in the front and making my way into any splits that were going clear, these constant increases of pace were catching me out though and I was left lacking strength in the final finishing in what I presumed was about 17th place, the result was not bad but I had been hoping for a top 10 in the race which unfortunately didn’t work out.
Ras Mumhan: It’s hard to detail Ras Mumhan for a reader, it’s one of the toughest amateur sporting events in the country comprising of 4 stages each in excess of 100km in length on some of the toughest terrain in Ireland. Day 1 was fast and aggressive I did my best to be in the front but did too much early on and ran out of steam missing the main break of the day and having to come to the finish in the main bunch. Day 2 took us over some serious climbing and was 150km in length; I stayed in the front until the final climb with 20km to go but was distanced into a chase group and finished 2min behind the leader. Day 3 again was a very tough day, I made my way into the front group of no more than 40 in the tough cross winds that caused chaos from the off, on this stage we went to Valentia island off the coast of Kerry and it was upon coming onto the Island that the group split in 2 and unfortunately I was caught in the back and left behind. For me this was my Ras mumhan hopes virtually gone, I lost a lot of time on the run in to the finish which put me down in 30th overall. Day 4 is a shorter stage of 110km which is quite flat and finishes on the local laps around killorglin town. I made my way into the early break of the day which stayed clear for 60km but we were eventually reeled back in and the mass effort I put into the breakaway left me lacking in the final and after been caught out by a crash I was left chasing for the rest of the race.
After Ras mumhan I had to rethink my training approach, during the race I had been lacking slightly when the intensity really turned on, after putting away a very large base in the winter I feel I may have slightly neglected the vital intensity work needed to prepare me for the top end of racing. Over the last 2 weeks though I have began including more intense workouts into my routine lowering the mileage and introducing more intervals and sprints. I have also began doing quite a lot of motor pacing which I’m hoping will bring on my speed for races where it will be needed to keep up when the hammer goes down.
Pat & Monie Nolan Memorial: This race is more of a warm up to the larger race known as the Stamullen GP, It still attracts a great field and mainly all the contenders are out in force looking for a win. I travelled up with my Girlfriend who followed me with wheels as well as making sure I was ok if I needed a bottle of water or energy drink. This would not be needed though as the race distance was only 60km and would not span long enough for me to demand more than one bottle. The route itself was hard and fast with a tough climb each lap, on the first time up the climb the bunch held together good and it was not until the second lap of 6 that I put the pressure on and managed to split the group riding clear with 7 or 8 others. It was this group that rode strongly all the way to the finish and contested the sprint where I finished 5th (Placed as 6th on Sticky Bottle even though I was announced as 5th after race and at prize giving).
Stamullen GP: This race took place last Sunday and was a very hard and well contested event, it covered 110km over 6 laps each taking in a tough climb. From the off I could feel the previous days efforts having taken their toll on my legs, but I dug deep and held in for the few initial laps, even giving a sever attack on the climb second time round escaping with two riders Damien Shaw of Aqua Blue & Paudi O Brien of Planet Tri, this was to end up unsuccessful and we were closed down very quickly. Unfortunately I missed the main break away of the day (8-9 riders) and was left chasing as all the main contenders had escaped up the road. Luckily though I managed to forge away from the main bunch in pursuit joined by 5 others, we worked hard and closed the gap on those out front catching them on the last lap. We hit the climb the final time and nearing the top Paudi O'Brien surged ahead in what would be the race winning move, I was left wanting as my chase effort had drained my legs leaving me only capable of staying with the others. We chased Paudi hard on the run in to the finish but unfortunately none would commit fully and the win was his. Behind we fought it out for the remaining places and with 3 others escaping in the final few km's I managed to pull off a good sprint to take 5th, race report and video below.
http://www.stickybottle.com/races-results/paidi-obrien-takes-lone-victory-at-stamullen-gp-sees-off-six-man-breakaway-2/
