Ian Gallagher A3 Race (Dermot Cooney)
Well, that time of year is back again, that time where you tear your legs apart with 80 other men in lycra…That’s right, race day!
Some could say that racing is like riding a bike, however, for me that was not true. After the off-season, I must’ve forgotten how to race, more accurately how hard a race can be.
The A3 peloton rolled out into the sunny Summerhill just before 10:45 to the start line. Of course, there were a few riders who thought the race has started already even though we were neutralised for the 2km trip to the start line. We were sitting around for a few minutes watching the nerves surrounding us, and then the signal was given. This start was followed with the all too familiar signal of clipping in and people cursing their pedals.
The first 5 or 6kms were relatively uneventful with what felt like a relaxed pace, as though people were only going for a warm up. There wasn’t much jostling for position or dangerous riding, a refreshing change from being in A4 for a season. The pace started to pick up, Bennett moved his way closer to the front, while my legs were still trying to figure out what they were meant to be doing. The whole first lap was relatively fast, however relaxed.
Halfway into the second lap, a breakaway of maybe 5 people started to form. The bunch didn’t seem to perceive it as a threat initially, as it only seemed to be about 10 seconds ahead. It didn’t take too long for other riders to join. By the beginning of the third lap, this break had what looked like 30 seconds on the peloton. Bennett attacked with a few others and attempted to chase the breakaway. However, it was not to be. At this time, the pace was upped further. The bunch perceived this break as a threat.
This was where I shamefully lost contact with the chase. I didn’t anticipate the sudden increase in pace, and was forced to spend several minutes chasing at full gas on the R125, to eventually catch them a minute or so after the turn onto the R154. At least its good to know some of the high intensity training got put to use! The chase for the 10-strong breakaway was on. We turned onto the road for the finish, and soon enough we were able to close in on the breakaway. This road looked much lumpier from the car on the way in. At this point people started moving into position for the sprint. My legs were on fire after the effort they put in getting back on, so I didn’t have enough power to make a fight of the sprint. However, Bennett was a little further up, so he may have had a chance. Unfortunately Bennett couldn’t contest the sprint as a rider in front of him sat up and he was boxed in. In all, not a bad debut...
Some could say that racing is like riding a bike, however, for me that was not true. After the off-season, I must’ve forgotten how to race, more accurately how hard a race can be.
The A3 peloton rolled out into the sunny Summerhill just before 10:45 to the start line. Of course, there were a few riders who thought the race has started already even though we were neutralised for the 2km trip to the start line. We were sitting around for a few minutes watching the nerves surrounding us, and then the signal was given. This start was followed with the all too familiar signal of clipping in and people cursing their pedals.
The first 5 or 6kms were relatively uneventful with what felt like a relaxed pace, as though people were only going for a warm up. There wasn’t much jostling for position or dangerous riding, a refreshing change from being in A4 for a season. The pace started to pick up, Bennett moved his way closer to the front, while my legs were still trying to figure out what they were meant to be doing. The whole first lap was relatively fast, however relaxed.
Halfway into the second lap, a breakaway of maybe 5 people started to form. The bunch didn’t seem to perceive it as a threat initially, as it only seemed to be about 10 seconds ahead. It didn’t take too long for other riders to join. By the beginning of the third lap, this break had what looked like 30 seconds on the peloton. Bennett attacked with a few others and attempted to chase the breakaway. However, it was not to be. At this time, the pace was upped further. The bunch perceived this break as a threat.
This was where I shamefully lost contact with the chase. I didn’t anticipate the sudden increase in pace, and was forced to spend several minutes chasing at full gas on the R125, to eventually catch them a minute or so after the turn onto the R154. At least its good to know some of the high intensity training got put to use! The chase for the 10-strong breakaway was on. We turned onto the road for the finish, and soon enough we were able to close in on the breakaway. This road looked much lumpier from the car on the way in. At this point people started moving into position for the sprint. My legs were on fire after the effort they put in getting back on, so I didn’t have enough power to make a fight of the sprint. However, Bennett was a little further up, so he may have had a chance. Unfortunately Bennett couldn’t contest the sprint as a rider in front of him sat up and he was boxed in. In all, not a bad debut...
Dublin Wheelers GP A4 Race (Raymond Sherry)
The race got under way and immediately there was a breakaway group of about 5. This group looked well organised and managed to stay away from the peloton and even gain a few seconds on us as we went around the first lap. The peloton soon realised this fact, and quite soon the chase was on. Before the end of the first lap however they were caught.
Dorey’s Forge characterised the end of the first lap and the finish. Myself and a few other riders who were up Doreys forge climb the quickest at the end of the first lap attacked and made an opportunistic break at the top of the climb while the peloton negotiated the climb. This was a very short and unorganized break and it was quickly caught by the bunch. Two other riders and I sought to break away again. We got away but at the end of the first straight of the circuit we were caught and the bunch exerted dominance once again.
Dorey’s Forge characterised the end of the first lap and the finish. Myself and a few other riders who were up Doreys forge climb the quickest at the end of the first lap attacked and made an opportunistic break at the top of the climb while the peloton negotiated the climb. This was a very short and unorganized break and it was quickly caught by the bunch. Two other riders and I sought to break away again. We got away but at the end of the first straight of the circuit we were caught and the bunch exerted dominance once again.
Well into the last lap I decided I attacked again, and went for a solo breakaway and flew on ahead of the pack once more but this was caught again. It was becoming clear that the peloton was very organised and were willing to chase down every attack due to the shorter length of the race. The finish was within grasp, the peloton was moving more strategically, there was more tension and there was a definite increase in speed and adrenaline as the final few kilometres of the race were here.
The race was over, after one last attack the legs were on fire and said “No more!”, wondering after my first race since I was 14, maybe I should have attacked less and defended a bit more and gave myself a bit more for a final sprint. A learning curve to say the least
Peter McGrady lost contact with the peloton, but when many of us would throw in the towel, he put in a mammoth effort gave everything he had to chase down the A4s right until the end! The effort put in by our new members shows great promise, such as the epic attacking of Raymond Sherry and the dogged determination of Peter. With 3 riders in A3 and another 3 in A4, this was one of our largest presences at a race.
The race was over, after one last attack the legs were on fire and said “No more!”, wondering after my first race since I was 14, maybe I should have attacked less and defended a bit more and gave myself a bit more for a final sprint. A learning curve to say the least
Peter McGrady lost contact with the peloton, but when many of us would throw in the towel, he put in a mammoth effort gave everything he had to chase down the A4s right until the end! The effort put in by our new members shows great promise, such as the epic attacking of Raymond Sherry and the dogged determination of Peter. With 3 riders in A3 and another 3 in A4, this was one of our largest presences at a race.