Conor Murphy (Caldwell Cycles) lived up to his reputation as pre-race favourite to win the junior men’s road race title at the National Road Championships in Co Meath on Sunday. Though he suffered a big setback, and was closely marked by his rivals, for the most part it made no difference.
However, eventual runner-up Rory Condon (Zappi Racing) came of age during the 117km title race. And had Condon not been up the road for longer than Murphy, it would have been fascinating to see how deep into the race their man-on-man battle would have gone.
But there is no arguing Murphy as winner. He has this year equaled Ryan Mullen’s 11-year-old elite Irish 10 mile TT record – 17:42 – as well as claiming a TT stage win at Course de la Paix Juniors (2.Ncup) in Czech Republic last month.
On Saturday he was forced into an early bike change. By the time he got back on, a crucial move was gone; James Armstrong (VC Glendale) and Rory Condon (Zappi Racing) taking flight.
But Murphy simply charged back on to the bunch when he suffered an early mechanical. And then he blew across to the two leaders; two massive efforts, one after the other, apparently taking little out of him.
“I got a clip of the rear derailleur and it was gone fully, no gears,” he said of his early mishap. “But Bryan McCrystal had his bike on the roof (of the following car( and I was able to get onto that. I was feeling alright and, really, I had no option but to change the bike anyway.
“I was a bit tired after the week that was in it,” he said of riding, and winning, the ‘Nationals’ TT followed by the road race in the week after he finished the Leaving Cert. “I could feel it in the legs but I just emptied it and gave it everything I had.”
Once he got across to Condon and James Armstrong (VC Glendale) they worked well to stay about a minute clear of chasers Matthew Walls (Lucan CRC) and Darragh Byrne (Asvillemur Cyclisme)
Though Murphy and Condon proved stronger than Armstrong, dropping him several times when the road kicked up, Condon was able for Murphy for the longest time. As they led, chased by Armstrong, they attacked each other, with Murphy eventually pulling clear of Condon in the final
“He was very strong,” said Murphy. “I just kept attacking and I just had to wait. I could see he was getting a bit tired. I was feeling OK still, I was struggling a bit, I was cramping up a bit. But when you’re in that position and you know you’re close to the line you can’t let it go.”
