1 Chris McGlinchey looks like he has a very bright future
Christopher McGlinchey won the opening stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan and defended the jersey all weekend, even managing to get in the break on stage two and finish second. The way he rode from the front was truly the work of a man with bags of talent - and confidence.
Few would have viewed 21-year old Belfast man Christopher McGlinchey as a potential winner of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan prior to the start last Friday.
But by Monday’s concluding stage, nobody could argue the strongest man hadn’t won outright.
Riding for the Irish Development Team, his winning margin of 1’26” over Ali Macaulay (ASEA-Wheelworx) is significant, but of more relevance is just how McGlinchey won.
He won the opening stage after escaping in a breakaway early on.
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He would finish second a day later to Bryan McCrystal (ASEA-Wheelworx).
He closed down a dangerous breakaway on Sunday by himself, and he took seventh on the final stage when all he needed to do was finish in the bunch.
Each and every day he imposed himself on the race and he was in most of the key selections.
He rode from the front and expected nothing on a plate – though his teammates did ride superbly to make life easier for him.
Twelve months ago when Sean McKenna won, he had a strong Irish team as well, but he also had a number of Aquablue men riding for him.
McGlinchey didn’t have the same luxury, but he didn’t need anyone, such was his strength.
He’s a demon descender, a powerhouse on the flat – just ask any of the few who clung to his wheel on Sunday as he closed the gap to the break up ahead, and he can sprint very well.
2 Working men and full-time students can still win
Robert O'Leary (centre) is studying for his Leaving Cert but that didn't stop him giving the books a break for a few day. He went to the Gorey 3-Day and emerged victorious after three hard days. The weekend saw plenty students and full-time working men instigate matters - and win some big stages.
McGlinchey works full-time in his native Belfast and only trains outside of office hours. It didn’t stop him producing the goods last weekend.
Up in Gorey, Leaving Cert student Robert O’Leary – riding for the national junior team - was a ‘gun-to-tape’ winner as well.
Double stage winner at the Tour of the North, Declan Mulholland (ASEA-Wheelworx), is in his final year training to be a carpenter.
His available hours for the bike are also hampered by his commitment to work, yet it didn’t stop him beating guys who train full-time.
While it’s highly advantageous to any budding rider to have more hours to train, it’s not the secret to success.
Full-time riders took to the start line in all three stage races last weekend but far more working men won.
It makes a strong argument against forgoing the opportunity to make money – or getting a second or third-level education.
3 Don’t rule out the slightly older guys
John Priest takes the bunch sprint for 2nd place on the final stage of the Gorey Three Day, just one of the more mature riders who can still do the business (Photo: Sean Rowe)
In Gorey veteran rider Sean Bracken of Irish Road Club was 4th on the testing opening stage when it split and he stayed there in the general standings all the way to the finish of the race.
Another one of the vets, Andrew O’Hara of FCA Cycling Team, placed 7th overall and went on a fantastic solo attack on the final stage in the hunt for overall victory.
That was wiped out with just a few kilometres remaining and only when the full Irish junior team, with some help from their friends, drilled it on the front of the group.
And on stage 3 into Blessington another veteran, John Priest of Lucan CRC, showed the turn of speed that landed him countless wins in his pomp when he took 2nd on the stage.
He won the bunch sprint after young Eoghan McLaughlin had taken a solo win for Westport Cover Wheelers just ahead of the peloton.
The young guns are coming and there’s lots of them. But don’t rule out the more mature riders who can still rip it up.
4 There needs to be a national team in every stage race
What an experience it must have been for the Irish team in Kerry last weekend, learning how to defend a yellow jersey in a major stage race. That kind of invaluable experience can only serve riders well going forward.
If Cycling Ireland is serious about its commitment to the road scene it must enter at least one Irish team in every stage race in the country.
There were national teams in Kerry and Gorey last weekend but not the Tour of the North.
The latter was won by Ed Clemens (Spirit Bikes).
Upcoming events include the Tour of Ulster and the Ballinrobe Three-Day as well as the An Post Rás.
There’s the Kanturk Three-Day, Rás Dun na nGall and later, the Newry Three-Day and the Suir Valley Three-Day.
Home-based U23 and elite riders are crying out for big events and big incentives to race.
So why not either a national junior team, national U23 team and perhaps even a national elite team in some, or all, of these events?
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The iTap squad are going to the Tour of the Reservoir in the UK next month.
What an opportunity that is for an Irish team to do the same.
5 Kanturk has another top quality rider in O’Mahony
Darragh O'Mahony is not a surprise any more after winning two road races already this year as well as finishing his debut Rás Mumhan in exalted company. The young Corkman was a really excellent domestique for McGlinchey (Photo: Brendan Slattery – TheBigLittleBikeShop)
Just what is it about Kanturk that makes them produce rider after rider, year in, year out?
The Leaving Cert student from Cork was the youngest man in the field at the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan but he didn’t look one bit out of place over the course of the weekend.
He finished an amazing 5th overall, just 2’31” down on his teammate McGlinchey after some truly heroic rides.
The stan-out day for him was probably stage 1 where he took 5th but he followed it with two more top 10s (7th and 10th) on back-to-back days.
He ended the race f5h in the point’s classification and third best U23 rider.
Those results might mask the work he did at the front of the bunch for McGlinchey, particularly on Saturday where he hauled back a potentially dangerous group that managed to escape before Ballingeary.
In the appalling conditions, O’Mahony flung himself into corners to do the needful and keep tabs on those up ahead.
And for good measure, he would pop off the front of the bunch late on that day and take seventh.
It was a memorable debut from a man we’ll be hearing a lot more about.
6 Declan Mulholland is very much one to watch
Declan Mulholland charges up the hill during the Tour of the North over the weekend. The Armagh teenager is a big talent and we can't wait to see what he can do this year.
Mulholland took two stages in the Tour of the North and was also in contention for the King of the Mountains jersey as well as finishing fourth overall.
He was a prolific underage rider and won a number of national titles, while as a junior he has represented Ireland at the European track championships.
Last year, he was part of the Irish junior team who set a new national record for the team pursuit.
It’ll be interesting to see how he develops this year as a first year U23 but he’s gotten off to a very good start.
7 Let’s keep excitement about the U23 national team in check
The above six are some of the best U23 riders we have in Ireland at present and what they're trying to achieve - qualification for the World Championships, is an extremely tall order. Let's not heap too much pressure on them!
After only managing to get a rider in last year’s U23 World Championships road race at the last minute, Cycling Ireland is hell-bent on having a team in Doha this year - and we should be thankful for that.
But as is always the case, it’s going to be an almighty challenge to get a team qualified.
Not only is the competition intense, but the Irish riders are still very inexperienced at this level.
Eddie Dunbar, Michael O’Loughlin, Sean McKenna, David Montgomery, Angus Fyffe and Matt Teggart rode very well in Gent-Wevelgem but the best of them (Dunbar) was two minutes down.
Far from suggesting the team aren’t good enough – because there are extenuating circumstances outside riders’ control in every race - we must remember O’Loughlin is a first-year U23 and two of the team are based at home.
In contrast, the winner of the race, Mads Pedersen, is currently fourth overall at Driedaagse De Panne, 43 seconds behind Alexander Kristoff and five seconds ahead of Tony Martin.
Let’s just keep a lid on the expectation for the time being...
8 More foreign teams are needed in Ireland at Easter
Maybe it's time the bar was raised for the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan? By restricting the number of A3 riders in the race this year the organisers are clearly intent on keeping the standard high. So why not go about attracting the best field yet for 2017?
Nine of the top ten on GC at Rás Mumhan were Irish riders and seven Irish populated the top ten up north.
While that is impressive from the home boys, they need to be tested more as competing against the same people every week is one sure way to stagnate.
Granted, Team WIGGINS and the Noord Holland amateur team pulled out and that definitely allowed for the home riders to be so dominant but what of all the other UK teams?
Only a handful of Irish riders made it inside the top 30 at the An Post Rás last year and this being a UCI-ranked race, its importance cannot be understated.
From last year’s An Post Rás, Neon Velo Cycling Team, NFTO, Madison Genesis and JLT-Condor only managed a stage win between them, so they are not that good.
Three of them have at least one Irish rider in their ranks. Maybe they’re worth a phone call for next year?
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