James O'Shea leads in Ruairí Byrne, with Team Ireland's Liam Crowley and Conor Murphy in the background, all 9:58 down (Photo: Toby Watson)
One notable feature of the opening stage of Rás Tailteann into Kilmallock today, Wednesday, was the minutes lost by top riders. After the breakaway and then a group of 55 men, some 46 seconds down, there was a gap of four minutes to the next group. Then a gap of more than eight minutes and another of more than nine minutes.
A crash played a very significant role in those gaps being created. Riders were trapped behind the mass spill - at a complete stop on the road for a prolonged period. The incident took place at road works on a very muddy and narrow road. It has wiped out of the hopes of some of the race’s key Irish riders.
The incident occurred with about 50km to go as riders were racing on a drag, downhill, at about 60kmph. On the narrow road, there was a stretch of road works on the right.
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A group of about 10 riders fell and it appeared the first of those came down as a result of the road being very muddy. One told stickybottle the mud made the road fell like ice. The result was the road being blocked by the crash, and those riders behind could not get through.
As those riders were stopped on the road, the lead portion of the bunch continued to race along the route, in pursuit of the four-man breakaway that was over one minute up at the time.
Behind them, some of the riders held up by the crash got going more quickly than others, though a number of riders have reported to stickybottle they were held up for two minutes or more.
Groups were then formed from the crash location and they spent the last 50km of the stage chasing the bunch.
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The team cars were not all permitted into the gap between the first section of the peloton and the chasers. And the gaps continued to get bigger back to the numerous chasing groups delayed by the crash.
By the finish line, those riders delayed by the crash finished four minutes, eight minutes and more than nine minutes, down on stage winner Rowen Baker (Cycling Club Isle of Man).
Yet the first section of the peloton that was not delayed by the crash was just 46 seconds down.
And now some highly fancied riders, who would have had designs on holding yellow at some point, and even competing to win the race, find their general classification challenge is already over.
They include APS Pro Cycling's Mattew Walls and Cian Keogh, who were 4:19 down on the line, with Evan Keane (Pinegry Orwell) in a group at 8:23.
Then came a larger group at 9:58. It included Team Ireland's Conor Murphy and Liam Crowley, Ruairí Byrne (UCD Cycling Club), Eoin Kelly (UCD Cycling Club), George Peden (Team PB Performance), Tadgh Killeen (Cycling Leinster), Gareth O'Neill (Burren CC) and Jason Kenny (UCD Cycling Club).
Others who actually came down in the crash were much further back, and some of those also would have really fancied their chances this week. But they may still get a chance.
Niall McLoughlin (Cycling Connacht), who was one of the riders we tipped this week for perhaps a stage win, was among the fallers. He was last man over the line, some 24:27 down. Mitchell McLaughlin (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli), another faller, was 24:16 down.
