Olan Barrett has switched codes from golf, trimmed down from almost 20 stone and was arguably the county man of the day on yesterday's stage 6 of the An Post Rás into Carlow (Photo: Adrian O'Connor - www.blackumbrellaphotography.com )
Having missed this year's Rás because of injury, former international Brian Ahern today puts on his investigative columnist hat and unearths for us a few gems on the interesting backgrounds of the some of the county men who made a name for themselves on stage 6 of the An Post Rás into Carlow yesterday.
What an incredible day yesterday was for the county riders in this year’s Rás. There were so many superb performances out there – too many to mention.
It’s not often that county riders outnumber the professionals in the main break of the day. Yesterday’s main break contained five riders, three of whom were county riders and all of these guys are courageous souls.
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Olan Barret of Aquablue was arguably the hero of the day and is yet another county rider with an amazing story. When in University in UCC he won a bronze medal at a European Universities Championships. For what sport you might ask? One would assume it was for an endurance sport but no, it was for golf!
Incredibly, only four years ago his weight was just shy of 20 stone. What an inspirational story; to go from the couch to being in a break in a professional cycling race for much of a stage. He realised his goal for the race yesterday and enjoyed the buzz of being first across the line for the prime in Urlingford. He was then unlucky to puncture out of the escape.
Also in that move, John Lynch of UCD is one of the most honest breakaway companions a rider could possibly have. He’s a really tough guy who usually thrives in the bad weather conditions. Stage three of this year’s Rás Mumhan was run off in what can only be described as apocalyptic weather. It absolutely lashed rain from start to finish. While rolling out to the start line, Lynch turned to one of the Dutch riders and said “I hope the weather doesn’t get bad!” The poor Dutch man was cracked.
The third county man in yesterday's breakaway, Art MacManusa (Dublin South) won the sprint distance National Triathlon Championships in 2008 before deciding to concentrate on cycling. On Stage 7 of the 2012 edition of the Rás, Art rode up next to me with about 10kms remaining and gave me a bit of a ‘Braveheart’ speech - “Today is your day Brian – best of luck in the sprint man – you deserve it!” This was coming from somebody who is supposedly a rival? I went on to win the county rider prize that day and Art’s words genuinely gave me an extra bit of a kick. I couldn’t help but think to myself what an absolute gentleman.
County riders on the Rás tend to form a bit of a brotherhood. There’s a mutual respect amongst lads and at the end of the week you all feel like you’ve been in ‘Nam together.
Other county riders on the offensive yesterday were Mike Fitzgerald (Tipperary Carrick Iverk Produce), John Dempsey (Tipperary Carrick Iverk Produce) and Conor Murphy (Dublin West Eurocycles), Thomas Lavery (Waterford Comeragh) and Roger Aiken (Louth Charter Prague) - again.
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Aiken was unlucky to puncture inside 15kms to go and was waited on by his loyal team mate Bryan McCrystal. The peloton was going full pelt and they did fantastically well to get back to the bunch up through the cavalcade of cars so close to the finish line.
There was more drama for Aiken however, as he crashed inside the last 4kms. He remounted and finished 22seconds down on the front bunch. If that crash had happened inside the last 3kms he would have been credited with the same time as the front group. He remains 9th on GC and today’s Stage 7 will be a huge test to see what he has left in the tank. He’ll be going up the road....
In spite of the selfless teamwork performed by McCrystal, he finally had his day on the podium as he took the county rider honours. I would suggest you don’t ever try to steal his blue jersey off him; last year he chased a thief who tried to steal a €1,000 bracelet from his family jewellers’ in Dundalk and managed to retrieve the goods! It’s genuine superhero stuff that you simply couldn’t make up!
Stage 7 will be epic as it traverses the beautiful Wicklow Mountains. Plenty of county riders will be dropped early on today’s stage and they may struggle to stay inside the 20 per cent time-limit. Judging by the strict enforcement of the rules by the race commisaire it is unlikely any mercy will be shown.
The riders will be cheered on by massive crowds today on the main climbs of the Shay Elliot and the Wicklow Gap. It’s popular territory for cyclists every weekend and there will be a brilliant atmosphere along the route to support these men.
At this stage of the week it’s crucial that riders continue to stay alert. Riders are not only physically tired but also mentally drained. At this stage of the week riders can struggle to answer questions that require any kind of thought process. It’s as if the brain is a little fried.
This can impact a rider's reaction time and this is when silly, avoidable crashes can sometimes take place. That’s what you don’t want to happen on Stage 7 of the Rás.
The GC could be shaken up quite dramatically today and we can expect to see Roger Aiken on the attack again. He knows no other way to race. He’s currently 1min 14secs off the yellow jersey and every single Irish rider in the country is rooting for him.
I think he’ll be the first county rider across the line today and who would bet against him winning the stage?
Hopefully all riders will get through today safely and within the time-limit. Get through today and you can look forward to becoming a Man of the Rás when you arrive in Skerries on Sunday. You’re nearly there lads - Make it happen!
Best of luck,
Brian
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