Matthew Devins was riding well at Rás Tailteann until the moment he hit the brakes on today's stage 3 to avoid a crash and came down heavy in the rain. Unfortunately the Trinity Racing rider, who had custody of the U23 rider classification jersey today, was ushered away by the race doctor, his race over at the halfway point.
He has now been diagnosed with concussion, after a bang to the head off the tarmac around 60km into the stage. He faces a period away from racing. Indeed, for now, even training is off the menu.
It is a big blow for Devins, who turned 20 years old two weeks ago, as he had been hoping to move up overall - from 10th place this morning at 1:06 - and challenge for a podium place or even yellow. He suffered a similar experience in the Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste (2.2) in France earlier this year; crashing hard when wearing the combined classification jersey.
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At least on that occasion the damage was purely physical and he was back training within days of being forced out of that race. He then went on to make the Irish team for Flèche du Sud (2.2) in Luxembourg and took 9th on the queen.
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As a result, he went into Rás Tailteann hoping to do a ride. The first two days started well; finishing 7th on stage 1 into Horse and Jockey. He was then 10th yesterday after missing the breakaway but being among a handful of riders who proved strongest from the bunch on the final climb and pulled clear.
But now that solid start, as he told stickybottle, counts for nothing as he is on his way home.
“There was some oil on the road going over a bridge around 60km in and a guy locked up in front of me,” Devins said. “I pulled the brakes and went straight down and smacked my head.
“The
race doctor pulled me away immediately and that was my Rás finished,
unfortunately. It was definitely the right call to pull me but I was beyond
devastated.
“I’m
not sure how the next few months are looking racing-wise after a chat with the
race doctor who examined me to see the extent of the concussion. Unfortunately
it’s not looking like there’s any high intensity on the cards for a while. But
I’ll be back.”
