"I can make an impact this year. I've my shit together, there's nothing holding me back"

Paddy Clarke on his way to victory at the West Coast Wheelers Open Road Race in Co Galway yesterday (Photo: John Hassett)

Paddy Clarke stormed to victory in the season-opening event in Connacht yesterday, the West Coast Wheelers Open road race in Loughrea, Co Galway.

Clarke, formerly of Castlebar CC but now riding for the newly-formed Liquidworx-Fitscience squad based in his hometown of Ballina, was comfortably the best rider in a field of over 100 that battled it out over 85 hilly kilometres.

Starting with the scratch group and a deficit of almost five minutes to the A3s, the A1s and A2s got straight down to work, catching those up front by the day’s one and only prime inside 30 kilometres.

Clarke, who spent four seasons racing full-time in Belgium, said he knew he felt good yesterday morning. He added it was one of his goals for the race to get the prize on the line for crossing the first prime of the day.

“We got the gap to the A3s back to around a minute quickly enough,” he explained.

“I don’t think there was much work going on ahead but we were really tanking it behind to try and catch them. We could see them up ahead so I attacked and rode over because I wanted the prime. When I got across I attacked them and got the prize so that was a real confidence booster and told me my legs were good.

“I could have maybe kept going but it was still early days and I was afraid I’d pay for it later in the race so I waited,” he added.

At that point, with the race all back together, the pace really began to ramp up with a flurry of attacks coming off the front from the likes of a strong Galway Bay CC contingent, a full squad from Nenagh, as well as the best of riders from the west and mid-west.

“The likes of Charlie (Prendergast) was there attacking like crazy,” said Clarke.

“I made sure I was in every move. A group got away around 10km after the prime on really hard roads so I jumped across.

“I put in a few big turns to help open the gap. We got about a minute pretty quickly and I knew that was it then for the day.”

Clarke was out on his own yesterday having left behind a field of over 100 riders (Photo. West Coast Wheelers)

The gap continued to extend thanks to some hard riding by, among others, Padraig Marrey (Western Lakes CC), Eoin Clifford and Derek Joyce (both Galway Bay) and Dermot Radford (North Tipperary).

“There was about ten of us all working well together; we had a good selection and pulled out the gap pretty quickly,” said Clarke.

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The race in Loughrea is well known for being a hard season-opener, with upwards of 500 metres of climbing; much of it in the latter half of the race. There were two 15 kilometre loops to negotiate which top out at 170 metres and Clarke saw those as an ideal launch pad for an attack.

“The climb there was tough,” he said.

“It’s about 15km from the finish so I went the second (and last) time up it. I just rode as hard as I could to the finish; put it straight into the 11 and went as hard as I could. I was just delighted to get the win for myself and the team. It’s been a long winter.”

Clarke, who was ninth in the National Championships last year, said while the season is only just beginning he’s close to his best condition for this time of the year and optimistic about the campaign ahead in his new team.

“I felt incredibly comfortable the whole day yesterday. I’ve a good winter behind me and that’s down to the lads who set up the team; Derek from Liquidworx and Simon, the coach with Fitscience.

“They’ve have been really excellent about training and coaching and providing everything we could need. It’s really helped me a lot.

“The training has been more scientific than what I’d have done and I can feel the benefits. The way racing is gone in Ireland you need to be trying new things and matching what the others are doing to have any chance.

“Robin (Kelly) rode away from a good bunch in Kildare last weekend, (Damien) Shaw did the same yesterday in Tralee and so did (Brian) McCrystal up in Dundalk. So if we’re to have any chance against these guys we know what we have to do.

“But I think I can make a good impact. I’ve got my shit together this year, I’ve nothing holding me back and I want some strong rides in 2014. I’ve also a good team.

“And yesterday even though it was just Gareth McCormack with me; he did some big turns for me to get catch the A3s and to get me into the break so I owe him a huge thanks.”