Mark Cassidy talks to stickybottle about this dramatic set of photos capturing the agony of his crashing out of the Rás with the yellow jersey on his back 25 years after his father won the race.
In a new series exploring some of the most striking photography depicting Irish riders, Brian Canty talks to former international Mark Cassidy. Then riding for An Post-Sean Kelly he explains how his day in Rás yellow turned sour very quickly.
- Mark Cassidy, FBD Rás leader
- May 21st, 2008: Stage 4 Corofin to Tralee
He didn’t know it at the time, but his crash outside Limerick on the way to Corofin while wearing the Rás yellow jersey was the beginning of the end for Mark Cassidy.
Riding for the An Post-Sean Kelly team that day in May, 2008, was set to be a special moment for the Meath man; not least because it came 25 years after his father Philip had won the race outright for the first time.
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The younger Cassidy seemed ripe for a good shot at achieving the same feat.
With a strong team that included Stephen Gallagher, Paidi O’Brien, Daniel Fleeman and Benny De Schrooder, things looked good.
That was until he hammered into a rock while in a lineout and hit the deck hard.
He believes the injury sustained effected his position on the bike for the remainder of his career.
And while he would win a stage and the king of the hills in the same race two years later, looking back Cassidy believes he never fully recovered from the events of May, 2008.
All smiles before the start of stage 4 to Corofin having taken the yellow jersey the previous day.
"It was a bit special being the leader of the race,” he recalls.
"The plan for that stage was to stay in a position where we could win the race because we had five riders and all five of us were up overall.
"If a break went up the road there had to be a Sean Kelly man in there and that was it really. So we were all focused on that.
"I had taken the jersey from (team mate) Stephen Gallagher the day before. It didn’t matter which one of us had it as long as one of us could be in a position to win the race."
But his chances of doing that were gone in the blink of an eye.
"We were coming out of Limerick and were at the right hand side of the road lined out; all going pretty fast.
"And I just hit a brick really hard; no brakes. I fell really hard on my side.
"It was one of those ones where we were going so fast everyone’s past it before they get a chance to call it.
"I was a bit stunned; lying there a few minutes in a lot of pain. I was very stiff because I got a really good bang.
"I got up but my elbow was bad. I could feel every bump in the road.
“At the time I didn’t know if it was broken or not. I thought it was bruised but it’s really hard to diagnose a broken elbow.
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"The race waited, except for one English guy who had a five-minute gap. So we had to ride because we had the jersey.
“I was staying in the wheels but every time we’d hit a bump it’d be agony so I just called it quits and pulled over. I knew it was over so no point riding on.
On the Dock Rd near Limerick City, Cassidy and Dutch rider Ismael Kip came down in a line-out some 50km into the 156km stage.
"It was gutting. I was more gutted to stop the race than to crash. The jersey was nice to get but there was still a lot of racing to go.
"I didn’t take it for granted I was going to win. I only had 20 seconds on (David) McCann and Chris Newton I think, so I knew it was touch and go.
"I still had a good chance though. Even if I didn’t get yellow I’d have gotten something; a stage or a high placing maybe.
"But even though I didn't ride for the rest of the week, we won the race through Stephen.
"We had the best five riders, we were in every dangerous group and the lads were really focussed and they played it smart and made the right moves.
"I think Dan (Fleeman) was up the road with Stephen and he just drilled it as hard as he could to get a good gap and they made it stick and that's where the race was won.
"I was always a contender for the overall but never finished high up. I was a minute down on Tony Martin (in 2007) coming into the last day but got sick the night before and had to stop.”
David McCann of Team Ireland would win the stage in 2008 that Cassidy abandoned and would also take the yellow jersey that day.
However, it was Cassidy's team mate Gallagher who would win the Rás outright and he remains the last Irish man to do so.
Cassidy decided he'd had enough of racing at the beginning of the 2012 season and is now working in the family bike business.
Stunned but determined to go on, Cassidy is helped by race doctor Conor McGrane (left) and his manager Kurt Bogaerts.
Clearly in agony, Cassidy got back on the bike and battled on for a time, regaining the peloton which waited for him.
On the road between Rathkeale and Newcastlewest, Cassidy is finally forced to call it a day.
Patched up after a bruising encounter.
Winning the queen stage in the Rás into Kicullen in 2010.
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