O'Leary's Stone Kanturk CC man Darragh O'Mahoney is already upgraded to A1 after a huge start to the season (Photo: Brendan Slattery)
By Brian Canty
Kanturk Leaving Cert student Darragh O'Mahoney has now already taken two A1 wins since the start of the season and yesterday he impressively saw off Páidí O’Brien in a sprint; something few on the home scene have done.
O'Brien has taken countless wins with his fearsome kick but in the feature race at the Darach McCarthy & Co Solicitors Road Race in Limerick it was O’Mahoney (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk CC) who claimed the honours.
And he said locking onto O’Brien’s wheel and leaving it late was the key to beating him.
“I’m training hard flat out, he’s not doing as much, so I won’t be getting carried away; I’m not that good,” said a modest O’Mahoney.
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The two were part of a group of five that came to the line together after what the winner described as “one of the hardest races I’ve ever done”.
The 120-kilometre contest was a handicapped affair with the A1, A2 and A3 groups separated by a minute but it was all back together after 10 kilometres.
There was a huge turnout on the day with the testing conditions doing little to deter the riders.
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Attacks came throughout the afternoon but in what is clearly a sign that the domestic standard is on the rise, the bunch was still very much intact going onto the last of six 20-kilometre laps.
It was there, on the long drag, that the damage was done; O'Mahoney and O'Brien going clear with Shane Scully (Nenagh CC), Darragh Zaidan (Arcane CRT) and Eoin Connell (Killarney CC).
They worked up and over to the line and inside the last kilometre O’Mahoney sensed his opportunity.
He locked onto O’Brien’s wheel who had jumped into the final bend at 200 metres to go.
“I just saw him go into the last bend and got on his wheel, waited for the moment and just went again,” O'Mahoney recalled.
“It’s a massive win for me because Páidí has been one of the best for ages and ages and I have huge respect for him.
“He has a child and is in college and he always gives us a hammering so I won’t take it for granted.
“One thing I really worked on this winter was my sprinting because I came to do the line a lot last year and often lost so to win gives me great satisfaction.
“I have to mention Danny (Curtin) after today; he dedicates all of his time to cycling and every weekend he’s taking us to races.
“We talk every day and he texts all of us in the club about training at least five times a week. His commitment is unbelievable and that makes us want to win even more.”
For full results click here.
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