Ryan Sherlock (in yellow) held the overall lead last year but lost it on the way to the finish. With such a strong field assembled for this weekend's Suir Valley Three Day, it will be a really strong man who wins it.
As a very strong field from home and abroad meets to do battle over the coming Bank Holiday Weekend in the Suir Valley Three Day, we profile many of the riders we expect to animate the race and come away with the spoils, though others may also surprise.
Sean Lacey (Aquablue)
Eighth overall last year probably doesn’t do any justice to how good Lacey was going at the time and he’ll know he’s capable of winning the race again, having done so in 2007 - the inaugural year of the event. The Tralee man gets in most of the breaks that matter, and in a race like the Suir Valley , that’s ‘all’ one needs to do. Just look at what Barry Twohig did last year.
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Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT)
English is a very good tester and sprinter and on the UK pro criterium scene this year he has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, taking a number of great wins. He is now very much among a group of riders on that competitive circuit expected to animate any race he rides. The climbs this weekend perhaps won't suit him as well as others in the field, but if any of the stages ends in a bunch sprint, this emerging young fastman could beat everyone if he gets a clean run at the line. He'll be eyeing the criterium evening stage on Sunday when the all-out action of the UK scene that he now has in his legs is expected to stand him in very good stead.
Sean Downey (An Post-Chainreaction)
There isn’t much Downey can’t do but he’ll know his every move will be watched this weekend. He could win the race, or he could end up riding in support of any one of those in the team, or such is the standard, he could end up doing neither. Downey can go long and tough it out, like he showed several times during the An Post Rás in May. Expect him to be there or thereabouts.
Ryan Sherlock (Polygon Sweet Nice)
The Monaghan man won’t need to be told this was one race that was truly his for the taking last year. He had 25 seconds of a lead going into the final day but when he missed the break his chances went up in smoke. In his defence, he had little or no support but there’s no excuse this time around. He won the Tour of Connacht last week, underlining his good form. He should push for a stage win, at the very least.
Hugh Carthy (Rapha Condor-JLT)
A former stage winner of the Junior Tour of Ireland and overall winner at the Junior Tour of Wales, the Preston youngster is one of the most promising riders to emerge on the UK scene in recent years. The former Maxgear Champion Systems rider finished last season in 7th in the year-long National Junior Road Race Series and instead of taking the option to go directly to France for his first season as a senior rider, he opted for Rapha Condor-JLT.
Jonathon Creegan (Isle of Man)
Ninth overall last year but up until the final day when he got in the break, Creegan was riding for Darren Bell and Chris Whorrell. In 2012 they had four in the top 10 overall but will rue missing out on the top prize on the final day. Creegan can climb well and he’ll be expected to contend once more.
Eoin Morton (UCD CC)
Hard to believe Morton was an A4 rider at the beginning of last year but since then he has finished third in the Shay Elliott and completed his first An Post Rás, even with a broken nose after he face-planted a pothole on stage six this year. Last year he was eighth going into the final stage of the Suir Valley but when he missed the break he slipped back to 14th overall. Definitely capable of a top 10.
Patrick Clarke (Castlebar CC)
Clarke is getting closer to the top step on the podium after a third overall in 2011 and a runner-up slot last year. Two seconds was all that separated him from winner Twohig in 2012 and though he’s been sick the last week, his form prior to that suggests he’s ripe for another tilt at yellow this time around. He has won a string of races in recent months and seems to be in great shape physically and mentally.
Paidi O’Brien (Planet Tri Racing team)
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The Banteer man won two stages last year and despite a niggling knee complaint following a crash in the Midleton GP last Sunday week, he will be right up there again. He could have won the race last year had he not punctured out of the break on day one and with the help of Barry Meade, Michael Crowley, Eddie Barry and Mick Storan, he’ll take a lot of stopping this time around.
The winner of the Shay Elliott and the Cycleways Cup is as good as anyone in the country on his day and though he’s been quiet of late, it shouldn’t detract from him being one of the favourites. He’s currently fourth on the 2013 Irish Cycling rider rankings and will have Fraser Duncan and Thomas Martin for support; the latter having won the Wallace Caldwell in the North last weekend and could do every well himself this weekend.
Bryan McCrystal (Cuchulainn CC)
One of the stars of the 2013 season could wreak havoc on a course like the one the riders will face this weekend. The Cuchulainn CC rider has already a stage win in the Tour of Ulster to his name after a memorable escape with Roger Aiken, which they both followed up with fantastic rides in the Rás in May. Of late he has amassed a number of strong results, such as runner-up in the Tommy Brady Memorial and a win in the Ballivor GP, beating Neil Delahaye and Javan Nulty in the latter.
Marcus Christie (Folyle CC)
The Foyle CC rider’s ability is without question and having won a kermesse race in Belgium just last week, he’s obviously in good form too. He won’t have the backing of any team but may not need it, such is his talent. So far this summer his best result came when he smashed the Irish 50 mile TT record by over five minutes.
Gary Jeffers ( East Tyrone)
Currently ranked 11th in the Cycling Ireland rankings for 2013, the East Tyrone man has enjoyed a phenomenal season so far, taking victory in the ‘Hewitt & Gilpin Phoenix GP’ in February, followed by the McCannn Cup in March where he beat Conor Murphy after which he also won the Carn Classic (April). He was placed on the final stage of the Tour of Ulster (5th) and could make an end of season assault on the Suir Valley.
Danny Bruton (Nicolas Roche Performance Team)
Just back after the European Championships in the Czech Republic , Bruton will use this race as a trial to make the Worlds junior team for next month. And having performed brilliantly here last year, he’ll look to do even better. Coming 17th overall last year was no mean achievement for a first year junior.
Mark Dowling (Polygon Sweet Nice)
The talented climber will be looking to make his presence felt when the road goes up and if things go right for him he could challenge for both stage and overall honours. He has come into some great form of late, tells us he is really looking forward to the coming weekend and has developed a welcome habit of winning races in recent weeks. With a strong team behind him, he is one rider who would be very hard to shift from the yellow jersey if he managed take it at some point.
Ronan McLaughlin (An Post-Chainreaction)
McLaughlin will undoubtedly get up the road, like he always does, and if any move he were in was to get any kind of leeway at all he would give a very good account of himself in the hunt for the final yellow jersey. The Donegal man has perhaps not has as good a season this year as last, when a string of really strong rides saw him selected on the Irish team for World Road Race Championships. However, last year he went particularly well in the second half of the season, including a really strong ride in the Tour of Britain. McLaughlin was very aggressive in the Kreiz Breizh Elites stage race in Brittany last week and based on that showing he will be one of the very strongest men this weekend.
Charlie Prendergast (Polygon Sweet Nice)
Like his team mate Mark Dowling, Prendergast has also come into some really good form of late and has converted that into a number of race wins. He would love to extend that run this weekend with a stage win or by taking any of the main classification jerseys. And like the rest of his team mates, he will have some very good men to call on if he gets into a potentially race winning move. Prendergast is always an aggressive rider and with that attitude and the form he has shown of late, he is definitely one to watch.
Sam Bennett (An Post Chainreaction)
On roads he knows so well and in front of home crowds that’ll know him even better, Bennett’s motivation to win this race will be enormous. He has won stages in the past as a junior and though he hasn’t been back since then, it won’t matter. He rode a selfless An Post Rás, teeing up team mate Shane Archbold for a stage win as well as grabbing two of his own into Listowel and Skerries. This race will be key to his end of season attempts to bag some bigger results on the Continent and also at the Tour of Britain next month. Expect him and Archbold to try and rule the sprints this weekend as they did when taking their combined three stage wins at the Rás in May.
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