Matteo Cigala, the Italian living and racing in Ireland, came very close to a stage win today. He says the Continental riders race at a higher level and take more risks but he has four more chances to win (All photos Bryan Keane - Inpho)
By Shane Stokes
Second on stage four of the Rás Tailteann on Wednesday, Matteo Cigala admitted he had surprised himself with how things turned out.
“For sure today was not one of my expected days, on paper,” he said, referring to his pre-Rás expectations.
“Both today and stage seven; I put a line through them and said ‘I am going to ride easy, I will go to the finish easy’.
“But I felt really good in the last two weeks. I was climbing well in the Shay Elliott,” he said of his recent runner-up placing.
Advertisement
“And I said this morning I am going to try stay as much as possible with the first guys.”
Things worked out perfectly in that regard.
“I went over the Healy Pass with the first group, in the top 20. I did very little, no jumping around. I was just saving my legs for the sprint.
“I was lucky I had Ronan [McLaughlin] with me. So I knew I could just sit on for the sprint and he would try to make it into the moves.
“And then everything came back together within the last five kilometres.”
Finishing 2nd on stage 4, on the left in blue. With team mate McLaughlin; both of them made the 26-man lead group on what was a very hilly stage.
Cigala thundered into Glengarriff in second place, finishing close to the day’s winner Jason van Dalen (Netherlands Delta Cycling X) and ahead of many more experienced riders.
It is his best result to date in the Rás, following on from fourth on stage two last year and ninth on stage eight in 2016.
It also earned the Westmeath Viner-Caremark–Pactimo rider the best county rider award for the stage.
In fact, he earned the same distinction on stages one and three. On those occasions he was 12th and 8th respectively, and so netting second is a big step up from that.
Related News
“Heading into the sprint, I was thinking to do well, obviously,” the Italian said.
“I came here for at least a podium. But I knew in the week before the Rás that I had the legs to win a stage.
“When you are so close, for sure you are happy to get a podium. But when you are so close, maybe half a bike length, you wish to win because you don’t know when you will get another opportunity like that.
“I am happy that the legs are there, for sure, and there are four more days.”
On the road during the opening stage and on the podium - for the county rider prize - afterwards.
Given that he went so close, it is inevitable that he will replay the finish in his mind in the days ahead, wondering if there was something he could do to have taken the win.
Asked about this after the finish, he pondered what he could have done differently.
“For sure, these guys have no fear. Maybe in the last corner I touched the brakes and little bit,” he said.
“Maybe I could have done a little bit better. But, again, when you are looking back, you can only say; ‘I could have done this, I could have done that’. But it is too late.
“Being an amateur, I know that I don’t take so many risks. Maybe I was just boxed in at the last corner, but that is bike racing, at the end of the day.
“I think the first guy [van Dalen] had good legs as well. These guys are racing every week at this level and for sure that is helping them.
“Again, I am a bit disappointed, for sure. I went across the line and I had to go by myself and cry.”
As mentioned, Cigala had previously written off stage 4 and stage 7 as possibilities before the race.
His strong performance on Wednesday has given him confidence that he could indeed figure on the penultimate day in Wicklow.
“There are four more days,” he said, looking to where he could achieve that goal of a stage win. “Today was supposed to be one of the hardest. So every day is a good option.
“I think even stage 7… The Wicklow Gap is far away from the finish, and it is a climb that I know. So, four more chances.”
Topics
