Philip Lavery leads Dermot Trulock in a two-man break on the first pass over the Wicklow Gap in Saturday's Friends First Laragh Classic (Pic John Hammer)
Philip Lavery lands Laragh Classic as Asian tests loom
Philip Lavery is bound for the Tour of China after taking a convincing victory in the new-look Friends First Laragh Classic on Saturday.
Lavery, 27, was making his National Road Series debut in the Cycling Ireland league's finale after an international season and was always comfortable as the 97km race battled twice over the Wicklow Gap.
First time over, Lavery had Lucan CRC's Dermot Trulock for company, but that was not the break that would stick.
Lavery said: "I let Dermot go initially, then rode across to him, but the group came back to us on the Blessington Road heading for Baltinglass.
"I was keen to keep that initial breakaway the first time over the gap. Dermot is a little bit younger and inexperience and I think he forgot about the lap heading around Hollywood and the lakes.
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"The main road to Baltinglass seemed to be the hardest part, with the headwind and the foothills going back to Wicklow Gap. Wicklow Gap is quite difficult, don’t get me wrong, but you kind of know what’s coming for 15 or 20 minutes.
"I knew that other section was going to be very difficult and I would have prefered to have had five or six bodies with me then. There's no prizes for the first 40k."
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Arms aloft, Philip Lavery crosses the Laragh Classic finish line alone, an elite group about to follow him over the final crest of the 97km race.
When the attacks began again, it was Aqua Blue Sport Academy's Sean Lacey who escaped, Lavery again following the move.
He said: "He felt pretty good and said he was up for the National Road Series, and I needed a good allay to make sure it wouldn’t come back together so that worked for me.
"He’s been around a long time, like myself, and he’s a pretty honest rider, so we were riding through pretty steady. When the climb got a bit steeper - I’ve got a bit more racing in my legs than these guys - I just pushed on."
Lavery pushed on towards the finish too, riding in alone for a convincing victory, with Adam Stenson finishing second, and Lacey coming third - a position strong enough for him to overtake Mark Dowling and win the Cycling Ireland Men's National Road Series.
Lavery will push on with his season as well, flying to China this Wednesday to race for H&R Block Racing in the Tour of China II. His season concludes two months later back in Asia at the Tour of Hainan.
He said: "I’m looking at finishing up my season around the 15th of November this year, it’ll run quite late, but I had two and a half years off, so for me I still feel quite fresh and the more racing I can get in the better for me."
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