Yellow jersey Conn McDunphy rounded off his Rás victory ride by leading out team mate Liam Flanagan, who won stage 5 into Dunboyne (Photo: Caroline Kerley)
By Shane Stokes
Conn McDunphy’s American teammate Liam Flanagan had a remarkable week at the Rás, winning stages three and five and also taking second in the points classification and tenth overall.
His performances helped seal the USA: APS Pro Cycling squad’s victory in the team classification. However he did all that despite recent injury.
“I’ll remember this as a very special one,” he said, when asked what his memories will be of the Rás. “I broke my collarbone six weeks ago. And to come back and be able to…
"The legs have been there, but when you are sprinting it is all about confidence. That first stage win really helps, just with the head.
“The legs are one thing, but everyone has got the legs. It is about getting it right. And getting it right in the sport is very hard to do. I am just thrilled with it, it was awesome.
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“It was an honour to ride for Conn all day and to be able to cap it off like that is a really special day out.”
Flanagan and the other APS riders had a vital role in helping to control the race and to limit the gains of any dangerous breakaways.
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“We were under a lot of pressure all day, obviously defending yellow, with Conn coming into his home town. Just a special day on the bike, a lot of chasing.
"Anyone who was anywhere close was trying to put us under pressure. They were doing a good job with it. But it was just about staying calm and making sure that we rode within ourselves. The whole team rallied.
“Then once we came to the last lap we went from riding for Conn. Conn was in the yellow jersey riding on the front so that was just really special for him. He dropped me off with 500 metres to go and then first into the last corner and full gas to the line.
"A really special way to finish it off. The yellow jersey is obviously the main goal, but this is just the cherry on top.”
McDunphy repaying his teammate’s help by riding as leadout man for him is a nice gesture, and follows up another move on stage 3 when he deliberately let Flanagan’s wheel go when he took technical corners in Enniscorthy at high speed.
That same bike handling ability was a factor in McDunphy’s decision to help on Sunday.
“On the last lap I knew it was going to be a sprint. We were still riding the front until about four kilometres to go, and then the sprint teams came up. Quite often the safest place in a sprint is in the front. So I rode the front from the final roundabout until about 350 to go.
“As I was coming up I gave Liam a little tap on the bum and said, ‘follow me buddy.’ Because I know he has a screw loose. If he can get into a corner he will go faster than anyone else and there is no one catching him.
“I was so happy to be able to help him to do that, dropping him off with about 400 to go, just before the speed bumps. It is surreal.”
