Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin both looking shattered at the end of a race they said was one of the toughest of their careers.
Having gone to the Rio Olympics as medal contenders and an outside bet for gold, Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche finished the men’s road race frustrated.
But the Irish cousins were thankful for all of the support they received. And both spoke about how Ireland had in recent years become a cycling nation with real ambition.
In the end, Martin had to be content with 13th place while Roche came home in 29th.
And while Martin suggested the course was dangerous and so difficult that it produced negative racing; he simply looked like a rider not at his best when the racing was going forward in the final hour.
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Roche said he lacked some firepower on the climbs, adding parts of the course presented problems.
“The cobbled section was disastrous; it was like a war zone with chains dropping and bottles flying all over the place,” he said of a pave section on the opening circuits flagged by nobody in the run-up to the event.
Roche added the sheer number of riders who had problems with their chains on the cobbled section was due to the gear choice needed on the day for such a hilly course.
“We use a 32 which means we use a longer derailleur and chain and there’s a lot more give when we got to the cobbles,” he said.
“They (the cobbles) came after a descent so we were in the biggest gear.”
Roche said both he and Martin had entered the event with “high ambitions”. And while he was disappointed not to take something away from it, he felt Irish cycling had progressed in its mindset and international standing in recent years.
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“I think the course was a bit of a surprise. The course and racing were harder than what a lot of people expected.
“We raced pretty well, but a mechanical happened at a bad place, and on a circuit that’s hard it’s non-forgiving,” he said in reference to his chain popping off – along with many other riders’ chains – on the cobbles. But he was philosophical too.
“That’s part of the game, obviously I was hoping for a better result. My chain wrapped on my pedal the first time up the hard climb, and I lost time,” he said of a deficit estimated at 50 seconds by Cycling Ireland’s officials in Rio.
“My legs were strong but it took a lot of energy to get back to the front. It’s great to say my legs were strong but the thing with the Olympics is; it’s about results.
“Today I came to give a bit more; I thought I was maybe going to be able to. So I’m disappointed after the finish. These things happen.”
Martin was clearly very frustrated when speaking to RTE immediately after the finish.
But it was refreshing to see both Irish riders speak their mind and being disappointed with their placings; simply because they hoped for so much more.
“It shows how far we have come, for a nation like Ireland to be coming in with two guys who can medal, and then be really disappointed with a 13th place finish out of 150 starters,” said Martin.
“It shows the ambition we have. We rode our best and that’s all you can ask for.
He also confirmed what anyone watching the race on TV would have thought: “It was one of the hardest bike races I have done, it was hot, on a tricky course and no let off all day.”
But while he will leave the Olympics empty handed after a race on a course made for himself and Roche, the support and work of those in the Irish camp was not wasted on him.
“Big thanks to Cycling Ireland and the Olympic Council of Ireland for letting us believe in our dream,” he said, summing up what the Olympics is really all about.
“Up until 25km to go we nearly had that dream. Thanks for letting us believe in that.”
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