Liam Flanagan of USA: APS Pro Cycling team celebrates after winning today's stage 3 into Enniscorthy, where he claimed a solo win after bridging across late to the breakaway (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan)
By Shane Stokes
He’s got one of the most Irish-sounding names in the Rás peloton and on Friday Liam Flanagan rocketed to the top of the podium.
The 25 year old American rider shot clear of the leading group just before the final 1km ramp up to the finish line in Enniscorthy and made the most of the opportunity.
He powered up the climb and reached the line three seconds clear of a hard-chasing Tim Shoreman. It was a clear step up from Flanagan’s previous best of fifth on a stage in 2024.
“It hurt. The legs were stinging,” he grinned, when asked how the victory felt.
“I had been covering a lot of moves all day, so I wasn’t the freshest. Tim is an amazing sprinter, so I knew I had to go pretty long. Conn (teammate Conn McDunphy) and I were covering most of all the moves.
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"We came to the base of the climb and there were a technical couple of bridges. I came into them a little bit hotter than maybe I would have liked, but looked back and no one was on the wheel.
“So I just rode full gas from the bottom to the top and the finish line and it was enough to hold them off. Once I crossed the line it felt very, very good. I have been chasing that win for a while so it feels great.”
Irish Roots
For Rás veterans, Flanagan’s name immediately brings back memories of the 1975 overall winner Paddy Flanagan of the Kildare team. The North Carolina rider is not quite sure of his Irish heritage, but indicated he will look deeper into it after his stage win.
“It’s a few generations back. Probably a few more generations than I can count,” he smiled. “But the Flanagan name fits in [well] to the race. The team that is here is primarily Irish plus me with an Irish name, so it’s all Irish!
“Everybody on the team has told me about Paddy Flanagan, especially their parents. Conn’s father Peter has told me all about it. We are still figure out if we have any connection there. We still haven’t found it, but maybe!”
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A delighted Liam Flanagan wins Rás Tailteann stage 3 into Enniscorthy, continuing a really successful race for APS Pro Cycling (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan)
Whatever the outcome of that genealogical search, he’s certainly proved his Rás credentials. He’s won big while his USA: APS Pro Cycling team has been one of the most active this week.
Adam Lewis was part of the key breakaway on stage one and then jumped to the top of the general classification on Thursday. He was gapped on Friday, slipping to fourth overall.
But Flangan’s stage win, Conn McDunphy’s third on the stage and his jump to second overall underline just how well the squad is riding.
“I’m not surprised, it is the style that we race with,” he said. “A lot of aggression and racing forward. Any bike race you do is hard to win, so you can’t really expect that. But we are just happy with it, everyone is playing their role.
“Today we had the yellow jersey and it is very hard to control with a squad of five by just riding on the front. Especially with the Irish racing style. So we just wanted to keep the race open all day, which I think we succeeded in.
“A big group of 17 ended up going away with Conn and I in it. Obviously we didn’t want to ride and just sat on it, so we got a free ride to the finish.
“Now Tim goes into yellow, so that will be a good fight, especially as we go into the mountains.”
Shoreman is a powerfully built rider and due to that musculature he has surprised with how well he has been riding on the climbs. He’s at the top of the GC now.
But with McDunphy lurking 14 seconds back and Lewis at 49 seconds, APS Pro Cycling is ready to strike on Saturday’s dauntingly-difficult stage through the Wicklow mountains.
“It is good to have a couple of cards to play,” Flanagan said. “Adam Lewis is still up there in the mix, within a minute. So we’ve got that two-pronged attack with different styles of riders.
“Expect us to be pretty aggressive.”
