As the end of the most unusual domestic road racing season approaches Limerick is braced for a last showdown this weekend with the National Road Race Championships.
Newcastle West Wheelers has stepped in to promote the
championships races and the team putting on the show, under race director Liam
Collins, deserve first mention.
Collins has stepped in a number of times already since
racing resumed after lock-down to fill some of the gaps in the calendar and
Irish cycling owes him and his officials a debt for what they are doing this
weekend; in tricky circumstances and at short notice.
The elite men’s and elite women’s race as the centre
pieces for tomorrow and Sunday respectively, with the men’s contest looking
like it’s the most open race for years. It’s on first so we’ll focus on it
first and turn to the women’s event tomorrow.
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Usually the professional riders returning from Europe take the headlines but this year is a little different.
Ryan Mullen (Trek Segafredo) is riding the BinckBank Tour
at present and so is absent. Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) is out with a
broken collarbone and last year’s winner Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) is
sitting out this year’s race in favour of focusing on his remaining season
goals ahead.
It means that this year Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) is
the only big name in Limerick, bringing some WorldTour glamour, not to mention
WorldTour legs, to the proceedings.
Having gone on the attack repeatedly at the Tour de
France, taken stages in the Vuelta and led that race twice in his career – not to
mention having won the national road and TT titles twice – he is a formidable
opponent for anyone who would be champion to overcome.
The race is nine laps of a 17.1km course, based out of Knockaderry, with a lumpy final 3km each lap which will sting as the laps tick down, especially if the bigger guns in the field let rip there and Roche will be dangerous as the race wears on.
Another on the list of hotly tipped contenders is Ben
Healy of Trinity Racing. The 20-year-old was fastest in the TT field on
Thursday and won the U23 gold while he recently took a brilliant stage win in
the Pyrenees at Ronde de l’Isard.
Healy is capable of winning from any scenario tomorrow
and, like Roche, his power on that final lap, especially in the closing
kilometres, will be hard to match.
Though he is still only 20 years old Healy looks like he
has promising pro career ahead of him and a victory in the elite title race
would give his prospects in that regard a serious boost.
There is also a trio of Continental level riders in the
field that could beat anyone on their day and have gone very close to winning
the nationals already in their career.
Christopher McGlinchey and Darnell Moore, both riding for
Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK, this
year won silver in this race in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Their form is hard to assess this year as Covid-19 has wiped out so much racing in Ireland and the UK. But if they are both going well they will pose a formidable challenge.
Similarly,
Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b
Soreen) is another very serious
proposition; the winner of two stages at Tour of Fuzhou (2.1) last year,
he was 5th in Thursday’s TT and could be champion on his day.
Others, who are riding without team support but who could win, include new Irish elite TT champion Conn McDunphy (CC Nogent Oise), Mark Downey (Cotes D’Armor Cyclisme) and Darragh O Mahony (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling).
McDunphy will be on a high after his TT win on Thursday; carrying no pressure and good form may prove a winning combination.
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Downey has only raced intermittently on the road of late
and how well he can adjust after being so focused on track since last year is
open to question. But on a good day he is definitely a potential winner.
O’Mahony has raced only sparingly at home in recent months but has looked great when he has pinned a number on and he is a rider the others could not give any leeway to or he won’t be seen again.
There is also a clutch of U23 riders who can impress;
EvoPro Racing with three in the field in the shape of Ben Walsh, Sean Nolan and
Aaron Kearney.
JB Murphy (Arabay) is a rider with a big future having
won medals on the track as a junior at the Worlds and Europeans and can be in
contention tomorrow.
Similarly, former junior road race champion Adam Ward (Antiga
Casa Bellsolà Club Ciclista) is capable of a big performance, as is Liam Curley
(South-East Road Club), Adam Stenson (UC Monaco) Louis Bilyard (ControlPack
Yupih), Fintan Ryan (Kingspan-TrackProject.ie)
and Leo Doyle (TWC TEMPO Veldhoven).
One young gun worth watching – and who is already capable
of winning if things went his way - is Kevin McCambridge.
The 18-year-old with Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling recorded
the 2nd fastest time in the TT field on Thursday and won U23 silver. It looks
like he is in mint condition and that his progress has jumped forward
significantly despite his lack of racing due to Covid-19.
The only question for McCambridge is how well his legs work in the closing stages tomorrow, though if he is on a good day and is in contention he has a real shot at gold.
Ronan McLaughlin (Dan Morrissey-MIG-Pactimo) was the man
of the lock-down in Irish cycling; breaking the world Everesting record and
knocking Alberto Contador off the top spot.
McLaughlin hasn’t ridden a road race since March but
aside from his Everesting record he recently won the Donegal Ultra 555 and also
claimed the Ulster Hill Climb Championships.
He has enjoyed his racing, and proven very successful,
since he stepped back from racing with An Post-Chainreaction some years ago and
a national title win tomorrow would top an incredible few months.
He clearly has a huge amount of work done, has had great legs of late and has the experience to get the job done if he gets a bit of luck that any winner will need.
Unlike McLaughlin, Daire Feeley is a rider who has done
plenty of racing in recent months and his win tally on the home scene is headed
for double figures this year.
He has plenty of international racing experience and is
clearly in great form. Of those
challengers riding with Irish amateur teams, he is top of the form book for
tomorrow’s race.
And unlike some of the other contenders, he is backed by
a strong team in the shape of Strata 3-VeloRevolution which has at least one
other potential winner in its ranks in the shape of Mark Dowling.
Last year Dowling matched Sam Bennett and Eddie Dunbar up
the road for a long time. And though his form is hard to assess, he can do
serious damage on his day.
Dowling and Feeley will have team mates Richard Maes, Paul Forristal, Paul Norton and Mark Quigley for
company; a formidable group.
Another strong domestic outfit with some serious
firepower is Caldwell Cycles Omagh. Craig
McAuley, Marc Potts, Mark McClure, Angus Fyffe and Gareth O’Neill could well combine well to produce a medal.
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