Thomas Lavery of Waterford Comeragh (left) and Alex Schrangl (Arvo Gebrder) establish a lead towards the end of yesterday's stage 5 of the An Post Rás into Mitchelstown (Photo: John Shields)
A day after all but one of his team mates were eliminated from the An Post Rás during the time cut controversy, Thomas Lavery flew the flag for his team and the county men on the road just outside Mitchelstown yesterday.
He went clear in a two-man escape and entertained the thought for the briefest of moments that they might make it all the way.
“The fella I was with was trucking, he was doing big turns but I was there pushing it with him,” said the 32-year-old garda based in Callan, Co Kilkenny.
Having survived out front past the 10km to go marker, Lavery said he dared to dream that even the slightest hesitation in the bunch behind could mean himself and Alex Schrangl (Arvo Gebrder) might fight it out for the win.
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“I was thinking, this is really happening, this is on the cards. But, you know, I was quite happy to be out there and to give it a lash. It is getting harder for the county riders to do that so it was good to give it a good go.”
Lavery and Cathal Moynihan are the only two riders left in what started out as a five-man Waterford Comeragh team. When 23 riders were excluded for missing the time cut into Glengariff on Wednesday’s stage 4, there were three Comeragh men among them; Ger Conlan, Finbarr Power and Mark Sherman.
However, with Lavery having given a good account of himself during the pointy end of the stage yesterday and Cathal Moynihan leading the A2 category, the mood in the depleted camp is good.
“Obviously Cathal is still up there and going well and I’m feeling good myself,” said Lavery.
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“I think maybe not riding the Tour of Ulster has stood to me, I might be a little bit fresher now. I just did Rás Mumhan (as his only pre-Rás stage race). I was probably a bit sticky on the first day or two here but I am coming around grand and I’m climbing OK.”
Lavery said he tried a number of times on the stage yesterday to get away very early on but failed to do so. When the main breakaway went clear, featuring Shane Archbold (An Post-Chainreaction) and Mike Northey (NODE4-Giordana) he sensed that was a time good to try and go.
“I went after them but I just didn’t have the legs to close it. Then I was back in the bunch and I just minded myself; kept in out of the breeze got a few feeds into me. Then with around 30-35k to go I started moving up the bunch a little bit. The big teams were getting on the front so I just stayed into the right hand side, out of the breeze.”
“Then when the leaders were getting brought right back I said to myself ‘fuck it, I’m going to have a go here’. So I attacked, I think there was around 25k to go at that stage, the other guy came up to me and we got tipping away. Then Archbold and (Northey) sat up but we kept at it.”
“He was a bit stronger than men, but I was driving it with him. We stayed out there and we took the last KOH. He was first over it, I was about a bike length off the back of him going over the top and I shouted at him so he eased off a little bit and we got going again together immediately, down the other side and kept going.”
He said it was at that stage, as they were entering the last 10km, that he began to entertain thoughts of staying way.
“I think you have to think like that, to stay positive like that,” said Lavery.
“All it takes is for the bunch to ease, to stall, and then maybe the gap is a bit bigger. These things can happen and that’s how it happens. I think in the end we lasted until 9km to go. These days getting a team to the Rás takes a lot of money and effort so it was good to be able to get up there.”
Lavery said the team had been sponsored by the Wicklow legal firm Barrett & Chapman and Boland’s cars in Waterford and he felt it was important to give as good account of himself as possible to justify the trust and financial support the sponsors had placed in the team.
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