What it means for an Irish rider to win a stage of An Post Rás
Matt Teggart on winning big at the An Post Rás. He explains what it means after all the hard times (Photo: Morgan Treacy - Inpho)
Matt Teggart has said yesterday was the greatest day of his life after he claimed the biggest win of his career on an emotional afternoon at the An Post Rás.
The Banbridge man (21), riding in his first season for An Post Chain Reaction, was swamped by friends and teammates after the finish of stage three in Bundoran.
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He struggled to keep his emotions in check and was quick to point to the selfless work by Damien Shaw and Sean McKenna who helped him take victory on the day.
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“I’m absolutely delighted. The boys rode an absolute blinder today with Sean and Damien in the break,” he said.
“Pretty much from early on, the break was working. But with 40 kilometres to go we started attacking.
“And all three of us got into the decisive move,” he said.
The decisive move was when the day’s 26-man break split in half approaching Bundoran, with the three An Post Chain Reaction men at the right side of it.
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“From there we kept everything together and I tried to do as little as possible because I knew I had a decent sprint,” Teggart said.
“The boys told me sit on and do as little as possible. So they took us into the finish and made sure we didn’t get caught from behind.
“I kicked with 300 metres to go which is really very early but with a tailwind…
“I kicked and gapped them and they hadn’t enough room to come around me. I’m delighted.
“It’s class, I can’t put it into words, it’s definitely the best day of my life so far.
“I’m after a hard few years, a month ago I broke my elbow so coming back into my first race, it’s unbelievable.
“My Dad was right behind me in the car all day. He’s ridden the race before and has been working on it for 20 years.
“He was behind me all day; you couldn’t have written it any better.
“I had a lot of bad luck over the years but this absolutely makes up for it.
“The plan was to get as much out of the race as we can. I wouldn’t be one of the strongest in the team but as one of the Irish lads it’s an absolute honour to win. It’s really unbelievable.”
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