By Shane Stokes
Conn McDunphy may have come down hard in Friday’s Rás crash, but he continued riding strongly on Saturday’s stage and notched up another podium visit. The Cycling Leinster rider rolled in as part of the main bunch to retain his 14th place overall and was once again awarded the blue jersey of best county rider.
However he told stickybottle that things were difficult early on due to the after-effects of his fall, with a visibly swollen face as he visited the podium for the classification leader's jersey presentation.
“It was a bit rough today,” he said at the finish in Monaghan. “I sat last man for a long time just trying to see how I was. I was a bit worried, I’d a bit of a headache, but I think it was just the cracked teeth and the whiplash from the neck. But the legs kind of came around in the final. So I’m happy enough. I didn’t lose any time.”
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McDunphy, who has represented Ireland at the World Road Championships, has been in superb form of late, taking a string of good results in US racing and then winning the Shay Elliott Memorial upon his return. He was very aggressive on the opening stages of the Rás, ending stage one fifth overall in the general classification thanks to time bonuses, and continuing to attack on stages two and three.
However he came down in the same crash that ended Daire Feeley’s Rás challenge, hitting the deck close to the end of Friday’s third stage. That saw him lose time, dropping from fifth to 14th overall, and cost him any chance of winning this year’s Rás.
He took a philosophical outlook on Saturday. “Yeah, look, the race is what is,” he said. “We’ve got to race the race that we’re in. And obviously, I’d probably prefer a few more hills, like the first stage. I was probably a bit too aggressive in the first stage, and lost the front of the race.
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"Since then it’s been bunch kicks. But look, it’s it is what it is….you can’t really dwell over. I’m just lucky to not have any broken bones. And I wish all the guys well who crashed yesterday.”
McDunphy will take encouragement from how his legs felt on Saturday: stiff early on, but much better later in the stage. Does he believe he’ll have what it takes to go up the road on Sunday?
“Yeah, I think so,” he answered. “The legs were pretty good now in the final. So we’ll see. Obviously, Kevin [McCambridge] won the stage solo last year, so it’s certainly possible. We’re just going to have to see how we feel tomorrow and give it a go. I’ll thrown in an attack or two anyway.”
Beyond Sunday, he’s still trying to work out what the rest of his season looks like.
“I’m not really sure what the programme is, to be honest,” he said. “I’m going to train till Nationals. That’s probably the big goal of the year. We’ll see what the craic is after that.”
It seems a return to US racing could potentially be on the cards. “I am trying to get a ride or two. We’ll see. It’s all kind of up in the air until after nationals, but I’m sure I’ll sort something out anyway.”
His performances there this spring included fourth on a stage and fourth in the mountains classification in the Redlands Bicycle Classis, fifth in the Sea Otter Classic, and eighth and ninth on stages of the Tour of the Gila. He also won the San Luis Road Race in San Diego, the state championships, as well as round four of the CBR Premier Criterium Series in Carson.
Those should all help in securing the right kind of attention. “I had a pretty good ride out there. So I was happy with that,” he said. “And yes, there’s an offer or two, but nothing concrete just yet. So I’ll play it by ear.”
