By Shane Stokes
There was a touching moment at the end of the Rás Tailteann on Sunday when the former race leader made his way over to the rider who had wrested the yellow jersey off his back. Conor McGoldrick offered his congratulations to Dillon Corkery, who then leaned forward and embraced the British rider.
McGoldrick was doubtlessly gutted to lose the race he’d led since the start, but his sincere gesture and Corkery’s warm response spoke volumes. There was a mutual respect and even if the Briton had wanted to head home as race winner, he continued showing the class that had been on display all week.
“It was a great, great race,” he told Stickybottle. “As a team, we rode great. Just…a tough day today. A tough day. I’ll be back.”
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The son of parents from Dublin and with family from all over Ireland, McGoldrick was elated to win the opening stage of the Rás last Wednesday. He described it then as the biggest race he’d ever done and rode with plenty of gusto in the days since to defend yellow.
He and his Trek Richardsons DAS team fended off multiple attacks, bringing back dangerous rivals each time, including multiple dangerous breakaways on Saturday. Speaking that evening, he made clear to Stickybottle how committed he and his team were to trying to secure the final race win. “It’d be very, very special to win. We want it bad.”
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However things unravelled on Sunday’s stage to Blackrock when a dangerous break containing key rivals Cormac McGeough (USA Good Guys Racing NYC), Corkery and Aaron Wade (both Team Ireland) got away. He said that initial confusion blurred the danger and helped the break gain time.
“We weren’t getting many time checks,” he said. “I thought the break was about a minute, then we were told it was three minutes. We rode as hard as we could, and didn’t get much help for the other teams. I’m impressed they stayed away because we were riding hard. But yeah. Congrats to the winner.”
Still, even if things turned out as they did, he has much to be satisfied with. His performance on stage one showed class, and so too the manner of his leadership of the race, his politeness at stage ends and his domination of the KOM classification. He ended up with 55 points, well clear of the 32 amassed by nearest rival Tobias Dahlhaus (UK: Foran CCC). He was also third overall.
“I can’t be disappointed. It’s been a great week,” he said. “I still got the King of the Mountains jersey and the stage win. I can’t be disappointed.”
Next up are some races in the UK and then, he hopes, competitions in Belgium and France with his team. He turned 25 earlier this year and clearly has the strength to achieve more in the sport.
Asked if his Rás performance will give him momentum for the future, he was succinct but definitive in his answer.
“One hundred percent,” he said.
