By Shane Stokes
Odhrán Doogan performed with style on Friday, riding strongly and holding the Rás Tailteann race lead, but it was not without considerable stress. The Cycling Ulster rider began stage three with a very narrow lead in the general classification.
Matteo Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey Pissei) was just three seconds back, while Sebastian Brenes (Mexico Canel’s Java) and George Kimber (Isle of Man Cycling Club) were at six seconds.
Conn McDunphy (USA: Team Skyline) and Daire Feeley (Clare: Burren CC) were also within ten seconds, and waiting to pounce.
And pounce they did: Kimber, McDunphy and Feeley were all in the day’s key move, and opened a gap which hovered for a long, long time around a minute and sometimes grew bigger than that.
Advertisement
“It started off not so stressful but once that strong move went up the road, the stress levels went up a few notches,” the 21-year-old said after the stage.
“Unfortunately it was up to myself and my team to do the chasing, we were getting no favours off anyone. We kind of expected that so we were up for the challenge.”
Doogan sounded composed at the finish, having salvaged yellow, but he told stickybottle that things were tense early on.
“I was definitely nervous once the motorbike came back and I saw the numbers on the board,” he said. “It’s not that I panicked, but it was a bit of a nervous moment.”
Still, he and his team knew what to do. He has Lindsay Watson, Jamie Moss, Kevin McCambridge and Travis Harkness in his team.
“I knew the guys up the road had a big, hard day ahead of them. It was unlikely that they would go to the finish, even as strong as they were. I knew I just couldn't let them get a big gap. We were able to control it, and then when we needed, we were able to bring it back.”
His teammates were vital in the chase, and also just before he got across to those who had been ahead. Having Lindsay Watson in the day’s early move was also advantageous.
“I had Kevin McCambridge on the front through the last wee bit to get me to the bottom of climb,” he explained. “And then I managed to get across then with a pretty big group over the top.
“From then on, it was myself and Lindsay. We were left to do the rest of the work.”
Getting up to the leaders was impressive. But what happened after the recapture also underlined his form.
Related News
'I realise there are quite a lot of tired legs'
Doogan has been flying since the start of the Rás. He was up the road on day one, taking three primes. Of those two offered time bonuses, giving him a six second advantage and paving the way to take the race lead on Thursday.
But despite riding aggressively on Wednesday, he was still seventh in the gallop to the line. In fact he suggested he would have been closer to the win had he got his tactics and placing right on the technical run into the line.
That underlined his strong physical condition. He showed that again Friday when, having chased with his team for much of the stage, he had enough left in the tank to go on the attack.
He surged at Lahinch with approximately 11km to go. And while that move was covered, being able to go on the offensive showed both strength and confidence.
“I realised there are quite a lot of tired legs in the bunch and I was feeling pretty good at the time. So I thought, yeah, I'd give it a few digs and see what I could do myself.”
Inspired by yellow
Despite being third overall on Wednesday, Doogan played down any suggestion of going for the GC. He was clear that stage wins were his target. On Thursday he told stickybottle that he was surprised to end up in yellow, but also that he was looking forward to wearing it Friday.
So what emotions did he feel while in yellow?
“It was great. I think that's what spurred me on a bit to ride as hard as I did,” he said. “It made it that bit easier. Just looking down, seeing the yellow jersey, made it all that tiny bit easier.”
Those tight time gaps remain heading into Saturday’s stage to Mountrath. Even a small split could change yellow, but he’s ready for the fight.
“I’m looking forward to it. Another challenging day,” he said. “It's been hard three days. So the main thing is now just to recover and hopefully have the legs to go again tomorrow.”
Given that he said two days ago that he didn’t expect to be in the running for the general classification, is he surprising himself?
“I expected to be going well. I was going well the last few weeks and into the buildup of this,” he said. “This was definitely a goal of mine. Maybe not GC in it, but that's where I find myself now.
“So yeah, I changed my ambitions. I'm going to try and keep it for as long as I can.”
If he’s still got it Saturday evening the chances of an unexpected Rás win will become even stronger.
