By Shane Stokes
Defending Rás champion Dillon Corkery got his Rás Tailteann title defence off to a strong start on Wednesday, taking the bunch sprint for fourth place on stage one. The Corkman was at the head of the chase behind three breakaway riders who went clear early on and stayed clear until the end. Alex Pritchard (UK: Richardsons Trek DAS) won, beating Irish rider Paul Kennedy (USA: Skyline-Cadence) and another Briton Dom Jackson (UK: Foran CC).
Corkery led in the peloton 23 seconds later, and while he said his sensations during the stage weren’t as good as he hoped, he has clearly got his Rás campaign off to an encouraging start.
In this in-depth interview with stickybottle, Corkery talks about stage one of this year’s event, his overall victory last year, the ways the Rás win changed him, a special text message from a past winner, his experiences of competing on the French circuit and why he won’t look at stage profiles in the days leading up to a key race.
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Stickybottle: So stage one of the Rás - can you talk us through the stage from your point of view?
Dillon Corkery: We obviously know that tomorrow is quite a big day. So I was trying to keep pressure off the boys. Coming in the road, I didn't want us to do too much, but we kind of got left riding, because obviously, we're one of the stronger teams in the race.
I don't think we expended a whole lot of energy. It's just a shame that we let those boys get such a big gap. I think if we started riding earlier, maybe we could have brought them back in the finish, because we obviously have some of the faster sprinters here.
But look, it is what it is. Tomorrow's another day and plus the Rás is five days racing, not one.
SB: Do you know anything about those three guys who stayed clear, and if they will be a danger for the overall classification?
DC: I knew they were strong, but I'll be honest, you just don't know. You don't know day after day after day. You might have a guy who's strong on one day, and then four days later, he might not be the same. So honestly, not 100 per cent. But we'll wait and see, I suppose.
SB: Twelve months ago there was a rider from the same Richardsons Trek DAS team [Conor McGoldrick] who won the first stage, led the race for days, then you went on to win the overall. So suppose that shows that the pattern at the start of the race is not the same at the end of the race?
DC: Yeah, I think so. And again, it takes the stress off of us. It's going to be up to them to ride now, not us. So that’s good. I'm more than happy with today.
SB: You’ve had a busy season in France, so how were you feeling today?
DC: I didn’t feel great, to be honest. Actually not great at all. But yeah, I'm hoping I build into this race similar to what I did last year, and come good on the final days.
SB: How are things been in general this year?
DC: I started off really, really strong this season, obviously really keen to prove myself within the pro peloton and prove to the managers and stuff on the team that I was the right decision for them at the start of the year.
I honestly trained hard throughout the winter. We started in Marseilles in early January there and since then I rode well in Bessèges. Obviously if you look on paper it doesn't really show, but there have been days there I’ve been riding on the front for a number of kilometres for the lads, for positioning or whatnot, which is obviously a vital part of today’s peloton. Just being positioned at the right place at the right time.
And the team are super content with me, they seem to be pretty content already for next year.
Now, I haven't been offered a contract or anything for next year, but that's the way it seems to be going. In my favour. I think at the minute I think I might have been too much of a yes man, the yes guy at the start of the year. And anytime lads had maybe thrown the head or were injured or sick, I kind of put my hand up straight away.
I was like, ‘just give me a train ticket and I will be there.’ I think I'm starting to pay for it a small bit now, which is a bit of a shame, because Dunkirk would have been a big goal for me this year. To not be able to finish it when we hit the cobbles was a bit disappointing, because as I said, it was a big goal. The cobbles and even the stage in Cassel, they would be all stages that suit me really, really well, those short punchy climbs.
And to not be able to show what I feel I'm truly capable of was disappointing. But was just that bit of onset fatigue that hit me.
But I took some days off the bike there the best way I could to try to refresh for the Rás and see how I get on.
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SB: Stopping Dunkirk early did give you another couple of days to taper for the Rás. Could that be a good thing?
DC: It could, I guess. I mean, at the end of the day, my focus is in France and my focus was on Dunkirk. So I was obviously quite disappointed to not be able to be there at the finish. But yeah, on the flip side, I have had an extra few days to recover for the Rás and try to do my best again.
I think I will definitely take more time off the bike once the Rás is over.
SB: What are your thoughts on last year’s race and what it meant for you?
DC: I think obviously for me winning the race last year has put me in the history books for ever more. I'm on that trophy for ever more and regardless of what I do this year, that's not going to change.
There were two or three main reasons why I wanted to come back this year and do it. In addition to winning last year, I had my family there last year, it was great. It was it was a big boost for me. I still have my four grandparents and everything. And when I'm at home, they used to follow me around week in week out. And obviously, when I left for France that wasn't a thing anymore.
So coming back last year and being able to do it was great. And winning it was just the cherry on top. If I could do it again this year, it'd be super but I'm not putting any pressure on myself.
SB: In terms of pressure, you have said that if you have too much it can have a negative effect. Is that correct?
DC: Yeah, I think so. I mean, even looking at certain stages of stage races, a lot of lads like to look at the details weeks in advance. I don't. I look at it the day we need to race. I will analyse it the best way I can, because I just think looking at stages you can be stressing about certain parts.
For me, I wouldn't get a decent night's sleep if I was looking at it the night before, two nights before, I'd be constantly thinking about it. I'm the kind of person that thinks probably too much. I find it hard to zone out. So I'm not putting any pressure on myself whatsoever.
I'm going to focus on going for a stage again, like I did last year. I'm here as a road captain for the under 23 boys. So obviously, we focus on maybe the white jersey. And look, like I said, if it works out that things play out in my favour, so be it. And if it is not, it is what it is.
SB: So you will target a stage first personally, and then see how the GC takes care of itself?
DC: Absolutely.
SB: Can you talk about the respect you got from people within the cycling world for winning last year?
DC: Yes, I’m in that list now with a lot of special people in cycling. Stage winners like Sam Bennett and John Degenkolb. It's pretty cool. And I was out training [before the Rás] with Eddie Dunbar, another stage winner.
I think I definitely gained a level of respect inside the cycling community. Even getting a message off Ciaran Power. When I won it, that night he messaged me saying ‘welcome to the club,’ which was obviously pretty cool, seeing somebody like that messaging me.
And there were a lot of Irish people as well, Irish pros that we still have messaging me and contacting me. I think I definitely gained a level of respect from older people in cycling, but I guess also people younger than me. A lot of people that I met over the few weeks after the race, young kids asking me so many questions.
It pushed me back into my years of underage racing and looking up to the likes of Sam and Eddie and being the same young kid asking all the questions.
So yeah, the Rás win definitely given me a level of confidence just in my day to day life. I wouldn't say as much on the bike because I still know that on the continent, it's quite another step up again. But yeah, it’s definitely given me a good boost.
SB: So what are your thoughts on this year’s route?
DC: I think it suits me more. The harder the better. I think with fresh legs, I'd have a great chance. But again, I'm not putting pressure on myself. We have a team there that can dictate the race if we want. We've got guys that can win on any particular stage.
And I think with Liam O'Brien and Dean Harvey, Liam obviously coming back from just a third place in the Fleche du Sud there recently, which is a 2.2. He's only 18 years old, 19 years old, so he's clearly in good form. So we've got boys that can play on the harder stages.
I think the harder stage are going to suit us better because I think the average race in Ireland is probably 140, 150k whereas the stage two in particular is 180-odd. So I think harder the profile, the better for us.
