Mark Dowling (All human-VeloRevolution) arrived on the finishing straight at the Mick Lally Memorial today with James Delaney (Lucan CRC) for company. But almost immediately the sprint on the climb to the line opened, the winner was decided; Dowling taking it from Delaney.
One of the best riders in the country for years - often the very best on the domestic scene - Dowling told stickybottle he was still hungry for the effort of winter training and still loved his racing.
He heaped praised on his team mate Daire Feeley - who was away solo for a long time today - and late breakaway companion Delaney. But Dowling also said having mixed working with his winter training, he felt he had done the most he possibly could to get ready for season start.
Advertisement
He added he felt "rusty" today, and that he still had a bit of weight to shift before he would be in top condition. But he joked "wins don't come around too often at 37". He was clearly pleased to finish a strong team effort today, especially as Feeley had played such a leading role in the Dublin Wheelers headline event.
"I'm always planning for a big season," Dowling laughed when asked if he had plans for a big year after opening his 2024 account at the first time of asking.
"I'm limited with what (training) I can do; what with the business. So pretty much any free time I get, I'm out in the evenings in the mountains in the dark with the lights on. But as motivated as you are, there's only so much of that you can do.
Related News
"I've trained as much as I possibly could with the time I had. I felt a bit rusty today and I've a little bit of weight to lose. Of course, it's hard. But I kind of still relish the hardship, I love the hard work. It doesn't always pay off, but that's just how it is."
Today, Dowling said the racing was very fast from the start, with everyone eager to go hard in the first outing of the year. When Feeley got clear in a breakaway on the opening lap, Dowling managed to get across in a small group.
And once they made the juncture, Feeley attacked and went clear solo, still on the opening lap. He rode almost the rest of the race solo, only to be caught in the second half of the final lap.
"The guys were all pulling through hard for the full race," Dowling said of those in pursuit of Feeley, though he was obviously excused from chasing his own team mate.
"It was pretty much man against man except for me, I just sat at the back had a free ride all day So at the end I was just under pressure to finish it off for Daire, because he was the one who did all the work."
When Feeley was caught, the lead group was riding into a headwind on the main road before the turn for the final stretch towards the finish on Dorey's Forge. Dowling began to attack into the headwind, and managed to get clear.
"I pretty much began my race there and clipped away with James Delaney from Lucan," he said. "To be fair, he was stronger than me, by far stronger than me today. I just got lucky I think."
