By Shane Stokes
Second overall in what is the closest-ever Rás Tailteann, Conn McDunphy will likely reflect on the race for quite some time afterwards.
“The fish that gets away is always the biggest one,” he said philosophically after the final stage in Bective, a day when he was ultimately unable to gain time on the overall leader Dom Jackson.
McDunphy launched several attacks during the stage from Maynooth and while Jackson was on the back foot at points, he, his team and other squads in the race ultimately ensured that there was a bunch sprint.
“I knew after Donore village that the roads were hard and there were lots of long drags,” the 27 year old told stickybottle. “So it split coming out of Drogheda and then I went for it and just didn’t look back, I got a good gap.
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“But I think we averaged 48k an hour so when the bunch is riding nearly 50ks an hour, you have to ride at 55 to get a gap. And there is only so long you can do that for.”
He was on his own for some time and then got reinforcements. “Ronan O’Connor came across to me. And then we caught two guys up the road. But it was just it was too hard, and then I actually missed a big move on the circuits.
"Thankfully I had two teammates in it. And so I had to do a bit of riding there, because there was no getting away on the circuits. But like I said, I tried to win the race and I left it all out there.”
This year’s race had a new finish, with the laps of Blackrock village of the past two years being replaced by those around Bective Stud. Given that things ended up with a bunch sprint, would he have preferred a tougher end to the race?
“Tougher, maybe not because it would have made it a lot more punchy,” McDunphy answered. “But I definitely preferred last year’s finishing circuit in that it was tighter roads, twisty, turny. I am kind of good at that kind of thing.
“But look, it was a nice finishing circuit all the same, close to home, and that the grandstand was pretty cool. Nice atmosphere and stuff.”
McDunphy showed his form when he won into Sneem on day two. That stage saw final race winner Dom Jackson take over the yellow jersey, finishing in the chasing group behind McDunphy and Liam O’Brien.
McDunphy stopped working inside the final kilometres to stay fresh for the sprint and duly won the stage. However the lack of collaboration at that point of the race meant that Jackson finished close enough to - remarkably - put all three riders on precisely the same overall time.
The Briton’s third place on stage one saw him get the yellow jersey by virtue of better accumulated stage placings, and he held that miniscule advantage until the end.
McDunphy will now wonder if working harder on the roads to Sneem might have made the difference.
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“Going back in my head, I’m thinking maybe I should have ridden in the last 3k with yer man (Liam O’Brien). But second overall in the Rás, I have to happy enough. We’ll just have to go and win it next year.”
"I love it, it makes me feel alive"
McDunphy has been competing this season with the Skyline-Cadence squad, a continental team from the US. He has raced in Greece, the US, Norway and in Ireland, and is starting to feel the strain. He said it is time to recharge and reset.
“I’ll take a bit of a break. I’ve had a pretty heavy race calendar so far. I think I’m on 35 races already,” he said. “So I am going to Italy for a week with my girlfriend, relax a bit and then do a bit of training. And then we’re hopefully going to Tour de Beauce just before nationals.
“I might have another crack in the national time trial again, we’ll see. And then I’m not sure what’s happening in the summer, but we’ll play it by ear.”
What’s clear from talking to him is that he is enjoying his racing. Riding his best-ever Rás Tailteann will only add to that, and justifies a decision to give the sport another shot.
“This time about July last year, I was finished cycling. I got a full time job,” he said. “I was working full time all through the winter. And then then obviously Skyline came along and I decided to jack the job in March and go back cycling. I’m doing because I love it, it makes me feel alive.
“So hopefully I’m riding [the Rás] next year, but so long as I’m enjoying it, it’s all good for me.”
Asked about the reasons behind his decision to stop, he said that it was a combination of setbacks and the resulting feeling of a lack of progress.
“When Evo Pro ended, I didn’t get a contract because it ended quite late,” he said. “And then I was back racing home. It was very hard mentally, in terms of you’re going to the same races you’ve been riding since you’re 16.
“I rode some cool races last year, I got to go to America and that kind of thing. But then it kind of died down in July, around that time. I was like, ‘what am I doing with my life?’
“I obviously won the national series last year, I wasn’t bad on the bike. But I was like, ‘alright, I need to start making money here. Join the real world.’ I didn’t like it. So I was like ‘ah, I’m going back to the bike,” he said, laughing.
Once in Italy he’ll have time to take stock of the Rás performance. Finishing so close to the win will sting, but he can take considerable satisfaction too from how he rode.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect coming into the race. I did have perfect preparation so I was kind of hoping I could do something special,” he said.
“That stage in Sneem that I won, that’s proper bike racing, proper hard. I love that kind of stuff.”
