By Shane Stokes
Defending champion Daire Feeley was upbeat about his chances prior to the start of the Rás Tailteann, saying earlier this week that anything less than the same level of success would be a let down.
“I think anything less than winning the race would be disappointing, especially after last year’s high,” he said. “I think finishing in second place or third place or even 10th place will be a bit of a low when you know what the highs can be.”
He had a solid opening to the defence of his title on Wednesday, finishing seventh into Birr, ten seconds behind the stage winner Conor McGoldrick (UK: Richardsons Trek DAS). Feeley was part of a chase group sprinting for fifth place, and said afterwards that he was relatively satisfied with how the opening day had gone.
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“We survived. Limited our losses,” he said. “We got over the climb, or we got to the finish with I suppose you could say the leaders… there were very little on the line between us and four who managed to stay away.
“The climb was very difficult, a lot of the lads suffered. I think it’s just being a bit too fresh going into the first stage, that can sometimes hold you back, more so. It can limit your sensations. But thankfully the first stage out of the way. Probably one of the most difficult ones out of the way, and we are still in contention.”
Once time bonuses were taken into account, Feeley ended up 20 seconds behind McGoldrick. Even if he’d prefer to be closer, he knows that many riders ended up completely out of contention, and so he sees the bigger picture.
“It’s close to the yellow. It’s 20 seconds but, look, we’re still there. And 20 seconds is obviously better than two minutes. If you missed that split today, it would have been game over.”
The Roscommon rider said that the large breakaway group of 24 riders worked well together to open up a substantial lead on those behind. All bar 15 riders lost over three minutes to the stage winner, dramatically reducing the list of contenders. From his perspective that’s a good day’s work.
“If you lost that amount of time today, it’s going to be very difficult to get it back,” he said. “But look, we will just take it day by day. We will hopefully ride each stage like we did today, make the right moves, and hopefully come out with the yellow jersey.”
"It was touch and go at times"
Feeley is one of Ireland’s best domestic competitors, winning the Rás last year, netting second behind Ryan Mullen in the 2021 national road race championships and taking a host of victories. His strength and tactical nous saw him come out on top last year in Blackrock, becoming the first Irish Rás champion since Stephen Gallagher in 2008, and nobody would rule him out of the running for a rare back-to-back victory this year.
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He spoke frankly at the finish, though, saying that the category one climb of Wolftrap Mountain made things difficult for him.
“I felt very strong up to the climb but once the gradient went over 10 per cent, it was sticky,” he said. “It was touch and go at times. But thankfully, there was a lot of bigger riders there as well who I went over the climb with.
"Gravity came into effect coming down the descent and we were able to pull it back a good bit coming to the line. Another kilometre and we would have had them caught. But look, we’re still there, so that’s half the battle.
“Get through tomorrow, take it day by day. And hopefully we’re still in contention by Dundalk, or [rather] in the yellow jersey by Dundalk at least.”
Asked to elaborate on what kind of ascents suit him, he gave details of his physiology and explained why Wednesday’s big mountain was a tough test.
“I like a climb that is no more than two to three minutes, where it’s just out the saddle, pump the legs,” he said. “I know I’m only five foot six, but I’m nearly 70 kilos. You wouldn’t think it by the size of me. So it’s not necessarily the right weight for climbing.
“If you look at the WorldTour, a rider of my height is generally around 50 to 53 kilos. I carry a bit too much upper body muscle, but it stands to me in other circumstances, I think. On the flat roads and stuff like that I have a bit more grunt, thankfully, and those types of races suit me a bit better where it’s just up and down all day. A bit more undulating.
“But look, the heat was a challenge there as well today, so we used today to acclimatise to the heat and we’re ready to go from tomorrow on.”
Wolftrap mountain is the only category one climb of this year’s Rás Tailteann. There are other challenges ahead, including three category two slopes, but nothing with the same listed difficulty.
“They [the other climbs] are manageable,” he said. “And especially with the first day [done]…it’s one thing been flying on the first day, but from tomorrow (stage 2) on is really when it counts. That’s where you’re going to see good riders come to the fore.
“It’s one thing racing fresh, but racing with a stage in your legs, with two, three, four stages in your legs, that’s a totally different ballgame altogether. So yeah, look, those types of stages will play into my favour, hopefully.”
