Cian Keogh (Team Skyline) has taken the final stage at Rás Mhaigh Eo, with the 25-year-old Dubliner proving best from a 20-rider select group that split under the pressure of constant attacking on the run in to the finish.
Keogh had shown plenty of early season good form during Tour of Rhodes (2.2) last week and managed to turn that into a strong victory today, when he got the better of some of the best riders in the country who were in the front group.
Once again in the Covey Wheelers Westport Cycling Club three-stage race, today's final stage saw the breeze play a big part; the crosswinds helping split the field and the headwind during the last section making it very difficult.
The biggest groups on the road when all the pain had been dished out numbered no more than 10 riders; always clear evidence it had been a hard day out for all, including the stacked front group.
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Keogh's Team Skyline squad had the yellow jersey to defend going into the final stage as Conn McDunphy had won the opener, solo by over a minute, early yesterday. He then added to his advantage at the top of the standings by winning the evening TT.
McDunphy went into today's 114km decider - one big loop from Westport - leading by 1:16 from team mate Ronan O’Connor. Luke Smith (Moynalty CC), always a handful, was 3rd at 2:16. Then came Keogh, 4th at 3:30, followed by the in-form Conal Scully (Dan Morrissey Pissei) at 3:32.
Young Willem O’Connor was 6th, at 3:51, going into today's decider; the Velo Performance man giving a very good account of himself through the weekend.
With the C1 scratch group giving away nine minutes to the C3 riders during his handicapped stage race, the riders faced one big loop today; crosswinds in the first 20km follow by three back-to-back climbs of about 2km each.
Though all of the riders given a handicap today were not caught until about 40km covered, the race behind them had already begun to split significantly long before that point; a section of tailwind with about 25km completed resulting in the speed shooting up.
As the race headed for the first climbers' primes, five men got clear. Keogh was there with O'Connor, Scully, Smith and Ruairí Byrne, the UCD CC who won the Seamus Kennedy Memorial a couple of weeks ago.
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Leenane was the location of the first KOM, with Smith leading over that climb from O'Connor and Byrne. Onto the second climb, at Aile Dubh, Smith took maximum points again, from Keogh and O'Connor. Race leader McDunphy managed to bridge to the leaders on that climb, at a point in the race where others were also getting across.
The front group swelled to approximately 20 riders, and for the last 50km the attacking was relentless, with some of those up front being spat out the back. As the last 30km section of the stage - into a head-crosswind - unfolded, it was O'Connor who went clear and remained out front for a prolonged period.
He was clear for about 10-15km and was caught with about 5km to go. The attacks at the front ramped up at that point and what remained of the front group split. In the first section of that split were: Keogh, Smith, Byrne, McDunphy, Scully, Joe Nathan Matar (Orwell Wheelers) and Willem O'Connor.
They were being chased by the second section of the group; Ciaran Maguire (Dan Morrissey Pissei), Ronan O'Connor, Curtis Neill and Travis Harkness (both Lyon Sprint Evolution), Patrick O'Sullivan (UCD CC), Michael Collins (Velo Performance), Niall McLoughlin (Westport Covey Wheelers), Ben Murphy (O'Leary Stone Kanturk) and Jason Kenney (UCD CC).
In the end, the leaders made it all the way, with Keogh winning in a sprint from Byrne, Smith, Matar and Scully, all on the same time. Willem O'Connor was 6th, just losing five seconds in the sprint. Race winner, McDunphy, was at the back of the front group, taking 7th, at seven seconds, but wrapping up the overall victory.
The chasing group was led in by recent Boyne GP winner, Maguire, who claimed the sprint for 8th place some 30 seconds down on Keogh.
Overall, McDunphy won the race by 1:51 from Ronan O'Connor, with Smith 3rd at 2:09, Keogh 4th at 3:23, Scully 5th at 3:25 and Willem O'Connor 6th at 3:49.
The women's general classification was won by Aine Doherty (Dan Morrissey Pissei) by 3:09 from Abi Conway (Covey Westport Wheelers), with Jennifer Neenan (UCD CC) in 3rd at 15:19.
Ciaran O'Sullivan (Munster Spin 11) won the junior classification, with Derek Joyce (Galway Bay CC) best Masters rider. Ben Murphy (O'Leary Stone Kanturk) - in that front group today - won the C2 classification and Charlie Kelly (Velo Performance) best C3.
Rauiri Coakley (Dan Morrissey Pissei) won the sprints classification while Smith was king of the hills and the team classification was won by Team Skyline.
- For full results, follow this link.
