Conn McDunphy is on another racing trip to the US, with his Team Skyline squad, and has been riding very strong at the Tour of the Gila. The former elite Irish TT champion has been on the attack on the road stages and also rode very well on today's stage 3 TT.
McDunphy's racing stint in the US as present follows on from a successful period there last season when he rode several races., including finishing 12th overall in his first appearance at Tour of the Gila.
On today's TT stage the riders faced 26km starting and finishing in Tyrone, with two climbs of 2km and 4km, with an average gradient of 5.2 per cent and 3.5 per cent; all raced at 2,000 metres altitude.
McDunphy finished in 7th place, one spot higher than his TT result on this race last year. He was 1:33 down on stage winner Tyler Stites (Project Echelon Racing)
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During yesterday's stage 2 - some 120.7km into Ft Bayard, with three categorised climbs - McDunphy was on the attack, breaking clear solo deep into the stage, with about 35km remaining.
He initially bridged across to another rider already out on his own, with McDunphy getting a gap over two minutes at one point and taking maximum points on the final climb, some 20km from the finish.
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However, a block headwind later in the stage did him no favours and he was caught with about 8km remaining. McDunphy then got clear again in a group of about six, as the field split in a crosswind, and they were caught deep inside the final kilometre.
However, he finished in the 50-rider front group, placing 12th, with fellow Irish rider Cormac McGeough (Canel's-Java), both Irishmen on the same time was winner Scott McGill (Project Echelon Racing).
On the opening stage, McDunphy set off in pursuit of a breakaway but was caught, with both he and McGeough losing time on the climb to the finish; McDunphy 30th at 4:35 while McGeough 74th at 11:05. The stage was won by Wilmar Paredes (Team Medellín).
McDunphy told stickybottle the stage was run off at relatively low intensity, resulting in him getting very cold and then losing time when the fireworks started on the final climb.
After three stages, yesterday's stage winner Stites leads the race, with McDunphy 19th overall at 6:10 and McGeough 61st at 16:26. Tomorrow's stage is a criterium, with McDunphy went very close to winning last year, with Sunday the queen stage of the race, featuring 3,000 metres of climbing, including an uphill finish at Piños Altos
