Damien Shaw overcomes puncture for Cycleways Cup win; A3 escape sent wrong way

Smiling assassin: Damien Shaw has plenty of time to savour his win at the Cycleways Cup in Navan yesterday (Photo: Sean Rowe)

By Brian Canty

Damien Shaw has followed up his victory in last Sunday’s Lacey Cup in Tralee, Co Kerry, with another win yesterday at the Cycleways Cup in Navan, Co Meath.

Among a breakaway group of eight riders, Shaw’s chances of taking another win looked under threat when his Aquablue team mate Dylan Foley, who was also in the breakaway last week in Tralee, got clear with Anthony Walsh on the final circuit of three.

UCD rider Walsh was showing no fatigue from his efforts in the Mick Lally Memorial on Saturday just down the road in Summerhill when he animated the race before finishing 2^nd to a flying Philip Lavery (Synergy Baku).

On the final lap yesterday when Walsh got away with first-year U23 rider Foley, the duo powered on for home.

However, with two further Aquablue riders in the chase group just behind in the shape of eventual winner Shaw and the ever strong Sean Lacey, it always looked likely they would try and fire a rider up the road in the closing stages to impose a numerical advantage on the UCD man.

And so it came to pass. With the two leaders holding a gap of around 50 seconds, the attacking never let up in the group behind, with Shaw making the decisive move and pulling clear.

He set off after the leaders alone and closed them down with some powerful riding. Shaw made the juncture and then attacked the duo, pulling clear again on his own.

In the end he won by between 15 and 20 seconds, with Walsh beating Foley for 2^nd and then the sprint for 4^tharound 40 seconds later being won by Fraser Duncan of Northern CC, followed by Conor Murphy (Caldwell Cycles-Omagh) and Lacey.

For Aquablue, it was another win for the team and another throng of men in the placings, with a very promising display from Dylan Foley.

He represented Ireland at the Junior World Road Championships last September and just weeks out of the junior ranks he is having no problem mixing it with the best elite riders in the country.

Yesterday was also another very fruitful afternoon for UCD CC, who again showed they are one of just a few teams who can really put it up to the Cork-based Aquablue squad.

The race, as expected, was flat out from the drop of the flag with Lacey and Foley signalling their intent with a daring escape right from the start.

Indeed, on a very wet and cold afternoon, the move shook the large peloton to life and within minutes the race was all strung out as a frantic chase ensued.

With the first climb of the day coming inside 10 kilometres, many riders saw it as a chance to escape from the bunch.

Greg Swinand - riding in the colours of UCD CC – and Northern’s Fraser Duncan, one of just a handful of hard men to go gloveless on the day, were active early on and made the juncture across to the small group up front.

After a sweeping descent and left turn to officially start the climb that dragged on for a number of kilometres, Conor Murphy (Caldwell Cycles) put in a ferocious jump to make his way across to the leaders, with Paddy Clarke (Liquidworx-Fitscience), Shaw and Walsh completing the breakaway.

Several more tried to bridge; Zippy Doyle (Velo Revolution), Javan Nulty (DID Dunboyne), Chris Reilly (Liquidworx-Fitscience) and a slew of others all made efforts but with the men up front not hanging around, the gap quickly swelled.

Shaw stated last week after the Lacey Cup that he’d hope to try and make up for his runner-up finish here last year by going one better.

Lacey was third here in 2012 and Murphy, the reigning champion, was not going to let his title slip too easily. Duncan had won the Spires GP on Saturday and was also clearly going to be in contention in the final shake-up in Navan

The rain poured down for the first hour, before it began to cease but by that stage - around 40 kilometres into the race - it was going to be a matter of who from the break would win, as the bunch lost interest.

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There were a number of chase groups formed around the midway point, with UCD CC’s Eoin Morton getting clear with the aforementioned Reilly and Robin Kelly (Aquablue) as well as Sean McInerney (Galway Bay CC) and the North Down CC pair of Paul Ferguson and David Watson; the latter trio obviously keen on the A2 prizes on offer.

Going onto the last lap, Foley went for a long one and Walsh went with him.

They quickly built a sizeable gap, with long powerful turns from both looking very good for their chances.

Behind, Shaw punctured which could have spoilt his day had it been anyone else. But he was back on in no time after a wheel-change.

Foley and Walsh pressed on, doing around 35kilometres together when Shaw went in pursuit alone from the rest of the original breakaway. The Mullingar man ripped across to them without too much difficulty.

Behind while Clarke, Duncan and Murphy kept at it, the UCD riders and Lacey now had men up front and were under no obligation to assist the chase after their riders.

Walsh was outnumbered 2-1 up front and when Shaw attacked, he had no answer despite a gallant effort, which put Foley in the driving seat for second place.

The young Corkman, who sits his Leaving Cert Irish mock exam this morning, went with 800 metres to go, over the top of Walsh. But the UCD CC man found the strength to hold his wheel and just come around Foley for second, gaining some measure of revenge for being pipped by the same rider for the minor placings in Tralee last weekend.

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The A3 race was won by National Junior Champion Fintan Ryan of the Nicolas Roche Performance Team (NRPT), but not before a mix-up midway through the race when the day’s break was sent the wrong way.

Like the A1-A2 race, the pace was furious from the start with a number of attacks pinging off the front. The first move to gain any significant daylight was when Martin O’Loughlin (Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers) broke clear with David McCarthy (NRPT).

They dangled out front for the first section of the race, hitting the first drags on their own before being joined by O’Loughlin’s son Michael (NRPT), his teammate Sean Hahessy, Simon Tuomey (Cork County CC), Craig McAuley (NRPT), Mark Downey (NRPT) and Stephen Shanahan (Limerick CC).

That seven pressed on, though unfortunately McCarthy punctured out of the move to make it six.

The escape rode very well in trying conditions but suffered cruel luck when diverted off course after they had put minutes into the bunch behind. When they realised they had gone the wrong way they turned around. But by that stage they were well back.

However, O'Loughlin senior - mentor to some of the riders in the group - insisted they press on and to their astonishment they caught the bunch with six kilometres remaining.

By now, Caimin Muldoon (NRPT) and eventual winner Ryan had been out front, with the former holding on for the win.

Michael O’Loughlin took a flier with a kilometre to go in the hope of nicking second. But on the descent to the finish and with junior gears he did not make it, with a strong Lucan team at the front also hovering up any late escapes. But Downey, Hahessy and Shanahan all barrelled through to take places 2^nd to 4^th.

The A4 event, two laps of the same course, went to Keith Coffey (Blanch CC) from Terry O’Malley (UCD CC) and Brian Hammond (Lucan CC).

The women’s race, well supported with over 20 riders was won by Fiona Guihan of DID Electrical Dunboyne, adding to her team mate Amy Brice’s win at the John Haldane Memorial up north.