By Shane Stokes
Stage three brought many tense moments for Rás Tailteann race leader Conor McGoldrick, who took the first of the day’s two categorised climbs but then found himself under sustained attack by his key rivals for the general classification.
The UK: Richardsons Trek DAS rider admitted to being nervous during the stage, losing the race lead on the road more than once and only getting things under control inside the final ten kilometres.
McGoldrick had started the day with a slender lead of just four seconds over closest competitor Dan Gardener (UK: Embark Spirit BSS). Joe Laverick (Derry: Foyle CC) was just two seconds further back, with 11 others all within 20 seconds.
Things started to go astray soon after the category 3 climb at Carrowreagh (km 62.8), with a crash being followed by a break involving 14 riders.
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The group included defending Rás champion Daire Feeley (Cork: All Human-VeloRevolution), ninth this morning, as well as the second, third, fourth and sixth-placed riders overall, namely Dan Gardener (UK: Embark Spirit BSS), Joe Laverick (Derry: Foyle CC), US-based Irishman Cormac McGeough (USA: Good Guys Racing) and Dom Jackson (UK: Foran CCC).
These gained 35 seconds over the chase group, putting Gardener well into the virtual race lead and McGoldrick under serious pressure. He was starting to panic behind. “I won the first mountains prime and then after that all hell broke loose. We spent the rest of the day on the back foot,” he told Stickybottle at the finish.
“At one point, a big group containing Dan Gardner in second got away. They got about 30 seconds. We were quite confident it will come back, but I won’t lie…in the back of my head I was a little bit nervous.”
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McGoldrick and his team had some good fortune, in that fifth-placed Conn McDunphy (Cycling Leinster) had missed out on the move, as had Aaron Wade and Dillon Corkery (both Team Ireland), seventh and eighth overall at the start of the stage. Those teams joined the pursuit and while another big group subsequently bridged across to the leading 14, things came back together just before 100 kilometres of racing had elapsed.
However that wasn’t the end of the danger. A 23 man group later went clear and gained 15 seconds on McGoldrick. Gardener, Laverick, Feeley, McDunphy, Wade and Corkery were in here and after they were brought back, Jackson, Wade and Corkery got away again in another move.
McGoldrick finally breathed a sigh of relief closer to the finish, with things coming back together for a bunch sprint won by Matthew Fox (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli).
“It was great to keep the jersey,” he said, looking relieved. “That was our primary goal for today. And also to get some more points in the King of the Mountains competition.
“It felt like there were lots of attacks. But we just worked really well as a team and together kept closing gaps. And it came together for a big sprint. I think I finished in the top 10, so I’m very happy.”
McGoldrick avoided a crash inside the final four kilometres, hearing it behind him but not being close to it. That brought down Feeley and McDunphy, ending their general classification challenge. It’s bad luck for them but makes his own task a little more straightforward on Saturday and Sunday.
So with two stages left, how does he feel about his chances of winning overall?
“Tomorrow’s a tough day. It’s the longest stage, a fair few hills, and so if I get through that, you never know,” he said. “I’ll get a good night’s sleep, lots of food…”
