Always known as a tough rider and as great sprinter; Simon Ryan's grunt and speed were on show today on the Rás. He fought hard to stay in contention and then put in a brilliant sprint (Photo: Bryan Keane - Inpho)
By Graham Gillespie
Irish amateur rider Simon Ryan secured one of the best results of his career today as he placed fourth on stage two of the Rás.
The result was even more special for Ryan as the 148-kilometre stage finished in his hometown Tipperary.
He did it the hard way; getting dropped but battling for miles to get back on terms.
The Strata 3-VeloRevolution rider was also the first county rider to cross the line today; a great hometown result for a man with a very good sprint.
The 26-year-old said that his experience of the some of the narrow roads raced today was crucial, especially in the rainy conditions.
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Since the roads were narrow, Ryan took the decision to ride from the front.
“The first 45km was on some main roads and then when we got through Birr, we turned onto the narrow roads for the first KOH at Bikepark,” he said.
“I know all that area from racing and driving as well. I knew the roads would be very narrow so you need to stay in the front.
“And with the weather conditions we had today; the safest place was to be at the front.
“I talked to the team manager last night and he said ‘just race the race and see how it goes’.
“You need to be in the top 20 anyway because there’s no point being 40 riders back because if something does slip away you’re too far back to do anything about it.”
Ryan on the line and on the podium; nice to see Eddie Dubar (right) out supporting the men of the Rás (Photo: Bryan Keane - Inpho)
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Despite his plan to stay at the front, Ryan still had some work to do earlier in the stage when he was distanced on a climb.
“I was chasing from the Dolla climb all the way till Cappawhite," he said of what was an epic effort; getting back on to sprint to 4th.
"I spent the bones of 20k chasing and I knew I had to get back in because otherwise, my race was over.
"So I got back in Cappawhite and moved straight back up to the front.”
Ryan has trained on much on the route in preparation of today’s stage. He believes this gave him an advantage especially since he thinks the road surface is unique.
“I’m working and living in Cork so on my days off I come back home and go training here," he said.
"And it’s just a different type of road surface compared to other areas in the country. It’s just really, really dead and heavy.”
Coming into the final kilometres of the race, Ryan thought he was “spent” after his efforts earlier.
However, he managed to find some extra energy to snatch fourth in the sprint.
“With about 4k to go I said to my teammates ‘look, I don’t think I have the legs for it.…’
“I surprised myself because I didn’t think I would actually have a chance considering how I was feeling after putting so much effort in all day long.”
Ryan admits that he did have some extra pressure on himself going into today’s race. Indeed, the Rás, in general, was a major target for Ryan this season.
“Before the route was even revealed I knew about the stage ending into Tipperary town. I knew about it since last November, so I wanted to do well in it.
“It’s something I always target and I always seem to come round for it. If you go back to the start of the season I was getting dropped in the Lacey Cup on the first climb.
“The Rás always seems to be a race that kind of suits me because it’s big bunches higher speeds. And you need a lot of technical ability to ride a bunch.
“Then with it being in Tipperary Town, there was an extra little bit of pressure coming from myself”.
Ryan now seeks to be “aggressive” for the rest of the Rás, and he is confident that he can one or two more good results.
“You have to try and put yourself in that position if you want to try and get a result.
Some days you might be lucky, and the move might stick. A couple of the stages don’t suit me but if I can throw myself up the road it gives me the best chance.”
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