Young Feeley takes biggest win in front of hometown crowd

Daire Feeley raises his arm aloft in delight after winning the Donamon Dynamos GP in Roscommon yesterday. It came just 24 hours after he took the Mooney Crit in Sligo (Photo: www.jimmymcelroy.com – follow Jimmy on Facebook and Twitter)

By Brian Canty

Just one day after winning the Mooney Cup Criterium in Sligo, former Irish junior international Daire Feeley was back in the winner's enclosure having emerged victorious in the Donamon Dynamos GP just outside Roscommon town yesterday, Sunday.

Feeley is coming into some very good form now despite the small matter of having to complete his Leaving Cert exams but he managed to cause quite a shock out west yesterday afternoon.

The race was the 11th of the 16 national road series events so a very strong field travelled; keen to make an impact on the standings.

But it was the iTAP rider who took maximum points, and deservedly so, after an ultra aggressive display in front of home support.

Donamon Dynamos are the team Feeley grew up racing with and which first introduced him to cycling.

The 18-year-old attacked straight from the gun in a bid to surprise some of the other top men.

And he was quickly followed by some eight others including Mark Dowling (DID Dunboyne), Eoin Morton (UCD CC) and Anthony Murray (Subaru Albion), amongst the others.

The latter two had also won races at the weekend - Morton the Bobby Crilly Memorial in Belfast on Saturday and Murray the John Holian Memorial in Co Mayo on Friday - so are clearly going well.

However, following a strong chase, that large group was reeled in around the halfway point and that proved the catalyst for the next and decisive move of the day.

Feeley was again to the fore, as was Paddy Clarke (Fitscience); they attacked until they got away.

Cian Delaney (Stamullen) and Shane Scully (Nenagh CC) bridged across to make it four up front and that's how it stayed for the remainder of the race.

That didn't stop a three-man chase group forming, including the aforementioned Morton, Dermot Radford (Tipperary Wheelers) and one other.

But as soon as the four up front heard that others were coming across they turned the screw, meaning the chasing three never merged.

The break stayed cooperative until the two-kilometre to go mark when they were told they had a gap of 1:30 on the chasers.

Clarke took up the sprint but Feeley came around him inside the final 50 metres to take an absolutely excellent win.

In doing so he put one over on the Fitscience man who trumped in similar circumstances back in the Loughrea GP earlier in the season.