Cycling Reports |
Carrig Challenge CupBy Dave WalshCarrick on Suir St. Patrick's Day, 17 March, 2003
In fact, in my under-16 and junior days, I never raced in Carrick without finishing in the top six, starting with the Paddy's Day '89. The weather *always* seemed to be good, the roads fast, and the racing fierce. There's something about racing in the area that makes me dig deeper than I would normally, to suffer a little bit more, just to see what happens next. Not much has changed... except for my results. Patrick's Day 2003 brought glorious sunshine, bone-dry roads, and a chilly breeze from the east. I'd spent the earlier part of the weekend in Wexford, riding the rolling, windy roads around Enniscorthy and New Ross, and was feeling pretty good. It was a small enough S1 & S2 bunch that lined up by the Sean Kelly Sports Centre, probably no more than 50-60 riders, maybe even less. Initially delayed by a funeral, the race was then neutralised through the streets of Carrick, and out over the bridge, and up a little hill, from Tipperary into Waterford. We were going to do 5 laps of the 12-mile (19km) Fiddown circuit. The flag dropped as the road flattened out and a couple of riders peeled off the front. For a few pedal revs, the first 10 or so riders in the bunch cruised along, no one willing to commit. The road here was a little rough, draggy in places and ran parallel to the Suir, east into the wind. A few more riders tore off to the front. 'What the hell', thought I, 'might as well get the blood warmed up' and took off from the front right . As I got off the saddle, Ciaran Power shot by me, and I nearly tangled with the rider on his wheel (possibly Timmy Barry). We lined out up the drag, Power towing a line of us up to the break. I think he wanted someone to come through, but the first two or three guys behind him were probably just barely hanging on. I know I was. The bunch came together again, for a few seconds. Then, attack, after attack, after attack, chase wheels, get breath back. A mile or two before Fiddown bridge, David O'Loughlin appeared from down the back, and joined in the fun. A few riders were up the road as we crossed the bridge into Kilkenny. I lost about 10 places in the bunch, after a rider in front of me had some 'problems' negotiating the double chicane that followed the bridge, He took it far too wide, and I performed a near-trackstand to avoid hitting the wall. I pulled myself back up into the top 10 or so of the bunch. This was one of the slowest parts of the course, up a very slight drag into the wind, before hitting the main road. This was where we finally said goodbye to the winning break, which contained O'Loughlin, Power, Eddie O'Donoghue, Aidan Crowley, Greg Swinard, Kieran McMahon, Mick Mulcahy, Michael Concannon, Timmy Barry and Vincent Gleeson. Did I forget anyone? We turned up onto the main road, and our group, made up of a mixture of S1 and S2 riders, started splitting. Hitting speeds of up to 60km/h, our group came back together by the end of the lap. The break had vanished as we hauled ourselves over the start/finish line, and down through the town. One one lap we almost hit a big dog that ran across the street in front of us. I think it was on the second lap that we lost most of our time. I felt good the first half of each lap, and was happy to ride through on the draggy bits, even with the wind in my face. Not everyone felt the same, but as our group thinned out, most riders were sharing the burden. I had decided to ride hard all day, because even if we never did see the break, I wanted to put in a good ride. However, every time we hit the main road with the wind behind us, my legs were on fire. It usually took me until the long downhill to back into Tipperary to get relatively comfortable. We would hit the town, and I'd feel fine, and would roll up the hills without any bother. Then I was enjoying myself. Halfway through the race, I think I heard a time-check of four-and-a-half bloody minutes. To who? Was there a split up ahead? Our group was getting smaller. In fact, the 'main bunch' was whittled down a group not much larger than the break. Certainly no more than 12-15 riders by the last lap. I don't know all the names, but Frank O'Leary, Eddie Ready and Fintan McCormack were amongst those in our chasing group, and by the third lap, nearly everyone was doing a good strong pull on the front. Had a bit of craic on the start of the fourth lap, leading through the Main St. and over the bridge. By the end of the that lap, I was completely knackered, and having nothing left in the bag, I rolled around for the last lap. A couple of characters tore off the front with half-a-lap to go, like they were going to get somewhere. The bunch smaller than ever, we lost Eddie Ready to a puncture just before Fiddown bridge, and he had to coast in on the rim. I rolled into the finish just behind our group, pleasantly shattered. Oddly enough, Ciaran Power didn't feature in the results. Did he pull out? And I never did out what the final gap was from us to the winner, David O'Loughlin. I *do* know that he rode the 60 mile course in 2 hours 13 minutes. Only criticisms of the race: The roads were mostly excellent, and well- marshalled, except for Carrick on Suir itself - it would have been a help if the oncoming traffic was held back while we approached the railway bridge - the road was in tatters on the left hand side, forcing the bunch out towards the white line. Meeting a 40-foot truck while under the bridge was a little unnerving. As well as the near miss with the dog, a car was a little slow about moving off the bridge, turning onto the Main Street. And there was no B prizes! The first 10 places only, and no crumbs for lesser mortals. But the weather was good. First day in shorts this year, and I got tan lines. Shockin'.
Dave Walsh |
God,
I love racing in Carrick on Suir. I hadn't even been in the town since August
1990, when I entered one of my first open races of that year (had been doing the
Leaving Cert) managing 5th behind winner Paul Butler. A week or so later, I came
down with glandular fever, and didn't race again until 2001.