Race Diary of Cian Lynch,
Report from inside the race

Race: Shay Elliott Classic - Bray, Sunday 14th May.

One of the great races, after one of the great cyclists of his time. Race organisation is fantastic here, as we roll into town under escort. A huge field, and with the Ras around the corner, a race like this tells us readily who is on, or off, form. With this Club situation ( or lack of same ) sorted out, maybe we can get on with the business of the day. We now get to ride the Ras.

From the gun, and we are wondering who will be first up the road. Brian Lennon, Derry McVeigh et al. Well when Eddie O’Donoghoe and Sully took off up the road, the reaction behind gave them a nice cushion. I was kind of sort of on my way across ( that describes how indecisive the attempt was ) and when Aidan and Bill  moved across in a  couple of groups that was going to be the last opportunity to get up the road for a while. The speed was kept high all the way to Rathdrum and with the stall after that, Cass started getting pissed off with the B riders. Hillarious. Imagine the scene. Cass. Top class cyclist. Motoring. He gets out of his saddle and you have a dozen B riders milling around on 17’s, while he is on 13 going up the road. Fine until Cass flicks the elbow for someone to ride and they shit themselves. Today's lesson for B riders. Don’t mess with the Boss. What in the name of God makes the particular B riders think that they are possibly going to affect the race in the company of Cass, baffling to say the least. They would be much better doing a couple of turns with him, and getting sensationally blown – self improvement, and an appreciation as to how well Cass is really going. If the best thing you get to do is scramble on to HIS wheel today, you are not racing, and you are certainly interfering with the race. Enough ranting.

The fact was that Cass and wee Tommy were stuck in our group meant that the race was going away from them. It meant moving before the climb, which they did. The real stall behind took all the rest out of contention, leaving them to toddle on up in bits and pieces. I for my part just sat up. I was only going to race the first 40 anyways. Up ahead the race was taking shape. About 20 riders up the road including now Bill, Eddie Keogh and Shane Baker. As it unfolded, Sully went on to win, with Eddie second and Shane Baker followed in by Brian Lennon. Says a lot about form for the Ras alright. Brian is somebody I feel might well be suited to the form of the Ras. A hard rider, he is willing to keep going, going and going again. Perhaps some B riders would be much better suited to watching Brian than Cass. I imagine the Irish team are going to be well drilled and prepared for the Ras. Especially when there are so many unknown elements coming over for the event. Dermot Dignam continues to run the event, and run it well. Our colleagues across the water look at the event in awe. They should have learnt a lot by now….

Ciaran Power rides the Giro d’Italia as of Saturday. He rides it with all our encouragement and hopes. For anyone who raced with Ciaran, they would be all too aware of his strength and power. His relentless pursuit of the prize, a professional contract, along with his results to the end of last year were enough to catch the eye of Sean Yates. His performances this year have earned him the Giro start, and I hope that a number of young Irish cyclists will follow him into professionalism.

IrishCycling.Com: Would like to thank Cian for his excellent report

David Lane's Response to this report Here >>