Eight months after he announced that he was retiring from the sport, Connor McConvey showed that things have turned right around by taking a fine overall victory yesterday in the Suir Valley 3 Day in Clonmel. The race marked his first competitive event back in the colours of the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team and, together with the help of team-mate Ronan McLaughlin and his friend Adam Armstrong (Eurocycles), he successfully defended the yellow jersey he took in winning Sunday evening’s hillclimb.
“It’s really good to be able to win it. It is the best race I have done all year, it is at a higher level, and it is just another step in the comeback,” he told Irishcycling.com after the post-race presentation. “I am really happy to have won. It’s also good to win the first race back in An Post colours.”
First to the line at the end of a fast, wet stage was Sportactive/Engraveit.ie rider Daniel Clifford, who beat Chris Nicholson (Microgaming Isle of Man) and Aaron Buggle (South Dublin) to the line. Stage one winner Herman Forche (South Africa) clipped a wheel just crossing the line and hit the deck, with several others also coming down.
“It was a good stage win, I’m happy with it,” said Clifford. “We watched all the moves, we raced very aggressively all day. We went with every move that was going. I managed to hang in going over the climb…things came back together and the pace was high coming in the road.”
He praised his team-mates for their work in helping set him up for the gallop, saying they helped make the difference. Mark McKinley helped him from about ten kilometers to go, Paidi O’Brien attacked on the run-in to keep the speed high, and then Aidan Crowley got him into position just before the final burst. “I started the sprint far out and was happy enough. I got a clear win, so I’m happy with that,” Clifford said.
As expected, the stage was one marked by relentless attacks. McConvey’s closest rivals did what they could to try to wrest yellow from his shoulders, but he and McLaughlin were able to control things. As a result, he preserved his eleven second lead over Forche. “The stage was really, really hard but I covered it,” the Belfast rider said. “A lot of guys were trying to get away and got really frustrated trying to do so, but I think after an hour and a half they realized it wasn’t going to happen.”
The most dangerous move was by Clifford’s team-mate Ryan Sherlock, who attacked with Tigernach Murphy (Cycling Ireland Development team) just after the summit of the first category climb of the Glen of Aherlow. They opened a substantial lead but were eventually reeled in before the finish, ensuring McConvey maintained his one minute two second advantage over the former mountainbike specialist.
“I went over the top of the climb in second and just attacked from there,” Sherlock said after the finish. “I got a gap with Tigernach Murphy and was just riding as hard as I could for as long as I could. About 30 kilometres later I was pulled back. I was virtual yellow at one point, and would have loved to have had another strong rider with me to help me in the road.”
Like McConvey, he can be pleased with how things went for him. He has been off form for much of the season due to a virus which caused anaemia; now over that thanks to the help of Dr Conor McGrane, he feels like he is back to good condition. He’s hoping to get in some good racing between now and the end of the season, with a goal being to secure a ride with a good overseas team for 2012.
McConvey also has the same aim; he’s already in a good position with the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team and while nothing is yet sealed, if he can ride well in the remaining two months of the year, he should get the nod for next season.
How the race was won:
The final stage of the three day, four stage race rolled out from Clonmel and after a neutralized section, racing began. It was another aggressive start, with many trying to go clear.
Adam Armstrong (Eurocycles), Joe Fenlon (The Edge) and Chris Nicholson (Microgaming Isle of Man) slipped away for a short period at Fethard, then a bigger group went clear sixteen kilometers after the start. Stage one runner up Sean Lacey (The Edge) and stage two winner Paidi O’Brien (Sportactive/Engraveit.ie) were present, along with former FBD Milk Ras winner Andrew Roche (Microgaming Isle of Man), Anthony Walsh (UCD), Neil Delahaye, Stephen O’Sullivan and Fiachra O’Mhuire (all Dectek). They were joined soon afterwards by Patrick Clarke (Castlebar), but the peloton gave it no leeway and things came back together.
Shortly before the first hot spot sprint at Kilenaule (km 23.2), Michael Fitzgerald (The Edge), Daniel Clifford (SportActive/Engraveit) and Anthony Walsh (UCD) clipped away. However they were reeled in just before the prime line, and instead Con Collins (UCD), Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) and Christian Varley (Microgaming Isle of Man) took the points.
Heading towards the next hot spot sprint at Rock House, Cashel (km 50), there were splits in the peloton. Martyn Irvine (Giant Asia) took top points there, beating Robin Kelly (Waterford Racing Club) and McLaughlin.
After 65 kilometres of racing, eight riders pushed ahead, namely Fitzgerald, Lacey, O’Brien, Roche, Varley, Nicholson, Colm Cassidy (UCD) and McLaughlin. The latter was trying to pick up points in the final hot spot sprint of the race, thus sewing up the pink jersey competition, but Irvine made it into the move and won the gallop ahead of Collins and McLaughlin. Both riders finished on nine points, but Irvine got the award on countback.
Heading out of Tipperary, John Dempsey (Carrick Wheelers) took his chance and was joined by Jonathan Cregeen (Microgaming Isle of Man), Tim O’Regan (Dectek) and Michael McCarthy (Dectek B). However they were absorbed on the first category Glen of Aherlow climb, where the inevitable attacks took place.
Sherlock attacks, McConvey defends:
McConvey’s rivals were seeking to gain time on him there but he showed his strength when he reached the summit (km 76.4) first. Ryan Sherlock (Sportactive/Engraveit.ie) was second, with Mark Dowling (Dectek B), Tigernach Murphy (Cycling Ireland Development) and Cregeen next past the line.
Murphy and Sherlock clipped away on the descent, going clear with just under 40 kilometres remaining. Behind, the peloton was split into several parts, with the main contenders with McConvey in the next group. Despite some good racing, things gradually came back together in the peloton. With 25 kilometres to go, the two leaders were 34 seconds clear; Murphy cracked ten kilometers later and was reeled back in, while Sherlock persisted and managed to stay clear for another five kilometers.
Soon afterwards, O’Brien and Delahaye attacked and were joined by Lacey, but the bunch was all together racing in towards the finish. The wet conditions and slippery roads made things tricky. McConvey did what he could to stay out of trouble, while others concentrated on fighting for the stage win. Clifford benefited from some strong work by his Sportactive/Engraveit.ie team-mates to grab the victory; he beat Nicholson and Buggle to the line, with Michael O’Reilly (The Edge) and stage one winner Herman Forche (South Africa) netting fourth and fifth.
The latter was one of several riders to crash just after the line, Forche appearing to clip Nicholson’s wheel. He was cut and bruised but had the consolation of finishing second overall, eleven seconds behind McConvey. Patrick Clarke (Castlebar) and Damien Shaw (Lakeside Wheelers) were fourth and fifth, while sixth-placed Varley was the first of the A2 riders. Cregeen was first A3 competitor.
The points, mountains and hot spot sprints competitions went to Forche, McConvey and Irvine respectively.
Looking ahead:
Once again, the race was a well run affair, and attracted a good lineup of riders. The addition of a hillclimb this year was a interesting development and was a crucial part of McConvey’s push for the final yellow jersey. According to race organizer Declan Byrne and technical director Paul O’Donoghue, they plan to keep building the race and hope to be in a position to apply for UCI 2.2 status at some point in the future. If so, that would be a very important addition to Ireland’s cycling calendar, which is somewhat skewed due to the prominence of the An Post Ras in May.
[Results on home page, more to follow later on this event]
