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DUBLIN SKIP GOREY 3 DAY: Easter 2002
Sean
Bracken and Paudi O'Brien attacking on stage 3, both
went on to win by 2 mins
O’BRIEN WINS DUBLIN SKIP GOREY 3 DAY;
(By Shane Stokes Apr 1) <See
Pictures Here> <Download
Interview with Paudi O'Brien 1.6Mb> <Download
Interview with Sean Kelly 2.6Mb> <Download
Interview with Sam D'Arcy 5.9Mb>
AHERN TAKES FINAL STAGE
 Overnight leader Paudi O’Brien today won the
Dublin Skip Gorey 3 Day race, finishing safely alongside all his main rivals in
the main bunch at the finish near Blessington. The 58 mile stage from Gorey back
to Dublin was run off in difficult cold and wet conditions but as anticipated
beforehand the Kanturk CC rider had no major difficulties in protecting his
sizeable lead.
The sole change in the top ten placings of the
general classification was Tim Ahern’s jump to eighth place overall,
overtaking Killorglin rider Barry Woods and, more importantly, capturing the
final stage with a storming solo ride. The UCD rider went clear with Leinster’s
James Lawless inside the final 20 miles, forged ahead alone shortly afterwards
and reached the finish line 42 seconds clear of Frank O’Leary of Usher IRC.
Ahern’s team mate Alan Lane rode well to take 3rd place, a further 2 seconds
back, DPC First Legal’s Alan Slevin was 4th and Brendan Harte of Bohermeen won
the bunch sprint for fifth.
<Download MPEG Video of Break
Finishing> <Download
MPEG Video of Bunch Finishing>
‘I am delighted to win’, said Paudi O’Brien
afterwards. ‘I didn’t feel too bad today, everyone was tired. There was a
lot of jumping around early on, so I was happy when Tim Ahern went away – that
settled things down a bit.’
‘I had no major worries in the stage…Anthony
Doyle (Team WORC) had a few goes but there was no problems. My Kanturk team rode
very well to keep things together. It is great to win the Gorey, it is my first
time to take the overall in a stage race.’
 So what are O’Brien’s targets for the rest of
the season? ‘I won’t really aim for one event in particular – I would
rather be going well all year, but one goal is to try to finish in the top
twenty in the world championships. I would also like to try a few other races
abroad – there is a chance I might go to Holland for two to three weeks in May
but that hasn’t been finalised yet.’
As for stage winner Ahern, the FBD Milk Rás is one
contest he hopes to ride this season. ‘I will hopefully do the Rás….I have
college exams (second year commerce in UCD) until May 17th, and the Rás starts
on May 19th. So it is a bit tight…hopefully it works out okay. I would also
like to do well in the Under 23 National Championships later in the season. The
aim this year is to get recognised and then hopefully, in the next year or two,
I will go on to do well in bigger races.’
‘Today’s win was a big encouragement…I got
third two years ago on the final stage so it was nice to go better today. I felt
a bit ropey for the first 30 miles because it was wet and cold, but once we got
on the main road I felt a lot better. I had planned to hang back until
Poulaphuca but after Baltinglass I went clear with James Lawless.’
‘We were riding hard for a few miles, then I did
a big turn and when I looked back he was gone, so I just kept pushing it from
there. A few miles later I was told I had a minute’s lead, so I knew that I
was set to win the stage as long as I didn’t blow. I just kept the pace steady
and got to the line without any problems’
Dublin Skip Gorey 3 day, stage 4 (Gorey to
Blessington): 1, Tim Ahern (UCD) 58 miles in 2 hours 19 minutes 6 seconds;
2, F. O’Leary (Usher IRC) at 42 secs; 3, A. Lane (UCD) at 44 secs; 4, A.
Slevin (DPC First Legal) at 45 secs; 5, B. Harte (Bohermeen CC) at 48 secs; 6,
T. Lavery (DPC First Legal) same time
Final overall classification:
Overall: 1, O’ Brien 5 hours 24 mins 22 secs; 2,
Bracken, at 2 mins 10 secs; 3, N. Martin (On The Edge Racing Team) at 2 mins 28
secs; 4, K. Norgrove (Dublin Wheelers) at 2 mins 30 secs; 5, D. Byrne (Usher IRC)
at 2 mins 37 secs; 6, S. McDonald (Orwell Wheelers) at 2 mins 53 secs
Junior:1, O’Brien; 2, B. Woods (Killorglin) at 3
mins 51 secs; 3, T. Hardwick (Killorglin) at 5 mins 54 secs
Veteran: 1, Bracken; 2, Martin, at 18 secs; 3, D.
Woods (Usher IRC) at 3 mins 47 secs
Women: 1, Julie Hill (Cycleways Liverpool); 2, G.
McDarby, at 34 mins 59 secs
Cat 3: Derek Cunningham (Bray); 2, W. McGuire
(North Bucks Road Club) at 34 secs; 3, A. Crowley (Banteer) at 1 min 23 secs
Team: 1, Usher IRC; 2, Mayo Wheelers at 4 mins 58
secs; 3, Killorglin CC at 6 mins 16 secs
O’BRIEN STRENTHENS RACE LEAD
 Yesterday junior rider Paudi O’Brien expressed
doubt that he would hold yellow after today’s split stage of the Dublin Skip
Gorey 3 day. ‘Juniors have to use restricted gears and that will not help me
in the time trial, especially if there is a tail wind’, said the Kanturk CC
competitor. However, despite a strong breeze on his back this morning, the stage
1 winner strengthened his hold on the race when he finished an excellent second
in the 4 mile test, conceding just 6 seconds to Cidona Carrick Wheelers rider
John Wall.
Come the afternoon stage, the powerful young rider
was at it again, bridging across to a breakaway group on the last of 4 laps of a
15 mile circuit and placing second to veteran Sean Bracken in their two-up dash
for the line. With just tomorrow’s final 60 mile leg back to Dublin in store,
O’Brien’s 2 minute plus lead over his Usher IRC rival would seem to be a
secure one; a big boost for a rider who said yesterday that he was satisfied
enough if he came away from the race with just that stage win.
‘Today went well, surprisingly well’, he said
afterwards. ‘Before the time trial I thought I had no chance of holding onto
the lead – I felt good in the test, but thought that would probably just land
me a place in the top ten on the stage. Finding out that I had finished second
was a real surprise to me; then to go on and finish second again in the
afternoon stage was a real bonus’.
‘I was away in a group early on in the stage but
we were caught. Then a big group went clear and had a lead of nearly a minute…on
the last lap myself and a few other riders went away and were able to bridge the
gap. Just after we got there, Sean Bracken jumped and I got his wheel. He was
going for the stage, so that was good for me; the two of us got to the finish
together and I extended my lead.’
The jersey seldom changes hands on the final stage
of the race, a mainly flat run back to Dublin which tends to produce a bunch
sprint. It seems only an accident could deny O’Brien a well-deserved success,
but he is taking nothing for granted. ‘I have a good lead but anything can
happen in bike racing’, he said. ‘Hopefully it will all go well – if not,
sure I have got a lot out of this weekend and I am happy with my performance.’
Another who will be pleased is former cycling great
Sean Kelly, who again rode well today in his stage race return. Kelly finished
in the main bunch but was one of the strongest riders there, driving the pace on
several occasions and lining out the pack behind him. One can’t help but be
impressed by the veteran – Kelly hasn’t trained much for the race but his
strength is obvious. So too his determination, judging by the shouts, gestures
and taunts with which he tried to ‘encourage’ the other riders to organise a
chase. ‘You are like a pack of old men’, he shouted at one point; while he
may be 46 later this year, it is clear that he is a long, long way away from
that particular stage in life.
Dublin Skip Gorey 3 day, Gorey. <Download
MPEG Video of Break Finishing> <Download
MPEG Video of 1st Group Finishing> <Download
MPEG Video of 2nd Group Finishing> <Download
MPEG Video of 3rd Group Finishing>
 Stage 2: 1, John Wall (Cidona Carrick) 4
mile TT in 7 mins 10 secs; 2, O’Brien, at 6 secs; 3, A. Kelly (Bray Wheelers)
at 11 secs
Stage 3: 1, S. Bracken (Usher IRC) 60 miles
in 2 hours 33 mins 23 secs; 2, O’Brien, same time; 3, S. McDonald (Orwell
Wheelers) at 2 mins 5 secs; 4, Norgrove, same time; 5, D. Byrne (Usher IRC) at 2
mins 7 secs; 6, T. Ahern (UCD) same time
Overall: 1, O’ Brien 5 hours 24 mins 22 secs; 2,
Bracken, at 2 mins 10 secs; 3, N. Martin (On The Edge Racing Team) at 2 mins 28
secs; Byrne, at 2 mins 37 secs; 6, McDonald, at 2 mins 53 secs
Team: 1, Usher Irish Road Club; 2, Mayo Wheelers,
at 4 mins 53 secs; 3, Killorglin, at 6 mins 10 secs
O’BRIEN TAKES OPENING STAGE OF DUBLIN
SKIP GOREY 3 DAY
Junior rider Paudi O’Brien today handed out a
lesson in bike racing to his more experienced competitors when he won the
opening stage of the Dublin Skip Gorey 3 day race. At the end of the 66 mile
stage the Kanturk rider outsprinted Ken Norgrove (Dublin Wheelers) to take his
seventh consecutive win of the year, despite being hampered by the gear
limitation imposed on junior riders.
<Download MPEG Video of Break
Finishing> <Download
MPEG Video of Bunch Finishing>
O’Brien was active early on in the stage, going
clear in a three man breakaway after Baltinglass. This group was joined by a 12
others after the long drag out of Hackettstown, and with no concerted chase
behind, a decisive gap quickly opened. O’Brien tried to forge ahead again
closer to the finish but his move was countered by the group; however the 15
rider break fragmented on the run-in to the line, greatly simplifying his task
of taking the stage.
‘I was away with three others before Hackettstown
and then the other group came across to us. It was really organised so I knew
that we were not going to get caught’, O’Brien recounted afterwards. ‘I
tried to go away on the long drag about ten miles before the finish but got
brought back…I then decided to wait until the sprint. It was a bit difficult
for me at the end as I was limited to junior gears and we had a tailwind, but
luckily I was able to come off his (Ken Norgrove's) wheel and take the stage.’
O’Brien says that he is not too worried about
tomorrow’s two stages, a 4 mile time trial and a 60 mile circuit race in the
afternoon. ‘I will give it a lash but it will be hard to do a good time trial
if we have a tail wind (due to gear restrictions). To tell you the truth, I am
happy to have done what I have done in the race. Anything else is a bonus’, he
said with a smile.
Even if tomorrow morning does bring a tailwind, O’Brien’s
chances of remaining close to yellow are considerably enhanced by the fact that
just 14 other riders are anyway close to him in the overall standings. The main
bunch finished two minutes and three seconds down today, with UCD’s Alan Lane
taking the gallop into Gorey and former world number one Sean Kelly riding
prominently in his stage race comeback.
The Mayo Wheelers rider was 9th in that nervous,
dangerous rush for the line, placing 24th on the stage but clearly enjoying his
return. Three stages remain in the Dublin Skip Gorey 3 day, 3 stages which
provide opportunity for ‘Cannibal’ Kelly to once again chase success in a
bike race. The stakes are considerably smaller than in the old days, but one
gets the impression that he might just have a go if the opportunity presents
itself and the legs feel good.
Once an animal always an animal, you could say.
Dublin Skip Gorey 3 day, stage 1 (Brittas to
Gorey): 1, Paudi O’Brien (Kanturk CC) 66 miles in 2 hours 43 mins 43 secs;
2, K. Norgove (Dublin Wheelers) same time; 3, A. Doyle (Team Worc) at 1 sec; 4,
R.Whelan (Mayo Wheelers) at 8 secs; 5, M. Dempsey (IMBRC); 6, S. Lally (McNally
Swords); 7, F. Cahill (Banteer); 8, D. Byrne (Usher IRC) all same time
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