Irish triumph persisted at the Rás Tailteann on Friday with American-born Irish cyclist Cormac McGeough, securing an impressive solo win in Cahir. He surpassed John Buller (Ireland: Spellman Dublin Port CT) and Odhran Doogan (Ireland: Team Ireland), both of whom were part of a 10-rider breakout around 30km from the conclusion of the third stage, creating a crucial lead over the peloton. McGeough (Mexico: Canel’s-Java) pulled ahead in the last 10km, maintaining his lead to outdistance the remaining breakaway cyclists by three seconds.
“I’m over the moon. It’s elating,” expressed 27-year-old McGeough, an American national originally from Washington, regarding his first ever stage victory in Rás. In the previous year, he came second to Dillon Corkery, but he lost his chances of repeating that success on Thursday. “I was keen to see how the overall contest would unfold, but I lost crucial time in yesterday’s climbs. Winning the stage now feels remarkable after that setback.”
Meanwhile, British cyclist Dom Jackson (UK: Foran CT) commenced the stage in a dead tie with stage two victor Conn McDunphy (USA: Skyline-Cadence) and Ireland’s Liam O’Brien (Ireland: Team Ireland). Both of the Irish riders spotted the chance to break away, with O’Brien seizing it, joining forces with team-mate Corkery, previous year’s lead racer Conor McGoldrick (UK: Richardsons-Trek DAS), and Spaniard Warren Ewan Scanlon (Spain: Brocar-Rali-Alé). They left the peloton trailing on the category 3 Doneraile climb, roughly 100km from the Kenmare start, and stayed ahead for over 10km before being caught.
“Kudos to Team Ireland. They executed a strategy brilliantly, catching a lot of us, myself included, completely off guard,” acknowledged Jackson. “I believe the only reason we were able to catch up was the distance that was still left to cover.”
O’Brien detailed the manner in which the break dispersed. “Our attempt to gain an advantage through Doneraile resulted in a marginal distance being created between myself and my fellow team-mate, Dillon,” he asserted. “However, we were targets and it was always going to present a challenge. Our lead was at a significant distance; I am unsure if we could have maintained it. Yet, they seemed to function effectively as a team, or so I am told.”
McDunphy began the day at third place but managed to surpass O’Brien due to superior stage performances. Both of them are still at par with Jackson in terms of overall time and are set to endeavour once more on Saturday’s meticulous 139.2km route from Horse and Jockey to Kildare town.
The reigning champion, Corkery, is still in the game with a 32-second overall lag. During the first stage, he admitted that he was not feeling as invigorated as he desired and was hopeful to regain his form soon. It appears he is on the right trajectory. “My condition was improved today compared to the recent past. Though my exertions today will take a toll, I believe my performance is improving as the days progress,” he commented.
Team Ireland still holds favourable odds, with both O’Brien and Corkery remaining for the final two stages. It’s anticipated that they will take turns in launching offensives to place stress on Jackson and other riders. At just 19 years old, O’Brien is standing out among his more experienced teammates. “In my view, he’s likely the most formidable cyclist in the competition,” asserted Corkery.