 For More Photos etc check out www.tipperaryphotos.ie www.irishcycling.com
http://ryansherlock.blogspot.com/2011/08/2011-suir-valley-3-day.html
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.
McConvey "The King of Knocklucas"
PL No. UCI Code Name TM Team Time @
1 106 11A1128 McConvey,Conor POS AnPost/SeanKell 03'24.79"
2 126 11A10125 Shaw,Damien DUF Lakeside Wheele 03'27.27" @02.48"
3 24 Sherlock,Ryan SPO Sportactive/Eng 03'28.75" @03.96"
4 59 11A1052 Murphy,Tigernach CID Cycling Ireland 03'30.42" @05.63"
5 115 11A1038 Dowling,Mark DEB TeamDectek B 03'30.67" @05.88"
6 105 McLoughlin,Ronan POS AnPost/SeanKell 03'33.69" @08.90"
7 35 GBR19840621 Varley,Christian IOA Microgaming Tea 03'37.97" @13.18"
8 34 19711122 Roche,Andrew IOA Microgaming Tea 03'40.06" @15.27"
9 78 11A1077 Clarke,Patrick CAS Castlebar CC 03'40.12" @15.33"
10 20 O'Brien,Paudi SPO Sportactive/Eng 03'43.43" @18.64"
Sir Paudie wins Fastest Stage
Paudie Aherne wins the 2nd Stage of the Suir Valley 3 Day with time for
a pointed Salute to the podium to PA Ted Crowley
Sprinter Paidi O'Brien (SportActive) showed a clean pair of wheels to Mullingar's Damien Shaw (Lakeside Wheelers) and An Post professional Ronan McLaughlin in Clonmel yesterday to take stage two of the Suir Valley three-day.
After an aggressive start, an attack by Shaw on a short climb dragged the trio clear of a large lead group approximately 15km from the line and they quickly opened up a 20-second lead, with Shaw doing a lot of the work in the break.
"Damien was unbelievable," said third-placed McLaughlin afterwards.
"He was doing twice as much as me and Paidi in the break. If he hadn't been there, we would have been caught today. He was incredible."
Both Shaw and McLaughin could only look on though as O'Brien unleashed the trademark kick that has earned him the nickname 'the pocket rocket' since returning to the domestic scene this year and the Sportactive team after a four-year stint with Sean Kelly's Belgian-based An Post team.
"I was targeting the shorter stage because I haven't a lot of big rides done, so I knew this was my best chance," said O'Brien afterwards.
"With 2km to go, I knew we had enough time so I stopped riding.
"Damien started the sprint early but the corners in the finish suited me. I came down before the start this morning and looked at the finish.
"I got into the second last corner first and came out of the last corner with a big gap, and I'm very happy with this win."
O'Brien too had praise for the gutsy Shaw, who earned the most combative rider award yesterday."Damien was very strong," said the Banteer sprinter. "He just accelerated on a hill and I went after him. Ronan came up to me and we went over the top abut 10 metres behind Damien.
"He didn't ease up. We had to ride hard for about 2km to catch him.
"I was running on fumes coming in -- but I knew my card was the sprint."
Shaw -- from an athletics background -- only took up cycling competitively last year but was disappointed to be second again this season in yesterday's stage.
"I just kept attacking, hoping something would stick," Shaw said.
Stage one winner and race leader Herman Forche of South Africa finished less than half a minute behind to hold onto his yellow jersey.
"It will be hard to keep it," said the 24-year-old Johannesburg native. "I don't have a team here and the Irish guys and some of the other Europeans are very strong."
- Gerard Cromwell
Irish Independent
Herman show us "The Forche"
South African Rider Herman Forche Wins the 1st Stage of the 2011 Suir Valley 3 Day International
Cycling Race from 2007 Winner Sean Lacey and An PostConor McConvey............More Detail Soon
PL No. UCI Code Name TM Team Time @
1 134 Forche,Herman SA Team South Africa 2h29'55"
2 13 11A1014 Lacey,Sean EDG The Edge Sports 2h30'05" @10"
3 106 11A1128 McConvey,Conor POS AnPost/SeanKelly/MD 2h30'10" @15"
4 70 Cummins,Owen BCB Blarney CC B 2h30'28" @33"
5 109 11A1037 O'Mhuire,Fiachra DEA Team Dectek A 2h30'30" @35"
6 78 11A1077 Clarke,Patrick CAS Castlebar CC 2h30'34" @39"
7 41 11A20425 O'Conluain,Ciaran UCD UCD 2h30'34" @ s/t
8 11 11A1010 Fenlon,Joseph EDG The Edge Sports 2h30'36" @41"
9 35 GBR19840621 Varley,Christian IOA Microgaming Team IOMA 2h30'40" @45"
10 93 11A10113 Murphy,Wes DWW Dublin Wheelers 2h30'46" @51"
Points Competition
-------------------------------
PL No. Name TM Pts
1 134 Forche,H SA 15
2 13 Lacey,S EDG 14
3 106 McConvey,C POS 13
4 70 Cummins,O BCB 12
5 109 O'Mhuire,F DEA 1
Mountains Competition
-------------------------------
PL No. Name TM Pts
1 106 McConvey,C POS 22
2 105 McLoughlin,R POS 15
3 109 O'Mhuire,F DEA 10
4 34 Roche,A IOA 10
5 107 Delahaye,N DEA 8
A2 Overall
-------------------------------
PL No. Name TM Time
1 41 O'Conluain,C UCD = 2h30'34"
2 35 Varley,C IOA @ 06"
3 116 McCarthy,M DEB @ 28"
4 37 Nicholson,C IOA @ 01'28"
5 114 Zaidan,D CYC @ 01'29"
A3 Overall
---------------------------------
PL No. Name TM Time
1 55 Cregeen,J IOB = 2h32'04"
2 27 Collins,D DTC @ 06"
3 38 O'Shea,C IOA @ 06"
4 77 Gunning,M WAT @ 04'19"
5 65 Wimms,O GAL @ 04'27"
Welcome to the New Suir Valley 3 Day Website
The Suir Valley Day is a bike race for Racing Cyclists by Racing Cyclists. Our goal is to run the best, safest and most professional amateur Race in Ireland and this being our 5th Year we believe that we are achieving this. We will be adding new Content and Galleries of previous years over the next few days ......
Stage Start Times
Sign on opens Saturday 10.30 am Hearns Hotel Stage 1 Starts 1pm
Sign on opens Sunday 10.00 am Hearns Hotel Stage 2 Starts 11am
Sign on opens Sunday Night 6.00pm Hearns Hotel Stage 3 Starts 7pm
Sign on opens Saturday 10.00 am Hearns Hotel Stage 4 Starts 11am
*****Accomodation Special:****
The Clonmel Park Hotel are offering Riders of the Suir Valley 3 Day a Special of 3 nights Bed Breakfast and Evening Meals for €180.00, Similar to previous stays with us (i.e Tour of Ireland and the Ras) we would be delighted to offer you storage area for your bikes and access to our water supply for washing and maintenance of the bikes during your stay with use as well as unlimited use of our leisure facilities for more info www.clonmelparkhotel.com Tel: +353 52 6188700 Email:info@clonmelparkhotel.com
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