By Shane Stokes
Daire Feeley ended the longest Irish drought in Rás Tailteann history on Sunday, becoming the first home winner since Stephen Gallagher in 2008.
The Cork All Human/Velo Revolution rider seized the yellow jersey on Friday’s third stage, defended it on Saturday and carried it into Sunday’s final stage with a 51 second advantage over the British rider Louis Sutton (Spain Brocar-Ale).
Sutton told the Irish Times before the stage that he would keep fighting on the final 135.3 kilometre stage to Blackrock in County Louth, but instead it was Feeley who went on the attack, first bridging across to a two man break with Marc Potts (Tyrone Team Caldwell Cycles) and then, following their recapture, going again inside the final 30 kilometres.
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He joined up with William Perrett (Dublin Spellman Dublin Port), Archie Ryan (Ireland National Team), Dean Watson (Britain Embark-Bikestrong) and Aaron Watson (Down Powerhouse Sport) and while the latter subsequently slipped back, the other four had a lead of 27 seconds with 15 kilometres remaining.
They were eventually reeled in, but Feeley’s attack rather than defence policy was both typical of his racing style and also something which was all but unheard of by a yellow jersey on the final stage of any recent edition of the Rás.
The 25-year-old finished safely in the main bunch and ended the five-day race 51 seconds clear of Sutton and one minute and six seconds ahead of Adam Ward (Ireland National Team).
“People think I am crazy attacking the whole time but I think I’ve actually ridden the Rás very similar to the way that I normally ride any race in Ireland,” he told the Irish Times.
“The beauty of it was to take the pressure off the team on the finishing circuits. That made the job a lot easier, and they were able to just monitor moves and have me in my position out of trouble as I crossed the line. So it worked out really well in the end.”
Embraced by his teammates and congratulated by riders and officials, he was emotional at the stage finish. He described his feelings coming up the finishing straight.
“It was amazing. Amazing. It didn’t hit me until I stopped. I just remember coming around the corner with 200 metres to go and Richie [team-mate Richard Maes] said to me ‘you’ve won the Rás, boy.’ That was brilliant, so it was.
“That is the first time I have ever cried when I won a bike race. It means so much to me. It’s an incredible feeling.”
The stage victory went to another young Irish rider, the 20-year-old Kevin McCambridge (Britain Trinity Racing). He surged clear on the tough finishing circuit, making his move after Feeley’s group was reeled in and shortly before starting the final 9.9 kilometre lap.
He had a 20-second lead with five kilometres to go and reached the line three seconds clear of stage one winner Matthew Teggart (Cycling Ulster) and the rest of the main bunch.
“The Rás is like the world championships for an Irish rider. It is just amazing. The crowds, the people…I was so happy,” he said of his win.
In the end it was a superb Rás for Irish riders. In Feeley, Ward, Rory Townsend (Ireland National Team), Teggart and Luke Smith (Meath Moynalty Cycling Club), they took five out of the top six places.
They won four out of five stages, and Townsend and Dean Harvey (Ireland National Team) took the points classification and King of the Mountains respectively.
The race is back on the road after a four-year absence and while a title sponsor is needed to ensure it goes ahead next year, the huge crowds at the finish in Blackrock, the festive atmosphere and the passion shown by riders and officials alike are all huge pluses.
Ras Tailteann 2022
FBD Insurance stage five, Kinnegad to Blackrock (Dundalk): 1 Kevin McCambridge (Britain Trinity Racing) 135.3 kilometres in 3 hours 2′1″, 2 M Teggart (Cycling Ulster) at 3″, 3 M Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey), 4 L Sutton (Spain Brocar-Ale) , 5 R Townsend (Ireland National Team), 6 A Stenson (Carlow Dan Morrissey) , 7 J Harrison (Isle of Man), 8 M Horsthuis (Isle of Man) , 9 J Blain (Britain Embark-Bikestrong), 10 D Mac Donald (Clare Burren CC), 11 L Smith (Meath Moynalty CC), 12 G Kimber (Britain Spirit BSS), 13 A Klus (Dublin McNally Swords), 14 R Siebe (Britain Trinity Racing), 15 C McCann (Down Newry Wheelers) all same time
King of the mountains primes:
Category three climb at Slane: 1 Dean Harvey (Ireland National Team) 5 points, 2 J Kes (Netherlands West Frisia) 4, 3 A Ryan (Ireland National Team) 3, 4 K McCambridge (Britain Trinity Racing) 2
Category three climb at Collon: 1 Dean Harvey (Ireland National Team) 5 points, 2 J Kes (Netherlands West Frisia) 4, 3 A Ryan (Ireland National Team) 3, 4 K McCambridge (Britain Trinity Racing) 2
Festina Watches County rider stage: 1 Matteo Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey) 3 hours 2′15″, 2 A Stenson (Carlow Dan Morrissey) , 3 D Mac Donald (Clare Burren CC), 4 L Smith (Meath Moynalty CC), 5 A Klus (Dublin McNally Swords) all same time
Team stage (non county): 1 Britain Trinity Racing 9 hours 6′42″, 2 Britain Spirit BSS at 3″, 3 Britain Embark-Bikestrong, 4 Ireland National Team, 5 USA Good Guys Racing NYC Ireland county team: 1 Carlow Dan Morrissey 9 hours 6′45″, 2 Clare Burren CC, 3 Cycling Ulster, 4 Cork All Human/Velo Revolution all same time, 5 Meath Spin 11 Chain Reaction 9 hours 7′33″
Cycling Ireland final general classification: 1 Daire Feeley (Cork All Human/Velo Revolution) 16 hours 55′29″, 2 L Sutton (Spain Brocar-Ale) at 51″, 3 A Ward (Ireland National Team) at 1′6″, 4 R Townsend (Ireland National Team) at 1′29″, 5 M Teggart (Cycling Ulster) at 1′40″, 6 L Smith (Meath Moynalty Cycling Club) at 1′41″, 7 W Perrett (Dublin Spellman Dublin Port) same time, 8 M Chadwick (Britain Embark Bikestrong) at 1′45″, 9 G Kimber (Britain Spirit BSS) at 1′46″, 10 J Rees (Britain Embark-Bikestrong) same time, 11 J Housely (Britain Spirit BSS) at 1′48″, 12 D Moore (Cycling Ulster) same time, 13 M Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey) at 1′50″, 14 M Dowling (Cork All Human/Velo Revolution) at 1′56″, 15 J McKay (Britain Cycling Sheffield) at 2′14″
City Break Apartments points classification: 1 Rory Townsend (Ireland National Team) 56 pts, 2 M Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey) 50, 3 M Teggart (Cycling Ulster) 41, 4 L Sutton (Spain Brocar-Ale) 36, 5 J Harrison (Isle of Man) 30
Cycling Ireland mountains competition: 1 Dean Harvey (Ireland National Team) 24, 2 D Feeley (Cork All Human/Velo Revolution) 22, 3 J Kes (Netherlands West Frisia) 19, 4 A Ward (Cycling Ulster) 13, 5 L Sutton (Spain Brocar-Ale) 10
Spin 11 under 23 rider classification: 1 Louis Sutton (Spain Brocar-Ale) 16 hours 56′20″, 2 A Ward (Ireland National Team) at 15″, 3 J Rees (Britain Embark-Bikestrong) at 55″, 4 L Rosie (Scotland Spokes Racing Team) at 1′37″, 5 J Blain (Britain Embark-Bikestrong) same time
Bective Stud Irish county rider: 1 Daire Feeley (Cork All Human/Velo Revolution) 16 hours 55′29″, 2 L Smith (Meath Moynalty Cycling Club) at 1′41″, 3 W Perrett (Dublin Spellman Dublin Port) same time, 4 D Moore (Cycling Ulster) at 1′48″, 5 M Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey) at 1′50″
Cycling Ireland A2 rider: 1 Aureliusz Klus (Dublin McNally Swords) 16 hours 57′57″, 2 V Evssev (Cork All Human/Velo Revolution) same time, 3 R Grimes (Dublin Pinergy Orwell Wheelers) at 1′52″, 4 T Walton (Dublin St. Tiernan’s) at 7′41″, 5 J Delaney (Cycling Leinster) at 12′1″
Cycling Ireland A3 rider: 1 Derek Joyce (Galway Bay CC) 17 hours 23′24″, 2 D McKinley (Down Newry Wheelers) at 31′38″, 3 S Flahive (Dublin McNally Swords) at 1 hour 37′
Team (non-county): 1 Ireland National Team 50 hours 51′5″, 2 Britain Embark-Bikestrong at 1′23″, 3 Britain Spirit BSS at 1′24″, 4 Britain Cycling Sheffield at 2′32″, 5 Spain Brocar-Ale at 4′41″
Irish county team: 1 Cork All Human/Velo Revolution 50 hours 50′51″, 2 Cycling Ulster at 1′42″, 3 Carlow Dan Morrissey at 3′45″, 4 Dublin Spellman Dublin Port at 8′38″, 5 Dublin UCD at 9′43″
