UNHERALDED DUTCHMAN TACO van der Hoorn (Join-S de Rijke squad) might be the man wearing the race leader’s yellow jersey at the end of today’s opening stage of the An Post Rás but it was Waterford man Ciarán Power who stole the show.
The 40-year-old crossed the line in 16th place, which earned him the best county rider prize, after a cracking but crash-marred 144-kilometre journey from Dublin Castle to Multyfarnham in Westmeath this afternoon.
Power spoke to the The42 in recent days about the weight he piled on since retiring in 2008 and his subsequent regime to get himself in a fit enough state to play with his kids or take the dog for a walk.
His story is a remarkable one and after dropping 20 kilos since last October, the two-time Rás winner and ex-Olympian was back on the podium this afternoon, eight years after he last rode the race.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” he said.
I loved being back in the race and seeing so many old faces again. It was a hard and fast stage but I was feeling okay and I think I could have actually finished higher up but for a group to slip away coming in the road.”
Few would have given him any chance of pulling out a result like that today but on a course that only had one category three climb, he knew it was perhaps his best chance of the week to do something.
I don’t go well on the hills but today’s (hill) was just about manageable. I knew when I got over that with the front guys I had a chance and I was confident. I can sprint well and it’s maybe just a pity I wasn’t sprinting for a higher place. Still, it’s great to be back on the podium. I said that was my goal for the week so I can relax now and enjoy the week!”
The riders were greeted with warm sunshine in Dublin Castle for the ceremonial start at 12pm.
However, racing proper didn’t commence until the riders made their way to Clonee and when the flag dropped at 12.30pm, the pace rarely dipped below 50kph as several tried to go clear.
However, with so many fresh legs in the 180-rider field, little was given any leeway until Eoin Morton (Dublin UCD-Fitzcycles.ie) and Brya McCrystal (Louth Asea-Wheelworx) escaped before the day’s only climb at Lough Crew.
They were joined by George Fowler (NFTO) and later, the domestic pair of Ronan McClaughlin (Irish National team) and Sean Lacey (Aquablue).
That quintet had a minute on the peloton at one point but some strong chasing by the JLT-Condor Cycles, Dutch Riwal Platform and Austria Tirol Cycling teams trimmed the margin to 40 seconds with around 50 kilometres to go.
Morton was first over the day’s only climb meaning he ended the day in the King of the Mountains jersey and the break he was part of swelled to seven when Patrick Gamper (Austria Tirol Cycling) and Marcus Christie (Louth Asea Wheelworx) bridged.
They worked hard to maintain their 40-second advantage, but with more teams joining the chase behind, those up front were reeled in with less than 40 kilometres to race.
A flurry of attacks yielded little in terms of more breaks, but hitting the 20-kilometre circuit around the town of Multyfarnham, a crash caused a split at the head of affairs and only those ahead of it managed to escape the carnage. Those who did knew they were racing for the win and among them was Van der Hoorn, a talented 22-year-old in the race for the first time.
The Dutch cyclist jumped clear of those in that front split and managed to hold on for the biggest win of his career, with Dylan Kennett (New Zealand) second just behind him and Rasmus Mygind (Denmark Riwal Platform) next to round out the podium.
Best of the Irish was Jack Wilson (An Post Chainreaction), while Eddie Dunbar (irish national team) finished a fine ninth.
Tomorrow’s stage takes the riders on a whopping 183-kilometre journey from Multyfarnham to Charleville and there are two categorised climbs along the way.
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