Ultimate Sports Blog

Well today was another tough tough stage that produced another small shake up in gc. With tough headwinds and hard roads it was always going to be a hard stage but with the 4 categorised climbs it was made even harder. The climb of Healy pass inside the last 30 km caused a selection but the descent did even more so with David mcCann having the worst luck, crashing on the first hairpin of the descent and losing 5:40 as a result. We rode excenty as a te again. And after I rode as much as I could in last 5-10pm to get a sprint for either sam or Gedi it was Gedi who delivered with another stage win. Animal is the only way to describe him but that’s no surprise to any of us. Stage 5 should be another cracker with many more climbs and plenty of wind.
Ronan

Well stage 3 at the an post ras was massively different from stage 2 in many ways. First we started with a side/tail wind which meant some very fast racing. We missed the originally break just before gort so we chased it down.  There was alot more attacking for about another half hour then finally a break went away. Gediminas had managed to slip into the break but we were the only people to realise this and as the break disappeared up the road all the other contenders for the race had no idea Bagdonas was potentially riding away with the race. I suppose for once having no radios actually benefited us. The break got a max gap of close to 8minutes before giant Asia and later the Irish national team started chasing. The last 30km of the stage was abit more difficult with the two chasing teams setting a hard pace and the last climb of the crag cave being very steep in parts. The chasers brought the gap down to 2minutes at the finish. With Bagdonas finishing sixth on the stage good enough to take the jersey by 1:15. So roll on the next few days and much more racing.
Check in again tomorrow at www.ultimatesports.ie for my report on stage 4
Ronan

Welcome to my first blog, not just on ultimatesports.ie but first blog anywhere so you’ll have to forgive me if its a bit boring ill try to improve them as i get a more experience writing them throughout this season.

The 2011 season is well underway now and i have G.P. Marseillaise and the Etoile de besseges in my legs.  As first races of a new season go, i have to say i was pleased with my form and condition.  Marseillaise is a tough 1.1 starting and finishing in Marseille, France and alternates between a flat and mountainous route, with this year being the later.  This was my third time doing this race and probably the best i have felt yet, on the climbs i was comfortable and this probably led my slight mistake of starting the longest (14km) climb too far back and as a result missed the main split of the day although with Vacansoleil setting a fierce tempo for a certain Mr Ricco, even starting at the front on the climb it would still have been difficult to stay there.  I eventually finished in the second “peloton” outside the time limit.

Etoile de Besseges started the wednesday after Marseillaise and is a nice 5 day stage race over fairly mixed terrain with flat windy stages and hard hilly stages.  I had picked up a slight cold from the freezing temperatures at Marseillaise and suffered on the first two days as a result.  But i could feel myself getting better both health and form wise.  On the third stage after 80km of hard hard racing, on a small, lumpy and twisting road along what appeared to be a big lake i attacked, hoping to be joined by a few more riders and get abit of luck from a radioless peloton, but no other riders jumped across to me and with the a good gap and the peloton out of sight i just got on with it.  It was a fantastic feeling to be leading such a big race even if at the back of my head i always knew there was no hope of holding off to the finish.  The only thing i could do was forget that fact and give everything i could and then just hope for the best.  With 12km to go at the bottom of a steep king of the mountains climb the thought sin the back of my head were proved correct and the bunch swallowed me up.  Ah well was nice while it lasted and the French public showed their appreciation for my efforts the whole time i was in the break and the next day.  As a result of going so deep while solo on stage 3, and a furious tempo from right from the off, stage 4 turned out to be one of the hardest i’ve ever had on a bike, i cant remember how many climbs there where that day but i do remember i was dropped inside the last 500m of the last climb of the day and spent the 20km to the finish in the cavelcade busting a gut to get back into the bunch.  At the finish i was still within touching distance but just couldn’t get to the back of the bunch which i hadn’t realised until seeing the results that night was less than half the size so i guess it was not just me suffering and when you’ve had a hard day it’s always nice to know it was just yourself hurting.  The last day and i got abit to excited abit too early on in the stage and gave everything on the first climb to get in the break, i succeeded but Johnny Hoogerland (2nd on G.C.) was also there so the leaders team was never going to let it slip away and when we where caught i never got time to recuperate before the start of the next climb and was dropped.  With so far to go to the stage and the fact we were racing on laps i had to stop, a disappointing end to a good race for myself.

It was off home then for two weeks to train on the fantastic Donegal roads, the best training roads anywhere, i always say.  Just enough time to recover from a weeks racing in France and polish off the form for a tough spring in Belgium.

Hope you check back for my second blog soon to see how i’ve been going in Belgium, hopefully i’ll have some results to write about.

ronan