Stage 6 – Clonakilty to Dungarvan (159.1 kms)
We had our second ice bath of the week last night. I got away lightly last time, being last rider in, the water was nippy but probably closer to lukewarm than ice cold.
This time there was still a thick layer of ice cubes floating on the surface. Painful! But Mary and Aishling tell me it’ll do me good, so I’ll have to just trust them!
My legs didn’t feel much different this morning, in fact I felt like I might be one of those tired riders our manager warned us not to be behind, because they’d be letting wheels go. An early crash on a bridge gave the bunch an adrenaline boost to kickstart the day, I’m holding on by the skin of my teeth.
As we hit a wide section of flat road (the only flat bit of surface we’ll see all day), it feels like we might be heading for a piano day.
There’s only three Cat 3s today, nothing worse than that. Eddie Dunbar is in the break however, so the top GC guys have to keep him on a tight leash.
We’re up and down lumpy terrain all day long. The scenery of Kerry and Cork has been spectacular (whenever I’ve looked up long enough from the wheel in front to notice it), but the roads around here are terrible.
Bottles are being lost left, right and centre, and indeed when I reach down to get my second bidon, I find it’s one of those left behind somewhere.
The most nerve-wrenching point of the race comes when Ronan is hit by one of the team cars while it’s overtaking the bunch. His rear wheel is a write-off, and even with a spare bike, it takes him an age to get back into a decent group with the pace being set at the front.
It splits on the Cat 3 climb of Rathcormack, with about 50 mostly pros getting up the road. The GC man for AVC has a mechanical which requires a bike change and he’s left in our group.
He first tries attacking to get away, but when that doesn’t work, the team get on the front to try TTT their way back to the front. The gap doesn’t diminish though, and we ride steadily toward Dungarvan to come in behind the leaders.
A flat sprint in for 50th, before a casual spin out to our accommodation right on the coast. There’s a beautiful view of the sea from the dining room, and I take a short walk after dinner to get some fresh air.
We had bad news from our teammate Stephen who had to pull out earlier in the race. His father passed away last night, and we send him our deepest sympathies. We’ve been thinking of him throughout the week, and he’ll be in our thoughts even more so now.
