Two years after losing the race by the tightest of margins, Conn McDunphy retained the yellow jersey after the final stage of the Rás Tailteann on Sunday to lift the coveted George Plant trophy.
The 29-year-old, who grew up in Kilcock, raced along home roads on his way to the stage finish in nearby Dunboyne, where he took up the sport.
“It is class,” said McDunphy of his victory. “I have come here so many times. I have crashed and had things go wrong.”
In 2024, he won a stage but lost out overall to Britain’s Dom Jackson despite finishing on exactly the same time.
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His APS Pro Cycling team achieved double success on the final day, with American rider Liam Flanagan taking his second stage win of the week in a bunch sprint to the line.
“Anyone who was anywhere close was trying to put us under pressure,” said Flanagan.
“They were doing a good job with it, but it was just about staying calm and making sure that we rode within ourselves. The whole team rallied.”
McDunphy could have sat back, but instead decided to help Flanagan get a stage win.
“Conn was in the yellow jersey riding on the front, so that was just really special for him,” Flanagan said of his team-mate. “He dropped me off with 500 metres to go, and then first into the last corner and full gas to the line. A really special way to finish it off.”
“They threw everything at us,” McDunphy added. “There were a few moments where we were scared, we had to work hard. We didn’t falter, we were able to take it home.
“You always go into every race wanting to win. It is cycling and you lose 99 per cent of the time. So it’s all about the people you have around you. I need to thank my partner Claire, my parents, and obviously the team. And everyone else who has helped me, who are still here and who are not here.
“This one, it actually is for my dad. Even when cycling is hard he has been a positive light and told me to keep going, so it is for him.”
McDunphy was in the thick of the action throughout the week, seizing the yellow jersey when he dropped race leader Tim Shoreman on Saturday’s mountain stage from Carlow to Baltinglass.
The fourth stage was won by Shoreman’s Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team-mate Tom Martin, who ended the five-day event as McDunphy’s closest rider in the overall standings, 52 seconds back. Fellow Briton Ewan Mackie (Cycling Connacht) was third, 1.31 behind.
Liam Crowley (Team Ireland) was one of many riders on the attack on Sunday, and went solo in a bid for glory on the run-in to the start of three finishing circuits in Dunboyne. He was ultimately caught but won the mountains classification, and another Irishman, Willem O’Connor (O’Leary Stone Kanturk), took the best young rider and best county rider awards, while Shoreman won the overall points classification.
Rás Tailteann results
Stage 5 (141km, Carlow to Dunboyne)
1 Liam Flanagan (USA: APS Pro Cycling) – 2:55.34
2 T Armstrong (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli)
3 M Cigala (Carlow: Dan Morrissey)
4 T Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli)
5 M Bostock (IoM: Cycling Club Isle of Man) – all same time
Final general classification
1 Conn Mc Dunphy (USA: APS Pro Cycling) – 17:18.03
2 T Martin (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) – +0.52
3 E Mackie (Connacht: Cycling Connacht) – +1.31
4 R Baker (IoM: Cycling Club Isle of Man) – +1.45
5 D Riwnyj (UK: Foran CT) – 2’02
6 W O Connor (Cork: O’Leary Stone Kanturk) – +2.26
7 A Lewis (USA: APS Pro Cycling) – +2.28
8 J Dike (Spain: Natural Greatness Rali Alé) – +2.49
9 N Hoornsman (Netherlands: West-Frisia) – +2.49
10 L Flanagan (USA: APS Pro Cycling) – +3.50
Points classification
1 Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) – 52 points
2 L Flanagan (USA: APS Pro Cycling) – 37 points
3 C McDunphy (USA: APS Pro Cycling) – 36 points
Mountains classification
1 Liam Crowley (Team Ireland) – 58 points
2 E Mackie (Connaught: Connacht Cycling) – 31 points
3 M Walls (USA: APS Pro Cycling) – 28 points
Young rider
1 Willem O’Connor (O’Leary Stone Kanturk) – 17:20.29
2 J Dike (Natural Greatness Rali Alé) – +0.23
3 Z Walker (Isle of Man) – +1.36
