Conn McDunphy secured a superb overall success in the Rás Tailteann today, achieving one of the biggest targets of his career.
The 29-year-old had finished second overall in 2024 on precisely the same time as the overall winner, but put that frustration to rest with a superb performance over the past five days.
He and his USA: APS Pro Cycling team achieved double triumph on the final stage to Dunboyne, with the squad keeping tight control on his rivals and then Liam Flanagan winning a big bunch sprint to the line.
McDunphy is the first Irish winner since Daire Feeley and Dillon Corkery in 2022 and 2023 respectively, ending the race 52 seconds ahead of Tom Martin (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) and 1'31 ahead of the Briton Ewan Mackie (Connacht: Cycling Connacht).
"It is class," he said, when asked how it feels to finally win the race. "I have come here so many times. I have crashed and had things go wrong."
Everything going exactly to plan this time around means a lot, and so too doing so on what are essentially home roads. He grew up in Kilcock, close to the finish, and said on the podium that he started cycling just 200 metres away, at the Garda station in Dunboyne.
Saturday’s stage was also very familiar due to his repeated training on those roads.
"Even yesterday coming through the Wicklow mountains, I am there every second day. I knew when the attacks happened it is always too early or it is too late. I knew what was going to happen.
"I had my plan, we had our plan, we executed it.
"Today was all about keeping the jersey. We did that. I said in an interview during the week that I knew every pebble on the road to Dunboyne. It is not an exaggeration, I actually do! It is brilliant."
The stage was run off in bright sunshine and this encouraged multiple attacks, with an early 26 man move recaptured and an 11-rider group then getting away. It gained half a minute, but with the best-placed rider Danylo Riwnyj over two minutes behind overall, there was no real threat.
Following a solo move by Liam Crowley (Team Ireland) a six man group was clear inside the final hour of racing. Mackie was best of those, 1’31 back, and again had too much ground to make up. McDunphy’s teammate Flanagan infiltrated a late move which contained former race leader Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) plus the Irishmen Ronan McLaughlin (Foyle CC) and Team Ireland duo Hugh Og Mulhearne and Liam Crowley, but this too was hauled back.
McDunphy then set up Flanagan for what is his second stage win of the race. Tim Armstrong (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) was second with Matteo Cigala (Carlow: Dan Morrissey) third.
"On the last lap I knew it was going to be a sprint," said McDunphy. "We were still riding the front until about four kilometres to go, and then the sprint teams came up. Quite often the safest place in a sprint is in the front. So I rode the front from the final roundabout until about 350 to go. As I was coming up I gave Liam a little tap on the bum and said, 'follow me buddy,’ because I know he has a screw loose.
"If he can get into a corner he will go faster than anyone else and there is no one catching him. So I was so happy to be able to help him to do that, dropping him off with about 400 to go, just before the speed bumps. It is surreal."
Flanagan is from North Carolina but, as the name suggests, clearly has some Irish heritage.
"I’ll remember this race as a very special one," he said. "I broke my collarbone six weeks ago. And to come back and be able to do this… the legs have been there, but when you are sprinting it is all about confidence and that first stage win really helps, just with the head.
"The legs are one thing, but everyone has got the legs. It is about getting it right."
Stage 2 winner Tim Shoreman took the points classification, with Liam Crowley (Team Ireland) winner of the mountains competition and Willem O’Connor (O’Leary Stone Kanturk) taking both the best young rider competition and the best county rider award.
James O’Shea (Meath: Moynalty CC) was best of the category two riders.
McDunphy’s USA: APS Pro Cycling had further success, adding the national/international team classification to its two stage wins plus the overall honours.
Cigala’s Carlow: Dan Morrissey squad was best of the Irish county and provincial teams.
Stage 5, Carlow to Dunboyne (141km)
1 Liam Flanagan (USA: APS Pro Cycling) 2hrs 55mins 34secs
2 Tim Armstrong (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli)
3 Matteo Cigala (Carlow: Dan Morrissey)
4 Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli)
5 Matthew Bostock (IoM: Cycling Club Isle of Man) all same time
General classification
1 Conn Mc Dunphy (USA: APS Pro Cycling) 17h18m03s
2 Tom Martin (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) at 52"
3 Ewan Mackie (Connacht: Cycling Connacht) at 1’31
4 Rowen Baker (IoM: Cycling Club Isle of Man) at 1’45
5 Danylo Riwnyj (UK: Foran CT) at 2’02
