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Results and Reports for June 22-28, 2002

Ireland

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Stephen Roche GP

Meadowmount, June 26, 2002

Thomas Takes His Biggest Win

Report courtesy Shane Stokes

Finglas Ravens' rider Graham Thomas tonight emerged as the winner of the Stephen Roche Grand Prix in Meadowmount, Dundrum, breaking clear on the final lap and holding off UCD’s Tim Ahern all the way up the headwind-buffered finishing straight to take his first victory in two years.

Ahern had looked a likely winner after riding strongly throughout the one hour criterium, which is named after Ireland's 1987 Tour de France winner and takes place on a circuit near Roche's childhood home. The young UCD rider surged clear from the Senior 1 bunch before the halfway point of the event and gradually closed the gap to the Senior 2, Senior 3, veteran and junior competitors, who had been granted a generous handicap by the promoting Orwell Wheelers club.

Up front, many attempts were made to go clear and these efforts ensured that the first group's advantage remained relatively constant over the disorganised chasers. Ahern, however, was fully committed to the task at hand and succeeded in closing the gap with ten laps remaining. He then sat in for several laps to recover before forging ahead once more with three other riders and opening a lead over the first bunch, who by now were finally within sight of some of the pursuing Senior 1 riders.

With three laps to go Ahern gritted his teeth once more and went clear with Finglas Ravens' Anto Moran and, given his impressive strength all night, looked set for a great victory. However the now-regrouped chasing bunch had all but closed the gap as the riders crossed the line to take the bell, and on the final lap Thomas surged past Ahern and opened a good lead.

The inexhaustible Ahern tried to get back on terms with Thomas, who had been upgraded to first category status earlier this season, but while he managed to reduce the gap all the way up the finishing straight he was unable to reel in the Finglas Ravens cyclist. Navan Avonmore’s Emmet Roche sprinted home in third place and netted the prize for the first Senior 2 contestant, while Stephen O’Sullivan and McNally Swords’ Gearoid Loughnane were fourth and fifth respectively.

"It is amazing to get this", said a clearly delighted Thomas afterwards. "I haven’t won a race since 2000 and never expected to be first tonight. I am not a sprinter so I let the other guys make the pace during the evening and then picked my moment to make my move. I went on the final lap and got a gap, then had enough left to hold on to the line."

Thomas was generous in his praise of Ahern, who impressed many this evening. ‘His ride was unbelievable. We didn’t think that we were going to catch him when he went clear early on, but we all rode well together to get back in touch. After all he did I was very surprised to see him behind me up the finishing straight - Tim rode very, very well."

"It seemed like I was riding a time trial all night", said the second-placed Ahern. "I rode very hard to get across to the B riders and was a bit knackered then, but I sat on for a couple of laps and was able to recover. My team-mate did a bit of work for me and then had another go and got clear."

"When Graham (Thomas) went I tried to close the gap but he had enough left to get there first - perhaps if the line had been another hundred metres away I might have caught him, but he went at just the right time and rode very well to hang on. It was a good win."

Results

1 Graham Thomas (Finglas Ravens) 
2 T. Ahern (UCD) 
3 E. Roche (Navan Avonmore) 
4 S. O’Sullivan 
5 G. Loughnane (McNally Swords) 
6 B. Taafe (Dublin Wheelers)
 
First Senior 2: E. Roche (Navan Avonmore)
First Junior: Andrew McQuaid (Emerald)
First Veteran: Jim Cassidy (DPC First Legal)