Racing ArchiveCatherine Devitt's appearance for the Orwell team at this year's Sneem Hotel Rás na mBan produced a hugely impressive fourth place finishin the county rider classification for the racing rookie.
Read Catherine's compeling account of her stage race debut below.
A personal account from Rás na mBan 2010
I decided in early July that I was going to give the Rás na mBan ‘a shot’. My racing experience to that point was very limited – the Wicklow Ladies League, a few club league races with Bray Wheelers, two races held by Swords cycling club and only one national league race.
Admittedly I had no idea of what to expect and in the weeks preceding the weekend of the 17th- 19th of September I spent much time on the internet trying to get a sense of the event from previous years – reading attentively through results and poring over photos. The usual questions that I’m sure we are all familiar with reared their ugly heads – ‘am I fit enough?’, ‘what if I can’t keep up?’, ‘is my bike up to scratch?’, ‘have I enough stamina to get me through four stages?’, ‘what should I eat?’, ‘which is the best power gel?’ etc. The urge to say ‘ah, I’ll train better over the winter and get more experience, and put if off until next year’ was more than tempting. But in truth, I knew that I couldn’t live with the question of ‘what if?’. It had to be this year, if ever at all.
And so, I found an already existing team (Orwell Wheelers) that were most welcoming to my ambitions. Over the summer months, I committed as best I could to an erratic training regime that included my usual commute to work, hilly spins in the evening (30/40km - when I was in the mood), and longer spins at the weekend (70/80km- when I was in the mood). The urge to buy a flashier, lighter bike was so great – but I decided to remain faithful to my Scott Speedster of two years.
Excitement grew in the weeks leading up to the event. Regular updates on the Women’s Commission website (www.womenscycling.ie) informed us of the growing number of entrants (which subsequently turned out to be the highest recorded). The whole event was sponsored by Sneem Hotel and organised by the Women’s Commission.
Stage One – 60 km And so on the 16th of September, I and my partner Richard, and fellow team mates Ciara Kinch and Aideen Collard made the long journey down to Sneem Hotel. I rested, ate and drank well leading up to the weekend and felt mildly prepared as we kicked off.
There were approximately 70 riders. I sat rather apprehensively at the back of the bunch waiting to start, giving way to the flashier bikes and more experienced riders. After an initial ceremonial-like lap of the village, we were off!
The initial pace really took me by surprise and immediately I was forced to concentrate and work hard on maintaining the pace with the main bunch, recalling our team coach’s advice to keep near the front of the bunch as much as possible.
It was quick, close bunch riding though quickly the race fragmented into smaller groups. I clung on to the leading group, my inexperience reminding me every so often to be smart and stay focused. And then at the initial climb to the famous Molls Gap, 40km or so into the stage, without even realising a gap started to emerge between the leading riders and the remaining bunch.
I was falling off!
Thoughts of completing the race solo quickly slapped me in the face. I had to get back on. Up the notch, out of the saddle and up to the second group on the road at which point the first group comprising six or so riders including Olivia Dillon (Irish Team), Ali Holland and Natalie Creswick (both from Shred Racing Rapha Condor) had already christened the glorious ascent of Molls Gap.
I stayed with the second group, working well on the undulating 15km or stretch before making the final 5km descent into Sneem. I enjoy climbing but I found it frustrating when all the hard work invested in going up hill really resulted in no great gains as I was usually swamped by the more experienced riders on the descent.
I expected a crazy sprint towards the end but this was impossible given the number of riders in the bunch and riders in the bunch finish were all given equal points. Alas, I positioned 19th in a time of 1hr and 35 seconds for an average speed of 37 kph. Stage one over, recovery drink in hand and some quick intake of food immediately after the race to aid recovery, followed by a healthy pasta dinner and rest later in the evening.
Stage Two – 70km
Erratic sleep was unavoidable as anxiety and nervousness kicked in with the thoughts of stage two quickly approaching. After a breakfast of muesli, more muesli and later a power bar 20 minutes or so before the start, the second stage kicked off around 10am. This comprised 70km made up of four laps of a 17.5km route which included one very nice narrow, rather gravelly climb. The route took in sections of stage one and it was helpful to be on familiar territory for at least part of the stage.
Again, the fast pace was immediate and the narrow climb meant that it was important for me to hold my position near the front of the group, or as near as I could maintain. My inexperience was obvious to more than just me with one rider shouting at me twice to hold my line on the descents and when cornering. It was obvious that I was intoxicated by the adrenaline of it all, and therefore, found it difficult to concentrate on staying smart and focused.
Along with four or five other riders, I got dropped from the main bunch on the second lap but, with the very strong Orla McEvoy (Leinster) doing big turns, we worked together to rejoin the main bunch five km later on the road out of Sneem. Back on!
Familiarity with the route helped as I knew where concentration was required on holding my line, i.e. cornering, climbing and descending. I gained considerable ground on the last lap and positioned 11th after a sprint finish in a stage finishing time of just over two hours in an average speed of 38 kph.
Overall, stage two reminded me of the importance of staying focused, of concentrating on maintaining pace at crucial points during the route such as when ascending, of concentrating on maintaining a neat line when descending and when concerning.
I was not familiar with stage and, in hindsight, greater familiarity with the route would have made me more prepared.
Stage Three - 2km Time Trial, 18th September
This was going to be tricky for me; a 2km time trial! I was doing well and was positioned fourth in the County Rider classification, the new prize given for Irish based riders, behind Melaine Spath (Usher IRC), Rita Boyle (Leinster), Jenny McCauley (Ireland) and Gillian McDarby (Usher IRC). Could I do well in the two kilometres and push up to third? Aideen Collard, my team mate, gave me her slick booties, and her super aerodynamic helmet and our manager, Eddie Lynch, had me on the turbo - warming up, getting my heart beat to the required level. Aagh! I was a virgin turbo user, a virgin helmet wearer, a virgin skin suit wearer. The two km comprised a gradual decent which levelled off ending in a short spurt past the chequered flag into Sneem. ‘Catherine, keep low and neat with your bike, work as hard as you can and it will be over before you know it’. It wasn’t! It felt like I worked as hard - physically and mentally- as I was capable of – but on review, I realised that for such a short course, I needed to improve my starts, my form on the bike (keeping low) and really work harder on eating into any remaining reserves for a final push at the end. I completed the 2km in 3m18s, positioned 30th. The winner Olivia Dillon downed hers in 2m53s! After three stages, I was now 16th overall.
Stage Four – 90km, 19th September
A 90km long, long route taking in Sneem to Waterville and back including two ascents of Coomaciste. I was feeling the impact of a hard two days, more psychologically than physically. Intuition warned me that today was going to be tough and I needed to stay extra focused on holding my ground.
Again, an unforgiving pace at the start challenged me as the group made its way up the gradual climb that we had sped down the previous afternoon. Orla Hendron attacked a number of times, forging a distance between herself and the main bunch. Today it seemed the weather joined forces with the pace and I got dropped trailing through the fog on the first ascent of Coomaciste.
I worked hard with team-mate Orla Hendron to sustain a decent pace to carry us over the hill – with encouraging shouts from recognisable bystanders (Orla’s husband was one, I believe – thank you!). I struggled to keep up Orla as the team cars of the leading bunch sped past. Thankfully, I gained ground and caught the main bunch after Waterville.
I was determined to stay fixed but the pace was constant. I felt tired, and was really just hanging on rather than thinking constructively. As a result, I didn’t take time to eat to maintain my energy levels. Aside from two or three gels, erratic nibbling on a power bar and some jellies, I felt I needed something more substantial like a muesli bar of sorts.
I wanted the race to finish. I held with the leading bunch until the final ascent of Coomaciste and was relieved to see that I was in company with two national riders though these quickly dropped me on the descent. Aaghh! The lonely, long distance cyclist I became. What was the distance remaining? Surely I could catch up? My loneliness was made even more apparent as team car after team car whizzed past until, at last, the Orwell car appeared like a guardian angel offering much needed support and sugary goodies.
Foolishly, I was not using my heart rate/distance monitor. In fact, I’m ashamed to admit that it was sitting at home. I had no idea of distance completed, distance remaining, never mind gauging my heart rate levels. Luckily, the Orwell team car informed me that there was 10km remaining. I passed Rita Boyle (Leinster). She had been riding very strong. I was so impressed and inspired by her ambition and strength. Unfortunately, she had an accident on the final 10km. Another lonely Dutch rider gained ground and drafted off me, though I did not have the insight at that point to do the same when she passed for the remaining drag into Sneem. I positioned 20th, which pushed me to 24th overall in the Rás and fourth in the county rider classification.
The biggest lessons I learnt in stage four? Well, in addition to some tactical lessons and the benefits of actually using my heart monitor, the need to be considerably wiser about my food intake before and during the event was most apparent. I was so focused on trying to maintain my position during the race that it prevented me from actually doing what was vital to this, i.e. food intake!
Would I do it again? Yes! Despite only coming into the Rás na mBan with limited experience; I left with some great lessons learnt, considerably more confidence in my ability and a bucket full of inspiration from riding with some great national and international riders. It is encouraging to have a body like the Women’s Commission make this event so accessible. Thanks to all the team members from Orwell Wheelers for adopting me for the weekend!
