Shaw delights in Rás Mumhan glory

In one of the most dramatic finales to the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan, Damian Shaw of the Aquablue team held onto the race leader’s yellow jersey, but only by a mere four seconds after second placed Harry Sweering (West Frisia) looked destined to take it.

On the fourth and final stage around the usual Beaufort/Killorglin circuit, Shaw’s team had put in a near flawless display, hunting down any attack that pinged off the front. But with 30 kilometres to race, one attack slipped through, and in that move contained Sweering, who pulled back the 28 seconds he trailed Shaw by at the start of the day, and proceeded to widen that margin to make him virtual leader on the road as the kilometres ticked down.

Shaw and his wily team-mates played it ultra-cool, swarming the front of the peloton in the closing stages of the 115 kilometre journey and limited their loss to Sweering’s group, but only just.

While Shaw was arguably the strongest in the race, much of the credit has to go to his colleagues, with former winners Timmy Barry and Sean Lacey, along with Olan Barrett, Keith Gater and Robin Kelly amongst others doing trojan work when the need was greatest.

“I’m absolutely over the moon,” said a relieved Shaw at the finish. “There have been some good winners down through the years so it’s great to be one of them but it wouldn’t have happened without the boys around me, it’s deadly, absolutely deadly.”

Coming over the line, Shaw didn’t even celebrate, conscious that he may not have done enough.

“I just buried myself coming in the road. I had a little bit of patience, I knew not to drill it from too far out, I had a lot of lads coming up and keeping the pace high for me and doing turns on the front and I can’t appreciate that enough. It’s so nerve-wracking though, wearing yellow. I’m usually the most relaxed guy there but I was a little bit more twitchy than usual wearing the jersey, you’re just a bit anxious all the time for fear of having a crash or whatever. I found myself very twitchy, I was trying to be near the front as much as possible but the second the pace eases off you become swarmed at the front and could lose 30 places.”

But how did he find himself in such a precarious position?

“I picked up a bottle from our team helper at the side of the road and next thing there’s 10 lads off the front, then five more (Sweering in this move). But Timmy was in it too and tried to disrupt Sweering getting away too far. All my lads were starting to tire having rode their balls off at the front and I was a bit isolated. But Sean (Lacey) came up beside me and kept telling me ‘get to the front and keep riding hard’. It’s brilliant that it came off, I think I made a few friends this weekend, so many guys were willing to come to the front, sacrifice their own chances for me and I’m glad it paid off.”

Yesterday’s final stage was won by Matthew Higgins of the UK-based Felt Colbornes Hargroves team after he clipped away with 40 kilometres to go along with his team-mate George Harper and Mitchell Huenders of the Ruiter Dakapellen team.

But the weekend belonged to Aquablue who took two stage wins through Shaw and Barry, the overall, as well as the King of the Mountains jersey (Barry). The team will now turn their attention to next month’s An Post Rás where their biggest problem might just be picking a five-man team.