Aqua Blue Classic 14th April 2013

Slo_Rida

What's the story with this anyone? I don't see any info around. Stamullen race on the day before too.

chester3455

Also does anyone know if there is underage races on the day too?.
Thanks.

michael196

jaysus ur hot of the press SLo !! A different name to Last year, Down close to Cork City.

Pawlie

Course is meant to be like a rollar coaster ride,up down up down all day :-)

michael196

think it was called the edge classic last year.

Pawlie

any maps,strava for it

michael196

http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/view/road-cycling-map/ireland/minane-bridge/31114810



think this is it.


provided that the route has not changed from the edge classic. this is the edge classic route

Niallers79

Lads info on team Aquablue.com site and lots of hills should suit you pawlie that your finishing in the points in a3 first race ?

Pawlie

Niallers79 wrote: »

Lads info on team Aquablue.com site and lots of hills should suit you pawlie that your finishing in the points in a3 first race ?

Looking forward to it Niallers man,disappointed I missed break away yesterday,would have liked to have rode with Foley,Dunbar,Meade and the 3 other lads but am happy to have got 2 points and the bunch sprint too.

This course be a real test for lads.

Slo_Rida

Niallers79 wrote: »

Lads info on team Aquablue.com site

http://www.teamaquablue.com/2013-aqua-blue-classic.html

That space between team and Aquablue.com confused!
Thanks though.....

Slo_Rida

michael196 wrote: »

jaysus ur hot of the press SLo !! A different name to Last year, Down close to Cork City.

Ah just trying to find out what the different races are like...this one stinks of hills :eek:
I didn't do the Silver Pail, busy at home. League racing starting this week so that should be good fun.

fondriest

Great little circuit down there and pretty tough , very fast downhill from about 1.5km to the 500m mark on the run into the finish . I crashed on that stretch 2years ago and was lucky to get away with some lost skin .

michael196

Slo_Rida wrote: »

Ah just trying to find out what the different races are like...this one stinks of hills :eek:
I didn't do the Silver Pail, busy at home. League racing starting this week so that should be good fun.

leagues bring everyone on.

seve65

http://app.strava.com/segments/3647532

Pawlie

Jesus what a race,A4 went in there own,but the other groups where handicapped,3 mins it was,Eddie Dunbar went from the go and was not seen till the end 96km on his own,take a bow son that was some ride,I came 11th overall and was 6th a3 home,very happy with that.

dedocdude

On that circuit in that wind, some ride out of the kid - fair play to him.

Heard the turn out was pretty dire, yet i look at the pics from Stamullen and see Cork riders, Waterford riders, Tipperary riders - what a shame. But often when its a hard circuit in Munster that happens. Can never understand it.

colm_gti

Eddie Dunbar will be a superstar if he keeps at it!!

Raced* against him in Connemara at the end of last month/start of this month and couldn't get over how strong he was.

*when I say raced, I mean I moved to the front to take a few pulls and help him out, but am full sure he laughed at me every time before coming around me again

Pawlie

dedocdude wrote: »

On that circuit in that wind, some ride out of the kid - fair play to him.

Heard the turn out was pretty dire, yet i look at the pics from Stamullen and see Cork riders, Waterford riders, Tipperary riders - what a shame. But often when its a hard circuit in Munster that happens. Can never understand it.

It was tough,lads prob didn't want to it cause it is a hard course,no sooner yea down on decent you back on a climb,some the digs where tough going,good few lads dropped out during handicap race,delighted I gritted my teeth and finished it.

buffalo

colm_gti wrote: »

Eddie Dunbar will be a superstar if he keeps at it!!

Raced* against him in Connemara at the end of last month/start of this month and couldn't get over how strong he was.

*when I say raced, I mean I moved to the front to take a few pulls and help him out, but am full sure he laughed at me every time before coming around me again

What a ride! If he's not riding for Ireland in a few years, I'll eat my chamois.

ericzeking

dedocdude wrote: »

On that circuit in that wind, some ride out of the kid - fair play to him.

Heard the turn out was pretty dire, yet i look at the pics from Stamullen and see Cork riders, Waterford riders, Tipperary riders - what a shame. But often when its a hard circuit in Munster that happens. Can never understand it.

It's fairly easy to understand really, the majority of the a4 bunch just want to sit in for the day on flat tracks only to heroicly fail in the gallop. A4s in the main don't like work and hardship, this is my first year at it and it's something that jumps out at you, all you have to look at is the fact that the smallest A4 bunch of the year before yesterday was the Des Hanlon which was maybe the most prestigeous race but also the hardest.

It was very noticeable yesterday that there was no-one shouting from the middle and back of the a4 bunch for the fellas at the front to ride. Everyone was there to ride their bikes hard and they knew it would be a hard day. Kudos to everyone who made it around yesterday, it will stand to every single one in the coming weeks.

bwalsh1983

I can’t really understand why people are unwilling to turn up to races like yesterday and the Des Hanlon. Surely these, like has already been alluded to, are tough races that have a bit of prestige. I have to say the amount of people dropping out of races is strange, surely finishing a race like the above two is good training at least if you don’t end up at the competitive end of it.

I know people have good and bad days but some very notable absentees from the top spots yesterday.

People claim they are not climbers and the course does not suit them…it’s hardly reps up the Sally Gap or anything and there was plenty of guys in the A4 race yesterday that would not describe themselves as climbers who were there at the business end of things.

Maybe its me but I would much prefer a selective race like yesterday than an elbow to elbow crash fest like Fermoy.

Chapeau to Eddie Dunbarr in the main race, what an incredible ride, the finish line was gas but I think everyone was so astonished by the ride that it was actually an entertaining 'celebration'!

Huff n Puff

Dunbar had a truly phenomenal ride yesterday. He went on the first climb. I tried to bridge across to him near the top. I got to within 10 metres of him and he just looked back and picked up the pace again and left me for dead. I was certain he would wait up for me so that there would be two of us working together but he obviously needed no help. He is just a different class and we didn't see him again until the prize presentation.

We did try to reel him in and with some good cyclists such as Dylan Foley in the bunch we thought we could get him back. But at each time check the gap was getting bigger and bigger, to such an extent that we were sure the time gaps we were being told were wrong! It was never a proper chase from the A3 bunch though, but it was enough to whittle down the bunch to a select few.

Even when Seán Lacey joined the party we made no inroads into his lead. Granted our chase bunch was a little all over the place but still you would imagine we might take back a little time on Dunbar. In fact, the lead went from 3 mins to 5 mins by the end and that was even with Timmy Barry out front chasing him.

Somehow I doubt he will be let get away next week at the Visit Nenagh Classic.

My race report

bwalsh1983

Huff n Puff wrote: »

Dunbar had a truly phenomenal ride yesterday. He went on the first climb. I tried to bridge across to him near the top. I got to within 10 metres of him and he just looked back and picked up the pace again and left me for dead. I was certain he would wait up for me so that there would be two of us working together but he obviously needed no help. He is just a different class and we didn't see him again until the prize presentation.

We did try to reel him in and with some good cyclists such as Dylan Foley in the bunch we thought we could get him back. But at each time check the gap was getting bigger and bigger, to such an extent that we were sure the time gaps we were being told were wrong! It was never a proper chase from the A3 bunch though, but it was enough to whittle down the bunch to a select few.

Even when Seán Lacey joined the party we made no inroads into his lead. Granted our chase bunch was a little all over the place but still you would imagine we might take back a little time on Dunbar. In fact, the lead went from 3 mins to 5 mins by the end and that was even with Timmy Barry out front chasing him.

Somehow I doubt he will be let get away next week at the Visit Nenagh Classic.

My race report

Question is will people be able to stop him getting away!

He can sustain the power amazingly for such a slight youngfella, as seen at Broadford when he was pipped.

Superb set of photos here for anyone interested.

Huff n Puff

bwalsh1983 wrote: »

Question is will people be able to stop him getting away!

He can sustain the power amazingly for such a slight youngfella, as seen at Broadford when he was pipped.

There are a ridiculous amount of top juniors lined up to take part in the race next week. Many with strong teams behind them e.g. NRPT. I can't see him getting away by himself again, but then again you never know!

fixie fox

Huff n Puff wrote: »

There are a ridiculous amount of top juniors lined up to take part in the race next week. Many with strong teams behind them e.g. NRPT. I can't see him getting away by himself again, but then again you never know!

It takes a route and weather like yesterday's to separate the men from the boys.

Or, in this case, to separate the Boy from the Men :-)

harringtonp

Huff n Puff wrote: »

There are a ridiculous amount of top juniors lined up to take part in the race next week. Many with strong teams behind them e.g. NRPT. I can't see him getting away by himself again, but then again you never know!

Any chance rules can be bent and they can be shunted into the 1/2 race :eek:

bwalsh1983

harringtonp wrote: »

Any chance rules can be bent and they can be shunted into the 1/2 race :eek:

Will the Ras Na Nog not be taking a lot of them out of this race?

colm_gti

bwalsh1983 wrote: »

Will the Ras Na Nog not be taking a lot of them out of this race?

Is that not for youths, as opposed to juniors?

bwalsh1983

colm_gti wrote: »

Is that not for youths, as opposed to juniors?

Indeed you are correct there sir...return to junior fear everyone!

fixie fox

Are A4 results available anywhere?

buffalo

dedocdude wrote: »

On that circuit in that wind, some ride out of the kid - fair play to him.

Heard the turn out was pretty dire, yet i look at the pics from Stamullen and see Cork riders, Waterford riders, Tipperary riders - what a shame. But often when its a hard circuit in Munster that happens. Can never understand it.

I wouldn't have said Stamullen isn't a hard circuit, but more that it's a well known event. This was the first time this race had been run, am I right? Probably a lot of riders didn't want to take a chance on a new event going smoothly, when you've got Gaybo Howard and his team running the Stamullen festival year in, year out, and the prestige of winning in the village.

No offence to the organisers or anyone intended, just pondering the reasoning of the turn-out. Wasn't there myself, would've been a long journey to take part.

Huff n Puff

buffalo wrote: »

I wouldn't have said Stamullen isn't a hard circuit, but more that it's a well known event. This was the first time this race had been run, am I right? Probably a lot of riders didn't want to take a chance on a new event going smoothly, when you've got Gaybo Howard and his team running the Stamullen festival year in, year out, and the prestige of winning in the village.

No offence to the organisers or anyone intended, just pondering the reasoning of the turn-out. Wasn't there myself, would've been a long journey to take part.

It's not a new event. It has been on for a few years. I suppose it is termed a new race on IrishCyclingPhotos.com because it has a new sponsor involved.

I would second the opinion that less people do it because of the difficulty level. There were lads from our town that didn't want to travel 2 hours to a race where they were likely to get turfed out the back within a few miles. Shame, as it's a very enjoyable race.

cantalach

Huff n Puff wrote: »

It's not a new event. It has been on for a few years. [...]

It was run in 2010 and 2011 but not last year.

cantalach

ericzeking wrote: »

It was very noticeable yesterday that there was no-one shouting from the middle and back of the a4 bunch for the fellas at the front to ride. Everyone was there to ride their bikes hard and they knew it would be a hard day. Kudos to everyone who made it around yesterday, it will stand to every single one in the coming weeks.

Yep, I was in the A4 race and it was hard work all the way. Averaged 171bpm for 91 minutes of effort, with a total of 45 minutes at threshold. That says it all.

rochefan

dedocdude wrote: »

On that circuit in that wind, some ride out of the kid - fair play to him.

Heard the turn out was pretty dire, yet i look at the pics from Stamullen and see Cork riders, Waterford riders, Tipperary riders - what a shame. But often when its a hard circuit in Munster that happens. Can never understand it.

A bit OT but the turnout which often affects hilly races like this in Munster are a big reason why the pre-registration requirement next year is not needed. Can you imagine the organiser worrying that only 20 A1/2 riders have pre-entered the week before the race? Its an national solution to a Lenister A4 problem.

Lumen

:pac:

on_the_nickel

It was my second race, local to me and even though I got turfed out the back at the end of the first lap, and suffered like hell, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Much more so than the nerve-fest that was Fermoy.

Gutted I got dropped on the Robert's Cove climb, but a combination of lack of experience (got stuck behind a fella who couldn't descend on the sharp descent before it and lost about 20 metres from the pack) and lack of proper hard training meant I was going backwards. 6 of us nearly got back on on the climb from Ballyfeard but we were f*cked at the top, and the wind was right in our faces, so that was that.

Have to say the marshalling was very good too. Looking forward to next year already.

Slo_Rida

Lumen wrote: »

:pac:

Who is this or where is it from?

ericzeking

Slo_Rida wrote: »

Who is this or where is it from?

That's race winner Eddie Dunbar, a combination of the uphill finish, the wind on deep section wheels and a gruelling 96km solo effort meant he tipped up when trying to take his hands off the bars to celebrate.

Slo_Rida

ericzeking wrote: »

That's race winner Eddie Dunbar, a combination of the uphill finish, the wind on deep section wheels and a gruelling 96km solo effort meant he tipped up when trying to take his hands off the bars to celebrate.

After a performance like that he could have sh!t his pants and nobody would say a word!

I presume it was low speed and he was ok of course.

Pawlie

This race was run twice in the past as the DMG Classic I think,it was a hard race,climbing nearly 2,000 mtrs in 3 hours,the last climb on every lap was unreal,might be only just a kilometer long but with a gradient of over 15% hitting up straight away and averaging just under 6% it made **** of all the groups. The course was hard no sooner had you descended down at 65kmph you where straight back up on a harsh climb,no chance to recuperate or get your breath, the digs where steep and the 1st one you come across with the head wind was crazy, you would have been quicker walking up it.

Eddies solo win was very impressive and doing it in them conditions and course makes it even better.

Here the strava for the day,missed the 1st 4km,forgot to turn on garmin :-(

http://app.strava.com/activities/48817348

Huff n Puff

Pawlie wrote: »

This race was run twice in the past as the DMG Classic I think

The Edge Classic

bwalsh1983

Slo_Rida wrote: »

After a performance like that he could have sh!t his pants and nobody would say a word!

I presume it was low speed and he was ok of course.

He was fine, it was bizarre as I think everyone was so impressed there was a combination of congrats and stifled giggles! No problems with him anyways as he was back out in the break at the Fermoy leagues lastnight!

Morrisseeee

bwalsh1983 wrote:

the Fermoy leagues lastnight!

aka the Fermoy sufferfest, actually I much prefer the league racing than the A4 racing, the different groups/up-and-overs/will-we-stay-away and then inevitably trying to hang on to the elite as they whizz past.

marcofan

http://thequenchdiaries.blogspot.ie/2013/04/aqua-blue-classic.html?m=1

michaelm

Pawlie wrote: »

This race was run twice in the past as the DMG Classic I think,

http://app.strava.com/activities/48817348

The race director of The Visit Nenagh Classic will enjoy that!

Pawlie

michaelm wrote: »

The race director of The Visit Nenagh Classic will enjoy that!

I hope he (rene) not offended as I got mixed up with the Edge classic

michaelm

Pawlie wrote: »

I hope he (rene) not offended as I got mixed up with the Edge classic

Your timing was perfect! With the weekend almost upon us, All publicity is good.

Pawlie

michaelm wrote: »

Your timing was perfect! With the weekend almost upon us, All publicity is good.