From the peloton....Day Seven

No stage is predictable in the Rás, and stage 7 was no different. The stage started in Donegal town in what was dismal conditions. Pouring rain, grey clouds, wind and a 167 kilometre trek to Ardee faced the field ahead of the long awaited finish in Skerries on Sunday. A day that was soaked with disappointment for me, the bunch split in half early on in the stage and I was foolish enough to be on the wrong side of the split. You must definitely cannot turn off in this sport, a split second can change your race. I started towards the back thinking I would make my way up throughout the 167 kilometre stage, but the race exploded in the first 10 kilometres. A mistake I will take on the chin. My legs are in bits, to be honest. The fatigue has set in, 7 days of flat out racing has got to them, like everyone else in the field. Nobody here is fresh, these stages are real hard and we’re created to produce the best rider in the race, which of right now, is James Gullen of the Birtish pro team, JLT Condor. A real strong team, but I suspect a charge for yellow from the Australian team. We take to Skerries for stage 8, the final race of this year’s Rás. The last stage is by no means easy. We have a number of climbs to tackle before we get welcomed into Skerries to a presumed massive crowd in the north Dublin city town. The fearsome ‘Black Hills’ will need to be tackled 3 times on the circuit before the finish line in the centre of the scenic Skerries. A course I think might suit me, but we will see. One last stage, I’ll give it everything left I have in my tank.