Michael O’ Loughlin scored the biggest success in his young career by taking the overall victory in the 2010 Mayo International Youth Tour.
Michael is presented with the yellow jersey by Mayo Rás legend Mick Palmer.
The Mayo International Youth Tour is the biggest stage race for youth cyclists in Europe. Michael O’ Loughlin travelled to it selected as the youngest member of the Munster under 14 team. But after 4 tough stages of racing around the undulating roads of Mayo, he emerged victorious after pushing himself to the limit.
Stage 1 was a 30km road race starting and finishing in Kiltimagh. 53 riders started the event, and less than half of them made it to the finish in the leading group sprint fot the line. O’ Loughlin led out the Team Munster sprinter Shane O’ Hara who finished second behind Matthew Davies of the Isle of Man, and finished 15th on the stage. With time bonuses for the first three, this left O’ Loughlin three seconds off the yellow jersey.
Stage 2 was a 4km individual time trial won by Manuel Kleist of Germany. Michael O’ Loughlin put in a fantastic performance to finish in second position, just one second behind, with his team mate Eddie Dunbar third at seven seconds and Ulster’s Craig Crawford on the same time. As Kleist had not stated with the leaders on stage 1, this put Michael into yellow. However, the Munster celebrations were short-lived when the tragic news arrived that Eddie Dunbar’s father Eamonn had just died in hospital in Cork.
Eddie immediately travelled home to be with his family. All of the Munster riders were very shocked by the news. Eamonn Dunbar had managed Team Munster on many occasions, taking teams to England and Wales. Following a team meeting, the riders decided that they would do everything to try to win the race as a fitting tribute to his memory.
Stage 3 was a 29km road race on the Ballyvary circuit held over very tough terrain. Henry Cooke of Team Munster set a punishing pace on the climbs. With such a high tempo, it was impossible for other riders to attack. Munster’s Shane O’ Hara followed any dangerous moves and took the King of the Hills sprints. Unfortunately, O’ Hara came down when a number of riders fell near the end. Michael O’ Loughlin successfully held the yellow jersey. The stage was won by Leinster’s Darragh Long, ahead of Jamie Dudley of the Isle of Man. The time bonuses for winning moved Long up to 9 seconds from yellow with one stage to go.
Onto Monday, where 30 minutes plus 3 laps of a 1,2km circuit around the streets of Kiltimagh lay ahead. The foreign riders had a distinct advantage as they ride these type of races weekly, while the Irish riders only race one or two per year. However, Team Munster showed they meant business by putting Shane O’ Hara on the front, making an all-out effort for the first 10 minutes with Cooke and O’ Loughlin tucked in ‘on his wheel’.
This whittled down the front group to 13 riders when O’ Hara sat up, exhausted. Sensing an opportunity, Ulster’s Craig Crawford launched a huge attack. Cooke chased him down magnificently. Michael O’ Loughlin then counter-attacked. Crawford couldn’t match the pace, and fell behind leaving a group of five leaders – two from the Isle of Man, Long, Cooke and O’ Loughlin. Darragh Long was now the danger man, and he attacked relentlessly out of the tight corners. O’ Loughlin put in a supreme effort to chase him down every time, while Cooke kept the speed up, so that the chasing group of 8 riders could not close the gap.
A heart-stopping moment occurred at rhe very last corner when Long and Jamie Dudley of the Isle of Man bounced off each other, causing Long to momentarily lose control of his bike. The Munster boys were forced to brake, and lost vital bike lengths. Long managed to remain upright and was second across the finish line behind Dudley. Long gained two seconds on O’ Loughlin, and a further two seconds time bonus. However it wasn’t enough, as the overall title went to Michael O’ Loughlin by 5 seconds from Long. Henry Cooke’s heroic efforts moved him up to third place overall.
Michael will be taking a well-earned rest this week. He has two more big targets this month – the Community Games in Athlone where he and his sister Niamh will represent Tipperary, and the All-Ireland Championships in Co. Tyrone.
Recent Comments