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Clonmel, Suir Valley 3 Day, 35mm

suir valley 3 day 2015 photo essay Donal Kelly

It is the last race of the road season for me, but I don’t know it.

I don’t know it until halfway through stage 2 when the bunch is going down a straight descent into Dungarvin. A rider comes down somewhere in front on the left, and a dominoes game of falling cyclists begins. Given the speed there isn’t much that can be done. I swerve round a few bikes and riders and water bottles, then a white frame bounces up in front of and bang.

So instead of getting a kicking on the last two stages, I take some photos instead. I brought along my Canon eos 1n that’s almost as old as myself, and a couple of rolls of Kodak Tri-X. Before going to wartch the finish of the last stage atop the Nire, I added a roll of Kodak Gold 200 courtesy of Boots.

STAGE 1: GETTING THERE (+100km with hills)

cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Stocking up on supplies
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Classic wheels
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Architectural Triumph?
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Derek ready to roll; the stage start was delayed by 20 minutes
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Post stage 1, eating pasta with a plastic spoon.
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Selfie after stage 1, finished in the bunch, lots of guys ‘up the road’
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Gear drying after a rinse. It was still wet the next morning.
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Clonmel, though this is actually in Waterford on the South bank of the Suir
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
The River Suir got some fancy bridges with flood-proofing and snippets of literature
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Suir Island, West Ward
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Clonmel Rooftops, home to pigeons
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Clonmel Window display, flowers and curtains

Stage 2: LUMPY ROAD STAGE

5 hours in Clonmel A&E clogging up the place with other guys who came down in the spill on the descent into Dungarvin after less than 40km.

cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Stage 2 didn’t go exactly as planned (Samsung S2 + Instagram filters).

Stage 3: CRITERIUM; WET WET WET

The criterium is neutralized for GC due to monsoon rain. Riders only have to complete 20 minutes to stay in the race, and most choose to pul out after this.

cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Finishing straight for the crit
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
The streets are wet and shinning in the rain
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
The strong riders figure out the best lines early on and stick to them lap after lap
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
UCD rider walks back after falling on a bend
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Paidi O’ Brien, centre here, is in the front split, while most other riders pull out
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
JLT Condor’s Luke Grivell-Mellor gets a gap in the last few laps and goes on to win comfortably
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Riders had to complete 20 minutes to stay in the overall
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Ronan closing a gap
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Daire Feeley putting the power down
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Murky night for racing
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Fast pace despite the monsoon
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Lined out at the front
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Getting back to shelter after the finish
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Licence to Sell
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
The Ice Cream Cone
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Hotel Entrance
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Interior, post race
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Clonmel Rooftops at night
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Suir Island at night

STAGE 3: THE VEE AND THE NIRE

cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Window View of Clonmel
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Morning Self(ie)
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Open Space
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
My 19th Century airbnb home for the weekend
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
River Suir
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Pre-race chat
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Aidan gearing up
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Derek heading to the start
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Ready to roll
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Race Start

Clonmel Streets on a Bank Holiday Monday

cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Abbey Street
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Town Hall
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
12 W. Magner
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Window Display
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Expensive facade and bell tower
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Champion
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Right only
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
R. O’Donnell Select Bar
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
No collections to the right of this sign
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Window reflection
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Ryan’s Butchers 1
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Ryan’s Butchers 2; closed after 109 years
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Butler’s Bar
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
House of Lourdes (spot the cat)
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Liam Daly
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Le Jardin
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Power & Co.
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
The Men of ’98
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
The Golden Harp, Lounge
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Clonmel Carpets window display
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Clonmel Carpets
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
KOM Start on the race-finishing Nire Climb
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
On the Lower Slopes
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Team Car
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Ed Laverick (JLT Condor) reachs the top with a minute over the nearest rival, winning both stage and overall.
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Second
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Third, the wearer of the leader’s jersey at the start of the stage
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Eoin Morton from UCD finished well on the climb
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Daire Feeley
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
National Champion Damien Shaw (Team ASEA) rode aggressively on the final stage to try and get clear before the climb but was hauled back before the Nire climb by the teams of the other GC riders
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Ronan finished strongly on the 10km climb
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Finishers arrive in ones and twos
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Derek after crossing the line
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Aidan after the stage
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
The Recovery begins
cycling, clonmel, suir valley 3 day race
Prize giving pub
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