Murphy and Lenehan Claim Victory in Gorey
Junior rider Conor Murphy was crowned the General Classification winner at the 2024 Gorey 3-Day International. Riding for Team Caldwell Cycles, Murphy won Stage 1 and the Time Trial to come home with the yellow jersey.
Victory in the Women’s Classification went to Marine Lenehan (Team Dan Morrissey – Primor by Pissei) who dominated from the outset, coming across the line first in every stage. Also claiming the overall win on stage 2, becoming the first women to win a stage of the Gorey 3 Day.
Racing got underway on Good Friday with Stage 1. Strong wind played havoc with the race as they left Camolin on the open wide roads as it battered the riders from the left, splitting the bunch into three groups.
The Women’s field started 15 mins before the open field. A solid pace set by the women made it hard work to be caught. On lap three of the four-lap race, the 12 leaders which included Caldwell’s Conor Murphy caught the women and then the pace went up again. Averaging speeds of 45kph didn’t allow for much to go off the front more riders to go out the back.
The main field was spilt along the section of road from Camolin to Gorey on the wide-open sections battering the riders with a side wind doing the most damage. On the last lap Murphy rode away from the bunch 13km from home to solo away and finish over 1 minute on second place Hudson Hendry.
The first woman home and earning the pink jersey for Stage 2 was Marine Lenehan, closely followed by Aoife O’Brien (Belco van Eyck) and Annalise Murphy (Longcourt Hotel – NCW Wheelers).
Stage 2 was a new addition to the race, finishing on top of Croghan mountain for the first time. Women’s race leader Lenehan had to be on her toes as Annalise Murphy wasn’t making it easy for her with constant attacking, but Lenehan was equal to the task.
Connor Dooney of Foyle CC, started at 2.23 behind Murphy in the yellow jersey. A group of three quickly formed and powered on putting 1 minute into the main field. The women’s bunch were moving as the gap was holding at 7 minutes for long parts of the stage. The main field hadn’t reacted and allowed the leaders a time gap of 2.30 meaning the Dooney was now yellow on the road.
The race turned in Coolgreany for Ballyfad and quickly started the 4km climb to the finish line. As the two groups came together, Lenehan was equal to the challenge and put the hammer down and no one could go with her. She powered to the finish line taking a historic win as the first female stage winner. Ryan Oatfield was second and Annalise Murphy completed the podium in third.
Before the Time Trial Dooney took the yellow jersey and Lenehan strengthen her grip on the pink jersey. The Time Trial saw Junior riders come out on top, posting the five fastest times. Conor Murphy proved unbeatable in a time of 3:25,08. Murphy was comfortably ahead of his nearest rivals, there was a 9 second gap Ryan Oldfield in second. Less than a second separated the remaining riders in the top five.
The fourth and final stage of the race took place on Easter Monday. Junior rider Luke Mannings claimed victory in the final stage for Halesowen A&CC. Hot on his heels was Tadgh Killeen from Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial. Lenehan proved her dominance, outsprinting the peloton to claim the overall lead in the women’s classification.