Irish Sports
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Cycling is not one of my interests , but when the show is in town it would be churlish to ignore it . For the afficionados tomorrows ( Friday that is ) time trial is a big item , as they can watch the competitors more than once as they flash by . Not sure I will be standing around though , timings dont suit .
Saturday however would be more my cup of tea as the route from Portrush through to Cushendall contains a lot of interesting scenery , hopefully it is a good day . Not exactly sure where to position ourselves , but my son who does cycle proficiently ( for enjoyment / relaxation ) has some places sussed out , then its up to a bit of cross country driving , roads permitting .
From Cushendall on back down the Coast road is dead flat , and the peleton will gobble that up . The helicopter shots ( assuming that ) could be spectacular given that the cyclists will have the sea on their left ( at 20 yards) for more than 20 miles without interruption .
Whether some of the Irish lads can get in the mix here at home will be of interest . Roche and Martin have been mentioned in despatches , but team arrangements etc are often more significant than individual ability . Just think it would be good if some of the locals popped up near the end of the stage .
Sundays stage should be of particular interest to our southern compadres , and the finish in Dublin could be spectacular . Presumably it will be on TV somewhere .
Lets hope the weather does not spoil the party !
Saturday however would be more my cup of tea as the route from Portrush through to Cushendall contains a lot of interesting scenery , hopefully it is a good day . Not exactly sure where to position ourselves , but my son who does cycle proficiently ( for enjoyment / relaxation ) has some places sussed out , then its up to a bit of cross country driving , roads permitting .
From Cushendall on back down the Coast road is dead flat , and the peleton will gobble that up . The helicopter shots ( assuming that ) could be spectacular given that the cyclists will have the sea on their left ( at 20 yards) for more than 20 miles without interruption .
Whether some of the Irish lads can get in the mix here at home will be of interest . Roche and Martin have been mentioned in despatches , but team arrangements etc are often more significant than individual ability . Just think it would be good if some of the locals popped up near the end of the stage .
Sundays stage should be of particular interest to our southern compadres , and the finish in Dublin could be spectacular . Presumably it will be on TV somewhere .
Lets hope the weather does not spoil the party !
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Ireland's Dan Martin is out of the Giro d'Italia after breaking his collarbone in the opening stage in Belfast.
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Tragic for him and his team . Apparently he skidded on a manhole cover ( probably made in the Sirocco works , lots of them around Belfast ) . He brought down 2 of his team mates , bikes and riders all over the place . Takes a lot of Irish interest out of the race , while he might not have won it , he would certainly have contended in a lot of stages .
Broken collarbone , ouch , relatively the weakest bone in the body . The weather was a big factor . When the first team set out it was sunny , dry . Inside 10 minutes the weather was playing ducks and drakes with the riders . And it was up and down like a fiddlers elbow for most of the rest of the race . Just typical Irish May weather . |
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Just watched it again on sky3........brought down 3 of the team after clipping wheels at speed.
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Weather probably lousy today for the most scenic route which is unfortunate. It,the weather, always lets us down here.
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Weather again a big factor , up and down like a fiddlers elbow . The riders got the worst of the weather possibly on the toughest part of the course , from north coast to Cushendall . I was in Cushendall , they were 40 minutes behind their estimated time of arrival , it was raining steadily , and we heard the helicopters long before we saw them , visibility poor . And from the expressions on the riders faces they were not exactly enjoying their pedal through some lovely scenery ( if you could see it ) .
Brilliant support , I saw them through Ballymena , and then hooked over to Cushendall where I got parked ( slightly illegally) 15 yards from the route up from the Tower right hand turn in the middle . Accents from all over the world there in Cushendall , amazing how resourceful people are even if they dont know the terrain and how to get about . And a street barbecue a la Naughty Nuris in Ubud ( Bali) . Great craic all round , despite the weather . Hope it improves for their trip into Dublin tomorrow . |
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While most of us up here have been delighted with the race , A & E at one of our hospitals must have been living in their own cocoon . When a high profile event results in a patient whose spill has been on world wide TV you look after them . As you would any patient hopefully .
Oh dear , just another nail in the coffin for our health service which has been getting huge flak locally for last year or more . |
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Day for the Germans yesterday . First Kittel repeated his Saturday win with a phenomenal sprint finish in Dublin ( on his birthday ) , and then Martin Kaymer wins the fifth Major in USA . Suited favourite backers too , and that cant be all bad .
Cant help feeling some organisations missed a trick or two for publicity purposes when there was 3 hours plus wall to wall coverage each day ( plus 2 helicopters ) on TV . A hurling or football match alongside the route(s) would surely have got a mention . They got horses out on a poorish beach down the North coast , but from the air it looked good . You dont get opportunities like that every year . |