Matti Adair – Newry 3 Day

Vitus sponsored rider Matthew Adair took part in the Newry Wheelers 3 Day race over the weekend, where he finished 30th overall and spent a day in the King of the Hills jersey.

 Vitus sponsored rider Matthew Adair took part in the Newry Wheelers 3 Day race over the weekend, where he finished 30th overall and spent a day in the King of the Hills jersey.

Here’s Matt’s race report from the weekend:
 
I hadn’t planned to do the Newry 3 Day but when I was asked by Banbridge to be part of their team I ended up on the start line! The first stage took place on Friday night and was a short 30 miler – mainly flat apart from one hill near the finish. In the first mile of racing, a group of 13 riders got a gap which I was part of; the group worked well and the gap rose to 1.40, which didn’t reduce until we hit the hill.

On the hill I attacked and got the King of the Hill points – which meant I would be wearing the jersey for the next stage. Coming down the hill, a group of four of us formed, where I stayed until the finish, ending up in fourth place.

The next stage was 55-miles, for most of which I sat in the bunch or chased people close to me on the GC. Coming into the King of the Hills there were two riders already up the road, so they picked up the max points, so I lost my King of the Hills jersey. With about a mile left to race I cramped and lost 1.30, slipping back into 49th in the process.
 
Stage three was a short 3-mile time trial in which I gained back some time and got back up to 32nd. Following this there was another 55-mile stage – still feeling the effects from the previous day I sat in the bunch and just got round.
 
All-in-all I finished 30th and spent a day in the King of the Hills jersey.