As a very strong and technically capable rider, albeit with limited road racing experience, Tommy was tasked with looking after our two strongest riders for the hills, Jaymz Lipinski and Nic Narraway. From the start, Tommy was selfless and focused on his mission as a domestique stopping for Nic when he had a crash on stage 2 and then on stage 3 pacing him back to the group after a flat tire not once, but twice; 30 minutes of riding he described as the toughest of the week.
On the 110km lumpy stage to Ballyvaughan on the Galway coast, Tommy was crucial in driving the pace and closing gaps on steep hills with names like Corkscrew and Castle eventually propelling his three teammates into a small select leading group for a fantastic and exciting stage finale. On the stage 5 to Gallows Hill, when climber Jaymz was gapped on the overgrown single lane hill of Windy Gap (oh yeah it was windy!), Tommy drove his teammate down the intensely technical descent and across the gap back to the lead group where Jaymz had a tremendous result in a very strong field. That stage was won by fellow NY-er Magnus Sheffield. On the stage 6 final stage, a 50-mile circuit race with an average speed of 27.1 mph, Tommy attacked a few times early and even did a monster effort to bring the team sprinter Chris to the front for a team-best 13th place in the bunch gallop.
When asked about the weeklong experience, Tommy said that he learned “to never give up, and how if I keep fighting I can get back to the front again”. Watch out.