'My toughest day yet,' - Sean McFadden

It was a tough day at the office on Thursday for Sean McFadden on Stage 5 of the An Post Rás which took riders from Buncrana to Dungloe.

Between the searing heat, strong breezes and the grueling miles, it was a real test for the best of the riders. But two crashes made things extra tough for the Voodoo Performance Team member.

Here's his report:

Of all my days in the saddle, today was the toughest. By a long shot.
The high temperatures, combined to make the conditions, extremely tough early over the longest stage of the Rás -- we covered 181 km today. Throw in two bad offs which resulted in a dodgy collar bone, a grazed hip, a cut elbow, cut fingers and a scraped face, and it didn't make for the best of days at the office.
Yet, that's what the Rás is all about. No other event asks the questions of the mind and body like the Rás.
We left Buncrana this morning at 11 and we hit the outskirts of Letterkenny around 12 noon. I was up with the leaders as we whizzed around the Pole Star Roundabout where a huge crowd of local support had gathered. My wife, Irene, was there with local schoolchildren, and my best moment today came when I saw my son, Ruairi, on the footpath with a banner saying 'Go Daddy'. It's another moment in time I will forever cherish.
But there was plenty of trouble ahead.
I was about 60 km into the race near Rathmullan when I had to take evasive action and head for the hedge.
A team car tried to pass me and another car was coming the opposite way. I had no choice but to ditch her. It really could not have happened at a worse time, as I was in a good position and in a good place. I thought my collar bone was broken, but I got back up and battled on over Knockalla and eventually got into a group again as we headed into Carrigart.
I genuinely thought my Ras was over when I came off a second time close to the An Chuirt Hotel in Gweedore. I lost concentration momentarily, hit the cats eyes and down I went. I was dazed and didn't know where my bike was for a time. But I got up and at it and pushed hard for home, as I knew I hadn't a lot of time to spare to get in before the cut off. I managed to get into a group of around 20 riders and hung on until the finish at the top of Dungloe Main Street in glorious sunshine. It was nice to see Joe Doherty and his daughter, Helen, waiting for me at the finish.
Special thanks to the staff at the chemist in Dungloe who patched me up with the help of Louise Alcorn.
On the team front, it was another good day, with Dermot finishing 25th, Conn 42nd, Colin 131st and myself 157th. We are currently 11th out of 25 teams.
Tomorrow sees us departing Dungloe at 11am. We will ride to Glenties before heading to Killybegs via the famous Glengesh climb, with the finish in Donegal Town.
Glengesh will draw every ounce of energy within tomorrow afternoon.
But that's what it going to take to finish this Sunday afternoon in Skerries what I started last Sunday morning in Dublin Castle.
Day six awaits. I'm ready and willing.