McLaughlin not planning to defend his Donegal Ultra race title

Ronan McLaughlin won the Donegal Wild Atlantic 555 Cycle race for the second year-in-a-row and in a new record time of 19 hours, 19 minutes and 40 seconds.

This is just over 26 minutes faster than his time over the course in the inaugural running of the ultra event. The new record is all the more incredible given that conditions were less favourable than in 2016, as McLaughlin admitted shortly after crossing the finishing line.

“It was much harder than last year,” said Ronan.

“But I had no real crisis like I had last year. There were a couple of times last year I felt like I wasn't  going to get through it.  

“This time I was able to tell myself that you get a second wind, based on my experience from last year.

“Glengesh was hard but it was hard mentally more than anything else. Stopping at red lights and getting punctures and stopping at stop signs were the most difficult parts.”

The An Post rider was also was very pleased with his time in the windy conditions, which saw him close to a half hour faster than last year’s winning time.   

“The power numbers were so much higher than last year. I was going 25 minutes quicker which goes to show how fast it was.

“The power numbers for the first 12 hours were 250 watt something you would struggle to do for an hour most days, but to do it for 12 hours wasexceptional.

“At the end of the day it is down to your threshold. The higher the threshold the faster you can ride without going off the rails.

“I was fairly confident going into the race, a  couple of times boys came up close to me, but I knew if I maintained my tempo, they would not be able to stay with me.

“Rather than accelerate I just kept to my own tempo.”

He also announced at the finish that it was his last time to do the challenge.

“It is a fantastic event, a great challenge but I  don't want to do it again.”