In recent years the final day of the FBD Insurance RÁS has been played out in the lush surroundings of Dublin’s Phoenix Par, a visually spectacular setting which saw the riders scrap it out for the last stage win of the Irish tour. While the hour-long circuit was popular with spectators, this year’s edition will see the introduction of an exciting change which could well have a dramatic effect on the race outcome.
On Sunday May 28th the riders will line out in Clara with 155 undulating kilometres ahead of them, the race passing through towns such as Kinnegad, Trim, Dunshaughlan and The Naul and taking in several category three climbs along the way. It’s a fully-fledged road stage and, for this reason, it will bring additional intrigue to the event. While it is 13 years since the race lead changed on the final day, the stage from Clara to Skerries may well see the scrap for the yellow jersey go right down to the wire.
Race organiser Dermot Dignam is excited about the new format. “I think the Skerries finish will prove to be a spectacular innovation to the FBD Insurance RÁS,” he says. “The stage should be great to watch, a major challenge to the riders and an intriguing battle for the final yellow jersey of race winner”.
Making the final day more difficult will be the fact that the riders will have seven days of hard racing in their legs before starting the last stage. Recent stage endings on Dublin’s O’Connell Street and in the Phoenix Park were good locations to showcase the event, but each ended in bunch finishes. The overall classification remained unchanged as a result. However things may well be different this time around, with those in the tussle for the final yellow jersey of the race likely to fight it out to the very end.
The change to the final day is not the only deviation from customary FBD Insurance RÁS routes. Back in December Dignam announced that for the first time ever, a team time trial would reshuffle the overall classification of the race this year. Although a group race against the clock did feature in the past, it did not count towards the overall; this time round, the stage will have an impact, and could well decide the race.
On Friday May 26th this type of battle will be played out on the roads around the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) village of An Cheathru Rua (Carraroe), guaranteeing flat-out racing from the teams over the 24 kilometre route.
"We feel that it will make for a great stage," says Dignam. "The Team Time Trial has been one of the most spectacular clashes in recent Tours de France. The prospect of seeing top riders from world cycling compete against the very best Irish riders in such a dramatic test should guarantee a good tournout of spectators, as well as some very exciting racing."
In addition to taking inspiration from the Tour, race organisers will also use similar rules to guarantee that no team loses an insurmountable chunk of time over the 24 kilometres. The differences between the teams will be capped, with the second-placed squad losing fifteen seconds and each successive team thereafter conceding a further five seconds.
A similar system will also operate for the county teams in the FBD Insurance RÁS. The fastest of these will lose no time to that of the day’s quickest squad, with the next fifteen seconds behind and then each successive team also conceding a further five seconds.
“The idea behind the ruling is to ensure that strong riders on relatively weaker teams are not unduly penalised by the Team Time Trial,” Dignam explains. “We drew largely on a system used in the Tour de France, but adjusted it in very important areas to suit the type of event that is the FBD Insurance RÁS. It means that if a race favourite happens to ride as part of a county team, he has the same chance as those on the international or professional squads.”
Dignam adds that the fifteen-second winning margin will be a real incentive to riders to dig deep during the test. “One difference with the Tour system is that even if the second-placed team is just marginally slower at the finish, the top squad will still earn what is effectively a fifteen second bonus. This will provide further encouragement to riders to aim for the win.”
Looking at the route in general, Dignam feels that the structure is just right to ensure an exciting race. “I think this is going to be a very tough course due to the balance struck between climbs and long stages,” he says. “There is a lot of pulling and dragging along the way. In addition, the inclusion of a team time trial plus a full road race stage on the final day add additional challenges to the riders. It all should lead to some very exciting racing.”
The 2.2 ranked contest gets underway on Sunday May 21st with a mainly flat stage from Dublin (Tallaght) to Enniscorthy. This 121 kilometre leg will take in two category three climbs along the way but, perhaps more importantly, will also feature two hot spot sprints. Although the terrain is not as demanding as will be encountered later in the week, fresh legs and the chance to wear the first yellow jersey will guarantee fast, aggressive racing all the way to the line.
At 180 kilometres the second stage from Enniscorthy to Cobh is the longest of the 2006 FBD Insurance RÁS. It features three categorised climbs along the way before a steep uphill sprint to the line. Another uphill finish features 24 hours later in An Daingean (Dingle). However, before reaching the end of the 173 kilometre leg, the peloton will slug it out over four category three ascents earlier in the day.
The last of these, An Bharog Bheag, is situated just 13 kilometres from the finish in An Daingean’s Main Street, providing a possible springboard for a stage-winning attack. The route will also pass the house of past winner Paídi Fitzgerald, marking the 50th anniversary of his victory.
On paper at least, the fourth stage is likely to be the toughest day in the saddle for the estimated 180 participants. The tough roads of Kerry bring a total of seven categorised climbs, the 150 kilometre leg from An Daingean to Listowel including the gruelling category one climb of The Maum. Both long and steep, this is followed by some very undulating roads and should see the peloton split into several distinct groups.
Following a ferry transfer from Kerry to Clare, things flatten out somewhat on the following day’s stage from Kilrush to the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) village of An Cheathru Rua. Just one categorised climb will be tackled, but the 178 kilometre leg should bring some fast furious racing. The run-in to the finish will be held mainly on narrow, uneven roads, and so breakaway groups may well have a chance to stay clear to the line.
As previously mentioned, history will be made on Friday 26th May when, for the first time ever, a visually spectacular team time trial will impact upon the general classification of the race. The teams will slug it out on a 24 kilometre course which both starts and finishes in An Cheathru Rua.
Later that day the riders will leave the town in a 83 kilometre stage to Westport, taking in two third-category climbs along the way. The ability to recover from the morning time trial will pay a part in determining the outcome of this leg of the race and, indeed, may also impact on the fight for the yellow jersey.
Saturday 27th May is the penultimate stage of the 2006 FBD Insurance RÁS and so the stakes will be high. Although there are no categorised climbs along the 168 kilometre route from Westport to Clara, the inevitable clash between the race favourites should result in some fast, tactical racing as the peloton speeds through towns such as Claremorris, Castlerea, and Roscommon.
Twenty-four hours later the field will slug it out for the final time as the race reaches its climax with another tough stage. In a break with tradition, the last day will be a fully-fledged road stage rather than a circuit race, increasing the tension in the tussle for the final yellow jersey. The riders will face a total of four categorised climbs between the start in Clara and the finish in Skerries, including one on each of the two laps of a tough 13.7 kilometre finishing circuit.
It is possible that the identity of the final race winner will remain undecided right until the final kilometres of this 2.2 ranked event, further increasing the spectacle that is in store.
