Dale Appleby Candy TV-Marshall Pasta

The international challenge in the FBD Insurance RÁS has been further boosted by the news that three powerful British Continental (Pro) Teams will be in the line-up when the big 8 day race gets underway from Kilcullen next Sunday. The teams include three former winners of the race, Chris Newton, Christian House and Andrew Roche.

Already pro teams registered in Australia, Denmark, Greece, Germany, China and Austria are in the line-up with Norway, Ireland, Ireland Development Squad and fifteen county teams completing the field.

Double FBD RÁS winner, past track world champion and former Olympic silver medallist Chris Newton will lead the Rapha Condor team in the race, which begins in just over a week’s time. The four other riders in the squad must also be considered as real threats for the general classification.

They include the 2006 champion Kristian House, past Australian road race champion Darren Lapthorne and Tom Southam, a former Barloworld professional who has twice finished second in the British road race championships. The team is completed by Simon Richardson, who impressed last year when he won stage five into Skibereen, and who also held the yellow jersey.

Rob Partridge Team Halfords

“This is what I consider to be the strongest team I’ve brought to the FBD Insurance RÁS,” said manager John Herety. “I don't expect many stage wins from the team as we have no out-and-out sprinter, but in those riders, I have 5 potential overall winners.”

That means the game plan will be different this time round. “In the past I have come with the intention of initially going for stages and only looking at the overall in the last couple of days. This year will be different and we will have our sights firmly set on the overall from day one. That said, while I will bring the strongest group of riders I have ever worked with, this coincides with what I believe to be the strongest ever field assembled for the RÁS...so we will have our work cut out.”

Amongst the other strong riders he is referring to will be Russell Downing, who led the Tour of Ireland last year until the final day, eventually finishing second overall. He also won a stage plus the points classification. The 2005 British road race champion will lead a strong CandiTV-Marshalls Pasta squad, which also includes the 1997 FBD RÁS winner Andrew Roche (who holds Isle of Man and Irish racing licences), 2008 Shay Elliott Memorial runner-up Pete Williams, Dale Appley and James Sampson. The team will be managed by Julian Winn, who himself competed in the race several times and was overall victor in 2000.

1997 winner Andrew Roche Candy TV-Marshall Pasta

The third strong pro team is the Team Halfords Bike Hut selection of Rob Partridge, Ian Wilkinson, Ian Bibby, David Fletcher and Mark McNally. Partidge finished third overall last year, while McNally is a former junior European track champion. Wilkinson highlighted his strong form when he won the recent East Midlands Classic.

“They are a well-balanced squad with a mixture of youth and experience, and hopefully will offer a good challenge,” said team-manager Keith Lambert.

The British lineup will be completed by four other teams. These are Merseyside Team Kuk Kinesis Bikes, BC East Midlands, Surrey Racing League and the Cheshire Sigmasport/Specialized/Sportful team of former British national champion Matt Stephens.

“British teams have long targeted a strong performance in the FBD Insurance RÁS,” said race organiser Dermot Dignam, “and it’s clear that this year’s race will see an impressive challenge from across the Irish Sea. Together with the other teams already announced, we feel that this is going to be an extraordinary edition of the race, and one which will be remembered for quite some time.”

The 2009 FBD Insurance RÁS will begin on Sunday May 17th in Kilcullen and , over the course of eight days, will feature stage finishes in Wexford, Cobh, Cahirciveen, Killorglin, Scariff, Castlebar, Clara and Skerries. The world-ranked contest is 1289 kilometres in length and includes over twenty categorised climbs.

It is once again backed by FBD Insurance and the Irish Sports Council, and is classified as a 2.2 event in cycling’s world rankings.