David Pell Drapac Porsche

Fresh from its success in the prestigious Tour de Langkawi earlier this month, the Drapac Porsche pro team is building up towards what it hopes will be a very strong campaign in the FBD RÁS in May.

The Australian UCI Continental team will be led by Peter McDonald and Stuart Shaw, who both stood upon the final podium in the Malaysian 2.HC-ranked event. McDonald (31) won the King of the Mountains competition and finished fourth overall in the race, while Shaw (32) raced to an unexpected sprint win on the last stage in Kuala Lumpur.

Given the calibre of that race, there is a very strong reason to believe that they will leave their mark on the Irish contest.

“We’ll aim to win a stage and to go for the KOM jersey,” said the team’s European coordinator Dirk Van Hove. “We have Peter McDonald for the mountains and can count on either Stuart Shaw or Rhys Pollack for the stage win.

“Of course, we are also interested in chasing the overall, but we will see how it goes. We will have to see what happens in the early stages, as it is the first time that we will come to Ireland. At the moment we don’t even know who else will be there, in terms of other teams, but we will certainly go for the general classification too, that’s for sure.”

Joe Lewis Drapac Porsche

“The five man Australian team will be an experienced one, and between them they have clocked up some very good results. McDonald surprised many when he outsprinted Columbia team-mates Michael Rogers and Adam Hansen to take the national title in 2009, and has clocked up King of the Mountains wins in Langkawi, the Tour of Wellington, the Tour de Gironde and the Ronde de l’Oise.

Shaw took that stage in Malaysia, and triumphed on a stage of the Tour de Gironde last season. He was also third behind Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) and Rogers (Columbia) in the 2008 Halle Ingooigem.

Pollack has won critieriums in Europe and was the most aggressive rider on a stage of the 2008 Tour de Georgia.

The team will be completed by the 21 year old Joe Lewis, a Tour of Tasmania stage winner, and David Pell (29), who lists the Singapore criterium and the Grafton to Invernell event amongst his victories. He also took the green jersey competition for most consistent rider in the Tour of Wellington.

“The Drapac Porsche team looks like it is going to be a very strong entry into this year’s FBD RÁS,” said race director Dermot Dignam. “Together with the New Zealand national team announced last week, the southern hemisphere teams are going to really liven things up in May. Performing so well in Malaysia shows that the Australian riders mean business, and this can only add to the level of competition this year.”

Rhys Pollock Drapac Porsche

The quintet has been doing a full programme of racing in recent months and will arrive in Europe on the 27th of April. They will compete in a number of one day races in Belgium and Holland prior to travelling to Ireland.

This year’s FBD RÁS will begin in Dunboyne on May 23rd and concludes the following Sunday, May 30th. It will be 1219 kilometres in length, crosses 24 tough categorised climbs, and features stage finishes in Dundalk, Carrick on Shannon, Ougherard, Tipperary, Seskin Hill/Carrick on Suir, Gorey, Kilcullen and Skerries.

It will be once again sponsored by FBD Insurances and supported by the Irish Sports Council. The race is ranked as a 2.2 event on the UCI’s international calendar.