One of Ireland’s most promising young racing cyclists, Philip Lavery, has confirmed he will be in the line-up when the FBD RÁS 8 Day International Cycle Race gets underway from Dunboyne this Sunday. Lavery’s decision means he’ll join the Dublin Murphy & Gunn/Newlynn team in taking on top-class teams from Germany, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria, Japan, Spain, Britain, Wales, USA and the IOM.
There was some doubt about the 19 year old’s participation in the FBD RÁS as he is due to take part in the Under 23 Nations Cup in Canada shortly after the big Irish race finishes but he obviously feels he has the form and the maturity to cope with both.
Lavery’s been competing this year with the Look Academy team in Belgium, as well as doing some short stints back home in Ireland. In March he won the Kruiseke- Wervik race in Belgium and placed 35th in the ZLM Tour Under 23 Nations Cup event, being part of the group sprinting for tenth place at the finish. Two weeks later, he won a stage and placed third overall in the Tour of Ulster, then earlier this month he was a superb second behind double FBD RÁS champion Briton Chris Newton in the Lincoln Grand Prix in England.
His strong performances raise hopes that he can land a good result for the Dublin Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn team in the race.
“I decided maybe a week ago that the legs were probably in good enough shape to do the RÁS and then to go to Canada, to still have good enough form to ride the both of them and not be too tired,” he said. “There’s four days between the two races and I will fly out to Canada the day after the RÁS finishes.”
He believes if it is ridden correctly, the race is an excellent way to bring on top racing condition. “The RÁS is fine once you are in the bunch- if you know how to ride the bunch; it is possible to stay there, even though it’s a hard race. And if you ride it properly, you come out of it very fresh, with eight days of great training you won’t get anywhere else.”
When asked about his goals, Lavery points out that the FBD RÁS is a step above the other events he has been doing this year. He said that the participation of the big international teams will raise the standard considerably, but that if he has the chance of a stage win, he will seize it.
“I am just going to pick a few days where I will have a go,” he stated. “A stage win would be a goal, or maybe see how the general classification works out. But I’m not going to put pressure on myself as regards the overall classification…I’ll just take that as it comes.”
Like Lavery, An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly rider Connor McConvey will also ride both the FBD RÁS and the Nations Cup event in Canada. He was confirmed this week as taking part in the prestigious Irish Tour, alongside fellow Irish riders David O’Loughlin and Mark Cassidy, plus Liverpool’s Mark McNally and the Belgian Pieter Ghyllebert.
This year’s FBD RÁS will begin on Sunday May 23rd and runs for eight days. It will be 1219 kilometres in length, crosses 24 tough categorised climbs, and features stage finishes in Dundalk, Carrick on Shannon, Oughterard, Tipperary, Seskin Hill/Carrick on Suir, Gorey, Kilcullen and Skerries.
The 2.2-ranked event will be once again sponsored by FBD Insurances and supported by the Irish Sports Council.
