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| Chris Newton |
Just one day remains to the start of the 2010 FBD Insurance RÁS and teams from Germany, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria, Japan, Spain, Britain, Wales, USA and the Isle of Man are arriving in Dublin to take on the Irish National Team, an Ireland Development Team, and seventeen county teams in what promises to be a thrilling, highly competitive eight days cycle racing around Ireland.
Dunboyne in county Meath will be a hive of activity this Sunday morning as the 170 riders line-up for the start of the gruelling 1219 kilometres which will bring the huge field to stage finishes in Dundalk, Oughterard, Tipperary, Seskin Hill, Gorey, Kilcullen and the now traditional tremendous finish in the seaside town of Skerries.
Irish hopes will centre around the Team Ireland Subway selection of Neil Delahaye, Simon Williams, Mark McKinley, Conor McAllistair and 2010 Tour of Ulster winner Adam Armstrong, as well as the home riders on the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team. These are David O’Loughlin, who won a stage back in 2004, the last time the race went up Seskin Hill, former yellow jersey holder Mark Cassidy and 21 year old Connor McConvey, who has had a very encouraging season after switching from mountainbike to road racing. They will be joined by the Liverpool rider Mark McNally and Belgium’s Pieter Ghyllebert.
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| David O'Loughlin |
Other Irish riders to watch out include Tour of Ulster victor Philip Lavery (Murphy & Gunn/Newlyn Group), who recently took second in the Lincoln GP in England, as well as Subway Classic League leader Sean Lacey (Limerick BDO Get BACk Challenge).
The strong overseas challenge will be lead by last year’s winner Simon Richardson, who will be at the helm of the Team Sigmasport Specialized squad. Also on the British team is Belfast’s Stephen Gallagher, the last Irish winner of the race in 2008.
Other past victors are the 2003 and 2005 victor Chris Newton, who will front the British Rapha Condor setup along with the 2010 Shay Elliott Memorial winner Matt Cronshaw, and the 1996 champion Andrew Roche (British Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta team). Joining the latter will be the in-form Ian Bibby, the British national cyclo cross champion.
One of the strongest teams is likely to be the Germany Thuringer Energie squad. It won the race three years ago with Tony Martin, who has since gone on to Tour de France success with the HTC Columbia team. This time round it will include John Degenkolb, bronze medal in the under 23 world road race championships in Varese 2008.
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| Mark Cassidy |
Also certain to play a big part is the Australian Drapac Porsche pro team, which will feature 2010 Tour de Langkawi stage winner Stuart Shaw plus the King of the Mountains Peter McDonald.
Two other teams will also travel from the southern hemisphere, namely the Japan Team Nippo and New Zealand squads. The former is managed by Alberto Elli, who held the yellow jersey for four days in the 2000 Tour de France, and features former Team Milram pro Luca Barla and past Archer Grand Prix winner Mariusz Wiesiak.
New Zealand has entered a team before, way back in 1988, and will be fielding a team of track specialists this time round. Mark Ryan and Wes Gough both took bronze medals in the team pursuit at the Beijing Olympics.
Also hailing from far overseas is the US Happy Tooth Presented by Inside-Out Sports squad.
From closer to home, several other teams will be travelling from other European countries. Former top professional Magnus Backstedt will manage the Swedish Team Sprocket Pro Cycling, sharing his experience and helping the five riders to target the best possible result. Swedish time trial champion Alex Wetterhall will spearhead the young squad.
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| Simon Richardson |
Returning to the race after making a strong debut last year is the Austrian Team Arbö KTM Gebrüder
Weiss squad. It took third twelve months ago with Jan Barta and while he has moved elsewhere, Josef Kugler is coming back. He was 12th in 2009.
Former Ecuadorian national champion Byron Patricio Guama will lead the Spanish pro team Burgos 2016-Castilla y León, along with Diego Gallego Arnaiz. The latter was ninth in the 1.1-ranked GP Llodio this year.
Two more teams to travel across the Irish Sea are the Wales and Isle of Man selections. The former is aiming for overall success ten years after Julian Winn took the only Welsh victory to date in the FBD Insurance RÁS. Robert Patridge will be at the helm it, two years after netting third overall. The Isle of Man team includes triple FBD Rás participant Graeme Hatcher.
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| Philip Lavery |
Finally, the Britain Planet X squad will have two Irishman in the lineup; previous stage winner Roger Aiken and Martyn Irvine, who has shown good form this year.
Tough route makes for superb racing:
As much as the strong field bolds well for an aggressive eight days, so too does the route, which is peppered with climbs and becomes gradually tougher as the race goes on.
The opening stage includes three Hot Spot Sprints plus the second category climb of the Long Women’s Grave, yet despite this ascent race director Dermot Dignam expects a bunch gallop in Dundalk. The same outcome is forecast for the 155 kilometre second stage, which crosses Bellavalley Gap some 45 kilometres before the finish in Carrick on Shannon.
Stages three and four head to Oughterard and Tipperary, and are the longest of the race at 171 and 169 kilometres respectively. Rough roads could well lead to breakaway groups, and reveal who are the strongest riders.
The gauntlet will be fully thrown down on Thursday May 27th, with a 157 kilometre stage concluding at the top of Seskin Hill. The race will blow apart on the category one climb, and should again be rent asunder on the following day’s 127 kilometre run to Gorey. The stage covers seven categorised ascents, including the second category ramp of The Heights plus the first category legbreaker of Corrabutt Gap, and will be a real wearing-down process.
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| Adam Armstrong |
The penultimate stage again suits the climbers as it scales the first category Drumgoff and Wicklow Gap mountains, as well as the second cat Slieve Corragh en route to the finish in Kilcullen. The general classification should be pretty much settled by that point, although if there’s still small time gaps between the big guns, everything could come down to the final stage.
This 140 kilometre leg runs from Kilcullen to Skerries, and takes in two laps of the now-customary finishing circuit there. Huge crowds are once again expected as the eight-day race comes to a crescendo.
“We are looking forward to what I think is going to be a very, very exciting edition of the race,” said Dermot Dignam this week. “It’s a great field and the route will build things up to a real climax, ensuring that the final winner is uncertain right until the last stage. Some excellent racing lies ahead.”
The 2010 FBD Insurance RÁS will once again be sponsored by FBD Insurance and the Irish Sports Council, and is classified as a 2.2 event in cycling’s world rankings.
FBD Insurance RÁS (2.2), May 23 -30:
Stage 1, Sunday 23 May: Dunboyne – Dundalk, 149 km
Stage 2, Monday 24 May: Dundalk – Carrick on Shannon, 155km
Stage 3: Tuesday 25 May: Carrick on Shannon – Oughterard, 171km
Stage 4: Wednesday 26 May: Oughterard – Tipperary, 169km
Stage 5: Thursday 27 May: Tipperary – Seskin Hill, Carrick on Suir, 157km
Stage 6: Friday 28 May: Carrick on Suir – Gorey, 127km
Stage 7: Saturday 29 May: Gorey – Kilcullen, 151km
Stage 8: Sunday 30 May: Kilcullen – Skerries, 2 laps of 13.7km circuit, 140km
