Sean Downey An Post Chain Reaction

One of the strongest all round fields in the history of the An Post Rás will take to the start in Dunboyne this Sunday, beginning an eight day clash which will captivate the interest of cycling fans in Ireland and further afield.

A total of eighteen international teams from four continents will take part, amongst them world champions, Olympians and many exciting young talents destined for top pro careers. 

In addition to those professional and international teams, there will be an additional eighteen Irish county squads participating, these comprising dedicated amateurs who have based their seasons around participating in the race.

Irish hopes of the first home victory since 2008 will be based largely on the An Post Chainreaction Sean Kelly team, the Synergy Baku squad and the Polygon Sweet Nice outfit.

The first of those squads mentioned includes some of the country’s most promising developing riders. Three of which, namely 2009 stage winner Sam Bennett, the in-form Sean Downey and the consistently improving Ronan McLaughlin will be part of the line-up, with the remaining two places to be taken up by New Zealand rider Shane Archbold and the Belgian Nicolas Vereecken

The team has won the race twice in the past five years and is highly motivated to do so again.

The Synergy Baku squad is based in Azerbaijan but includes Belfast’s Connor McConvey, who has previously finished fourth and seventh overall in the race, and who has shown strong form this year. He was fifth in the recent Tour of Thailand and then second on a stage and fifteenth overall in the Tour of Azerbaijan.

Mike Nothey Britain Node 4

The Polygon Sweet Nice team was previously registered in Indonesia but as of this year is an Irish Continental squad. It will include Irish hillclimb champion and former best county rider Ryan Sherlock plus Mark Dowling, who was ninth on a stage of the Tour of Taiwan this year.

Peter Hawkins is another rider to watch, and will compete as part of the British IG Sigma Sport team. He is determined to try to take the overall classification, as is the Briton Pete Williams, who was second overall three years ago.

Another home rider with big ambitions is Aaron Buggle, who will be part of the Rapha Condor JLT setup. The British team will be managed by An Post Rás regular John Herety, who previously guided several riders to overall victory in the past. One of his hopes for this year is the British rider Richard Handley, who was fifth overall in 2012.

Looking at some of the other foreign teams, those to watch include the Czech AC Sparta Praha squad, which is returning to the race with last year’s third-placed finisher and One4All Bikes4Work King of the Mountains classification runner-up Martin Hunal.

Other riders who also performed last year include stage one winner Marcin Bialoblocki, who will head the Team UK Youth Squad, plus the rider who finished behind him that day, Jacob Nielsen. He and former HTC professional Rasmus Guldhammer will be part of the Denmark Blue Water team, which last year won two stages. 

The Austrian Pro Gebruder Weiss squad has had a rider finish third overall in the past and will include Andreas Müller, who finished a close second to Martyn Irvine in the scratch race in the world track championships earlier this year. Tour of Slovakia 2012 stage runner-up Benjamin Edmüller will also be part of the squad.

Jacob Neilsen Denmark

More strong international track riders will compete with the Dutch Koga Cycling team, the Belgian national squad and the Great Britain development squad. 

The latter will include world points race champion and Tour de l’Avenir stage winner Simon Yates, while the Dutch squad will feature Nick Stopler, who previously took silver and bronze medals in the European track championships.

The 2012 world Madison racing champion Kenny de Ketele is expected to be part of the Belgian national team, and will have plenty of speed in the lineouts.

Meanwhile former Vuelta a España points jersey winner Malcolm Elliott will manage a competitive Node4 Giordana squad which is expected to include 2012 Tour of Southland victor Mike Northey. Climbing specialist Alex Coutts and Rás regular Evan Olliphant will be part of the Scottish national team, while the Germany Bike Aid will return a year after netting the best international team award on stage seven.

 The international lineup is completed by the Canadian national team, the Australian Team Subaru Albion squad and the USA Astellas Oncology Cycling team.

“We are very pleased with the quality of the field for this year,” An Post Rás race director Tony Campbell states. “There are a lot of strong teams in the race, with a good mix of international teams and country squads. There should be some very aggressive racing ahead.”

As for those eighteen domestic teams, these are also very important to Campbell. “The county riders are crucial to the race and it is great each year to see the commitment they put in during the An Post Rás. Whether they are going up against the professionals to try to take a stage win or a high overall placing, are fighting it out for the county rider or county team classifications or are digging deep to complete the race and become a Man of the Rás, they are a very important part of the race.”

Sam Bennett An Post Chain Reaction

Those teams will include this year’s Tour of Ulster and Rás Mumhan winners Joe Fenlon and Damien Shaw (both Cork Aqua Blue), Tour of Ulster runner-up Roger Aiken (Louth Prague Charter), Tour of Ulster time trial victor Ian Richardson (Dublin Central UCD) plus the overall classification third-placed finisher Javan Nulty (Meath Dunboyne DID).

Testing route lies ahead for riders:

This year’s route should guarantee aggressive racing and ongoing suspense about the final outcome, with the riders facing 1180.5 kilometres over eight days, plus 33 categorised climbs.

Those ascents represent an increase of five categorised climbs over last year’s total, and include a tough penultimate stage through the Wicklow Mountains. 

Stage one begins this Sunday in Dunboyne, with the town hosting the start for the fourth consecutive year. The 134.5 kilometre leg to Longford includes two intermediate sprints at Athboy (km 41.3) and Slieve an Calliagh (km 61.5), with both offering bonus seconds.

The latter also serves as a category three climb and determines the mountains jersey for that day. 

Day two from Longford to Nenagh is longer at 160.4 kilometres and features one An Post post office sprint at Mountbellow, 61.5 kilometres after the drop of the flag. It also passes through Roscommon, Ballinasloe and Portumna before what is again likely to be a big group finish.

Stage three begins in Nenagh and features three climbs, with the toughest of those – the category two Boingbrook – coming just thirteen kilometres after the start. It is followed later by an An Post post office sprint in Patrickswell and, inside the final 35 kilometres, by two more An Post post office sprints at Ardagh and Athea, plus category three climbs close to those two locations. 

Sean Lacey Aqua Blue Cork

The 141.1 kilometre stage concludes in Listowel, where race director Tony Campbell believes a sprint is again most likely. 

Day four is where the real climbing begins, with no less than eight ascents littered along the 153 kilometres between Listowel and Glengarrif. These are the category three ramps of Crinny, Farranfore and Cooleriagh, the second category climbs of Lacka West, Ladies View, Molls Gap, and Garranes, plus the first category Healy Pass.

The following day, the riders will compete over a flatter 150.2 kilometre race from Glengarriff to Michelstown. Inside the first hour of racing on stage five they will scale the category two ascents of the Pass of Keimaneigh and Gortnabinna, then encounter 100 kilometres of mainly flat roads, passing through Macroom, Millstreet, Banteer and Mallow.

Those hoping to foil the sprinters will try to use the category three climb of Kildorrey to jump clear, but with fifteen kilometres between the summit and the finish, it’s a tough ask.

Day six could be better suited to those who want to break things up. While the first two hours lack climbs and feature only the An Post post office sprint at Urlingford, the 154.6 kilometre stage from Mitchelstown to Carlow has no less than five climbs inside the final 50 kilometres. These are the third category Castlecomer climb, the second category trio of Byrnesgrove, Coan West and Clongrennan plus the first category Gorteen. 

Stage seven from Carlow to Naas will most likely be the big decider, with the 141 kilometre leg dotted with eight climbs. An early An Post post office sprint in Shillelagh will be followed by the climbs of Ballythomas Hill (category two), Mondlea (category three), Annagh Gap (category three), Cronebeg (category three), and Garrymore (category two). 

Mark Dowling Poly Sweet Nice

The riders will the clash on the first category ascents of Drumgoff, where they will pass the memorial stone of Shay Elliott, Ireland’s first leader of the Tour de France, then after a twisting, technical descent they will race onto the first category Wicklow Gap and then the third category Slieve Cruagh.

There remains just one more day beyond that point, a 144.6 kilometre race from Naas to Skerries. The platforms for attacks will be five category three climbs, namely the Hill of Allen, Plukhimin, the Cross of the Cage and the two ascents of the Black Hills on the finishing circuit in Skerries.

Campbell said that the mixture of flat and mountainous stages was designed to strike the right balance. “Part of the thinking was to provide encouragement to the Irish riders to race, as they should be able to compete against the professional teams,” he said. “The stages are of a length to encourage them to race hard over that distance. But there are also a couple of stages with plenty of hills, and that will give the climbers the chance to make a difference.”

The race will once again be sponsored by An Post, which has been on board as the title sponsor since 2011 and has helped the race to expand considerably in that time.

An Post Rás route 2013 (UCI 2.2):

Stage 1, Sunday May 19: Dunboyne to Longford, 135.4 kms:

Stage 2, Monday May 20: Longford to Nenagh, 160.4 kms:

Stage 3, Tuesday May 21: Nenagh to Listowel, 141.1 kms:

Stage 4, Wednesday May 22: Listowel to Glengariff, 153 kms:

Stage 5, Thursday May 23: Glengarriff to Michelstown, 150.2 kms:

Stage 6, Friday May 24: Mitchelstown to Carlow, 154.6 kms:

Stage 7, Saturday May 25: Carlow to Naas, 141.2 kms:

Stage 8, Sunday May 26: Naas to Skerries, 144.6 kms:

Total: 1180.5 kms