2010's

2011 Gediminas Bagdonas An Post Sean Kelly Belgium Team Wins The First An Post Sponsored Rás
Jun 9, 2011, 13:44

 

An Post Rás 2011

8 Day International Cycle Race

22nd. May - 29th. May

Route

STAGE 1, SUNDAY 22nd. MAY, DUNBOYNE – PORTUMNA 148 KMS.

Dunboyne, Maynooth, Clane, Prosperous, Allenwood Hot Spot Sprint, Rathangan, Bracknagh, Portarlington,Mountmellic Hot Spot Sprint, Rosenallis, Clonalsee Hot Spot Sprint, Cadamstown, Kinnitty, Birr, Riverstown, Portumna.

 

STAGE 2, MONDAY 23rd MAY, PORTUMNA – KILRUSH 164KMS.

Portumna, Abbey, Ballinakill, Kilbecanty, Gort, Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara, Bell Harbour, Ballyvaughan, Corkscrew Hill Category 2 KOM, Losdoonvarna, Kilshanny, Ennistymon, Lahinch Hot Spot Sprint, Milltown Malbay, Quilty Hot Spot Sprint , Creagh, Cooraclare, Kilrush, Cappa, Kilrush.     

 

STAGE 3, TUESDAY 24TH MAY KILRUSH - CASTLEISLAND 175KMS

Kilrush, Lissycasey Hot Spot Sprint, Ennis, Clarecastle, Newmarket-On-Fergus, Limerick, Patrickswell Hot Spot Sprint, Adare, Newcastlewest, Barnagh Gap Category 3 KOM, Templeglantine, Abbeyfeale, Ahaneboy Category 3 KOM , Castleisland, Crag Cave Category 1 KOM , Castleisland.

 

STAGE4,WEDNESDAY 25Th MAY,CASTLEISLAND CASTLETOWNBERE 142KMS.

Castleisland, Farranfore, Milltown, Killorglin, Fossa, Killarney, Ladies View Category 2 KOM, Molls Gap Category 2 KOM , Kenmare, Tousist Category 3 KOM, Knocknaoughanish Category 2 KOM, Lauragh, Healy Pass Category 1 KOM, Adrigole, Castletownbere.

 

STAGE 5, THURSDAY 26TH MAY, CASTLETOWNBERE – BLARNEY 156KMS.

Castletonbere, Adrigole, Traflask, Loughavaul Category 3 KOM, Glengarriff, Derrycreha Category 3 KOM, Ballylickey, Bantry, Ardyhoulihane Category 3 KOM, Drimoleague, Dunmanway, Ballineen Hot Spot Sprint, Enniskean, Moskeagh Category 2 KOM, Windy Gap Category 2 KOM, Coachford, Dripsey, Inniscarra, Blarney. 

 

STAGE 6, FRIDAY 27TH MAY, BLARNEY – TRAMORE  172KMS.

Blarney, Rathduff, Mallow, Castletownroache, Ballyhooly, Killathy

Category 3 KOM, Tallow Hot Spot Sprint, Kilmore Category 3 KOM, Grange Category 3 KOM, Dungarvan, Bunmahon, Tankardstown, Benvoy Category 3 KOM, Dunbrattin & Boatstrand, Annestown, Ballygarran Category 3 KOM , Fenor, Carrigavantry Reservoir, Tramore.

 

STAGE 7, SATURDAY 28TH MAY, TRAMORE – KIDARE, 161KMS,

Tramore, Kilmeadon, Fiddown, Piltown, Templeorem, Brown Mountain Category 2 KOM, Newmarket, Knocktopher, Thomastown, Dungarvan, Gowran Hot Spot Sprint, Paulstown, Ballinabranna, Clogrennane Category 1 KOM, Newtown, The Swan, Timahoe, Stradbally, Vicarstown, Kildangan Paddy Flanagan Memorial Prime, Monasterevin, Kildare.

 

STAGE 8, SUNDAY29TH MAY, KIldare – SKERRIES, 133KMS

Kildare, Miltown,Hill Of Allen Category 3 KOM, Kilmeague, Prosperous, Painstown, Kilcock, Dunsany, Dunshaughlin, Ratoath, Curragha, Puckhimin Category 3 KOM, Garristown, Naul, Balrothery, Cross Of The Cage Category 3 KOM, Skerries, Black Hills Category 3 KOM, Skerries, Black Hills Category 3 KOM,Sherries.                     

 

 

Race Director: Dermot Dignam

Assistant Race Directors: Eddie Dawson & Tony Campbell

 

Stage 1. Dunboyne To Portumna 149 Kms. Dean Downing (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) 3.47.53

 

Dean Downing Britain Rapha Condor Sharp Takes Stage 1 From Dunboyne To Portumna


Stage 2. Portumna To Kilrush164 Kms. Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Sean Kelly Team Belgium) 4.54.18

Gediminas Bagdonas, An Post Sean Kelly Team Wins Stage 2 From Portumna To Kilrush

Stage 3. Kilrush To Castleisland 175 Kms. Nikaloy Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence) 4.13.50

Nikolya Mihaylov France AVC Aix en Provence Takes Stage 3 From Kilrush To Castleisland

 

Stage 4. Castleisland To Castletownbere 142 Kms. Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Sean Kelly Team Belgium) 3.42.59


The Man In The Yellow Jersey Takes Stage 4 Gediminas Bagdonas, An Post Sean Kelly Team Wins Into Castletownbere
 

 

Stage 5. Castletownbere To Blarney156 Kms. Myron Sompson (New Zealand National Team) 3.42.44

 

Myron Simpson New Zealand Wins Stage 5 Castletownbere To Blarney


Stage 6. Blarney to Tramore 167 Kms. Marcin Bialoblocki (Britain Motorpoint) 3.35.55

Marcin Bialoblocki Britain Motorpoint Wins Stage 6 Blarney To Tramore

 

Stage 7. Tramore To Kildare 161 Kms. Martyn Irvine (Aisa Giant Kenda) 3.40.39

Marytn Irvine Giant Kenda Asia Wins Stage 7 Tramore To Kildare


Stage 8. Kildare to Skerries 133 Kms. David McCann (Aisa Giant Kenda) 2.58.57

 

David McCann Wins Stage 8 Of The An Post Rás Into Skerries

 

 General Classification

1.

   2.

   3.

   4.

   5.

   6.

   7.

   8.

   9.

 10.

Gediminas Bagdonas, An Post Sean Kelly

Anatoliy Pakhtusov,Ukraine ISD Lampre

Oleksandr Sheydyk, Ukraine ISD Lamper

Nickaloy Mihaylov, France AVC Provence

Peter Williams, Britain Motorpoint

Aaron Gate, New Zealand

Simon Richardson, Britain Sigmasport

Floris Goesinnen, , Australia Drapac Cycling

Woulter Sybrandy, Britain Sigmasport

Shane Archbold, New Zealand

30-39-48  

     00-32

     01-13

     01-16

     01-24

     01-31

     01-31

     01-31

     02-16

     02-21

 

 

Gediminas Bagdonas Winner Of The An Post Sean Kelly With The George Plant Trophy


Anatoliy Pakhtusov, Ukraine ISD Lamper


Mountains Winner And 3rd Overall Oleksandr Sheydyk Ukraine ISD Lamper Team

 

Shane Archbold New Zealand Winner In The Points Classification

 

Aaron Gate New Zealand Winner Of The Irish Sports Council Under 23 Award

 

David McCann Asia Giant Kenda Winner Of The Final Stage

 

Overall County Rider Adam Armstrong In 22nd Place

 

All The Jerseys Davis McCann Stage Winner Shane Archbold Points Winner Aaron Gate Under 23 Winner Gediminas Bagdonas Overall Winner Of The An Post Rás Dean Windsor 3rd On Stage Anatoliy Pakhtusov 2ne Overall Oleksandr Sheydyk 3rd Overall And Mountains Winner Adam Armstrong 1st County Rider Winner


International Team Winners Britain Motorpoint

 

The Carlow Dan Morrissey Team Winners Of The County Award 2011, L To R Tim Barry, Sean Lacey, Michael Fitzgerald, Joe Fenlon And Michael O'Reilly

 

Gediminas Bagdonas Lithuania An Post Sean Kelly Team After Winning The An Post Rás


The An Post Boys Gives Their Manager Kurt Bougarts A Champaign Bath


Not All Of It Was Waisted On Kurt Gediminas Bagdonas Had A Welcome Drink Of It.

 

 

 List Of Competitors An Post Rás 2011

 

IRELAND Skoda

1. Paul Griffin

2. Conor Dunne

3. Sean Downey

4. Peter Hawkins

5. Felix English

Manager: Neil Martin.

IRELAND Development

6. Philip Bremmer

7. Charles Prendergast

8. Stephen Clancy

9. Owen Cummins

10. A.N.Other

Manager: Noel McGlynn

NEW ZEALAND

11. Aaron Gate

12. Shane Archbold

13. Marc Ryan

14. Cameron Karwowski

15. Myron Simpson

Manager: Stephen Connell

ASIA(PRO) Giant Kenda

Cycling Team

16. David McCann

17. Marytn Irvine

18. Alex Coutts

19. Chang Wei Kei

20. Wang Yin Chin

Manager: Cormac McCann

AUSTRALIA(PRO)

Drapac Cycling

21. Stuart Shaw

22. Adam Semple

23. Rhys Pollock

24. Floris Goesinnen

25. Lachlann Norris

Manager: Agostino Giramondo

BELGIUM(PRO)

An Post Sean Kelly

26. Sam Bennett

27. Mark Cassidy

28. Mark McNally

29. Ronan McLaughlin

30. Gediminas Bogdonas

Manager: Kurt Bogaerts

FRANCE AVC Aix en Provence

31. Erwan Brenterch

32. Nickolay Mihaylov

33. Bob Rodriguez

34. Roman Ramier

35. Remi Sarreboubee

Manager: Eric Drubay

GERMANY(PRO) Thuringer Energie

36. Jakob Steigmiller

37. Johannes Kahra

38. Bastian Burgel

39. Ralf Matzka

40. Marcel Barth

Manager: Jens Lang

GREECE(PRO) KTM – Murcia

41. Jose Carrasco

42. Hector Gonzalez Baeza

43. Salvador Guardiola

44. Javier Benitez Pomares

45. Jaume Rovira Pous

Manager: Inaki Urroz Sanchez

ITALY(PRO) D’Angelo &

D’Antenucci Nippo

46. Danilo Andrenacci

47. Henry Frusto

48. Bernardo Riccio

49. Kohei Uchima

50. Alexander Zhdanov

Manager: Alberto Elli

UKRAINE(PRO)

ISD – Lampre Continental

51. Yuriy Agarkov

52. Oleksander Martynenko

53. Anatoliy Pakhtusov

54. Oleksandr Sheydyk

55. Maksym Vasyliev

Manager: Myrza Mykola

USA(PRO)

Wonderful Pistachios

56. Neil Coleman

57. Menso De Jong

58. Collin Samaan

59. Tom Faiers

60. Tim Farnham

Manager: Robert Coble

BRITAIN(PRO)

Rapha Condor Sharp

61. Dean Windsor

62. Ben Greenwood

63. Casey Munro

64. Dean Downing

65. James McCallum

Manager: Mathew Southam

BRITAIN(PRO)

Sigma Sport Specialized

66. Simon Richardson

67. Wouter Sybrandy

68. Thomas Copeland

69. James Williamson

70. Steven Lampier

Manager: Sid Barras

BRITAIN(PRO)

Motorpoint

71. Pete Williams

72. James Sampson

73. Marcin Bialoblocki

74. Will Bjergfelt

75. Tobyn Horton

Manager: Chris Truett

BRITAIN Forme Procycliste

San Lamere

76. Robert Orr

77. Dexter Gardias

78. Jack Adams

79. Will Fox

80. Samuel Parker

Manager: Tom Kirk

BRITAIN Scienceinsport.com

81. Alistair Rutherford

82. Tim Lawson

83. Paul Oldham

84. Ian Field

85. Adam Yates

Manager: Greg Newton

ISLE OF MAN

86. Graeme Hatcher

87. Timothy Kennaugh

88. Aaron Livsey

89. Christian Varley

90. Andrew Roche

Manager: Peter Kay

CARLOW

Dan Morrissey Better Build

91. Sean Lacey

92. Michael O’Reilly

93. Michael Fitzgerald

94. Tim Barry

95. Joe Fenlon

Manager: Richard Cahill

CORK County

96. Bryan Long

97. Will Curtin

98. Dave Kenneally

99. Eddie Barry

100. Michael Butler

Manager: Gerald Long

CORK Kanturk

101. Richard Hooton

102. Simon Ryan

103. Owen Ryan

104. Alan Loftus

105. Jean Michel Lamy

Manager: Dan Curtin

DONEGAL LK Bikes

106. Sean McFadden

107. Sean Stewart

108. Rory Devlin

109. Damien Lagan

110. John Dempsey

Manager: Michael Black

DONEGAL Sportactive/

Engraveit/An Chuirt Hotel

111. Paidi O’Brien

112. Ryan Sherlock

113. Stephen Halpin

114. Aidan Crowley

115. Stephen Gallagher

Manager: Philip Finegan

DUBLIN Barnardos

116. Shane Hurley

117. Graham Hurley

118. Michael Barry

119. Michael Duffy

120. Odhran Connors

Manager: Karl Walsh

DUBLIN Eurocycles

121. Conor Murphy

122. Adam Armstrong

123. Thomas Martin

124. Paul Mulligan

125. Frazer Duncan

Manager: Urban Monks

DUBLIN South Dublin Zilcom

126. Michael Reddin

127. Anthony Doyle

128. Art McManus

129. Mark Gill

130. James Davenport

Manager: John Paul Lyons

DUBLIN Stevens Cyclelogical

131. Dave Cassidy

132. Pat Fitzpatrick

133. William McCabe

134. Adrian Hedderman

135. Cathal Miller

Manager: Gerry Harte

DUBLIN Orwell

136. Brian Aherne

137. Stephen Surdival

138. A.N.Other

139. A.N.Other

140. Dave McLoughlin

Manager: Ger McNamara

DUBLIN UCD

141. Anthony Walsh

142. Colm Cassidy

143. Mike Brookfield

144. Fergus Ryan

145. Wes Murphy

Manager: Ian Richardson

GALWAY Black Rose Racing

146. Aidan Reade

147. Eoghan Considine

148. Keith Fox

149. Colm Bracken

150. Conor O’Shea

Manager: Declan O’Loughlin

KILDARE Newbridge

151. Richard Malone

152. Mike Storan

153. Enda Connelly

154. Robin Kelly

155. Derek Cunningham

Manager: John Malone

KILDARE Murphy Surveys

156. John Lynch

157. Steve Franzoni

158. Alan Burke

158. Brian Geraghty

160. John Gargan

Manager: Liam Walker

MAYO Western Edge Medical

Communications

161. David Brennan

162. Ciaran Clarke

163. Patrick Clarke

164. Christian Coyle

165. Bernard Twomey

Manager: John Brennan

MEATH Dectek

166. Stephen O’Sullivan

167. Neil Delahaye

168. Tim O’Regan

169. Mark Dowling

170. Fiachra O’Muire

Manager: Philip Cassidy

MEATH 53 Degrees North

Optimun Nuitrition

171. Ciaran Hallinan

172. Simon Kelly

173. Michael McCarthy

174. Eugene Moriarty

175. Andrew Meehan

Manager: John Wall

MEATH Stamullen M. Donnelly

176. John Sower

177. Derek Finnegan

178. Declan Byrne

179. Tony Brady

180. James McMaster

Manager: James Gough

WATERFORD Comeragh

181. Thomas Lavery

182. David O'Loughlin

183. Martin Cullinane

184. Enda Donnelly

185. Damien Travers

Manager: Derek Webb

 

 
Ben Greenwood Rapha Condor Sharp Imperssions Of The Rás From His Blog

 

Men of the Ras
Posted on 6/11/2011 8:55:27 PM

If you like wind and rain, Ireland is the place to be


Some races are more than just a bike race. While many of them seem to be just the same thing but in a different country with slightly different hotels, there are some races which stand out from the crowd and have a unique feel and quality that makes them memorable and special. One such event is the Irish race the An Post Rás, which is unlike any other in the world. And, to be honest, I don’t think many riders could handle more than one race like the Rás a year - it either makes you or breaks you.

For those of you who don’t know much about the Rás, here’s a brief introduction. It’s 8 day- long UCI 2.2 category event and takes place in the last week of May in the Republic of Ireland. The stages range from 130km to 180km with an average of around 160km a day. The field is a mix of foreign UCI Continental teams, national teams, and Irish county teams with a maximum of 5 riders per team.

It all sounds like a normal race, so what makes it so special?

Well, firstly there’s the racing which can only be described as unpredictable and completely bonkers. The main problem for the pro teams is they only have 5 riders which makes defending the yellow jersey extremely difficult. Unless they are confident that the rider they have in the yellow jersey is stronger than everyone else, then most teams don’t even bother trying to keep it. With only 4 guys to ride on the front, if you get the jersey in the first few days then the best plan is to try and lose it and get it back at a later date.

Most riders who have ridden the Rás before don’t even think of it as a stage race. It’s more eight one-day races in a row with an overall classification at the end. That’s the way you have to ride it, because every day is the same. As soon as the flag drops the attacks start, and they usually keep going until the stage ends. This is partly down to the ‘County riders’ who always want to show well on their home roads. And there’s a race within a race for the County rider individual and team GC and the best County rider on the stage. This results in some strange tactics as the Irish teams battle with each other while the bigger teams try to win the race proper.

Another big part of the craziness of the Rás is the terrain. It’s always rolling…never too mountainous but also never totally flat. This means that there’s always a good place to launch an attack and as the hills aren’t too serious, most riders in the bunch are able to put in a move. Typically a Rás break can be 15-20 riders as group of two and three ride away and then eventually join up to form a good sized group. If all the big teams have a rider there then the move is likely to never be seen again, gaining huge time in the process. This happens day after day until a few riders who have made the break each day are left to fight out the overall.

The trouble is that it’s impossible to predict where and when the big GC breaks will go. It’s not like the Tour de France where everything is formulaic and it’s easy to predict when a bunch sprint will occur or when the big favourites will make their attack. In the Rás the break normally goes on the most unremarkable sections of road. A moment’s inattention or an untimely mechanical and a GC favourite can lose minutes and the chance of victory is over.

The other thing that sets the Rás apart is its history. It’s an epic race with many epic stories and it’s captured the imagination of the Irish people. If you are a cyclist and go to Ireland, the first thing people will ask you is if you have ridden the Rás. There’s always county riders at the Rás for whom their lifelong goal is to finish the race and become a ‘Man of the Rás’.

The Rás isn’t just a race, it’s also a social event. The highlight of which is the ‘night stages’. This is where the team staff and members of the organisation can share a few pints and talk about the day’s events. It’s not uncommon for some of the riders to join in and have a drink or two. One of my old team-mates Mark Lovatt was well known for liking a drink at the Rás. He personal best was 13 pints of Guinness the night before a stage. How he even started the stage never mind finished it, I’m not sure. I was told this year that three pints was the perfect amount to get optimum recovery but I wasn’t too keen to try it in case it just made me feel bad in the morning.

This year in the Rapha Condor Sharp team we had three riders who were doing the Rás for the first time. They had heard the term ‘Men of the Rás’ but didn’t understand what it meant. They all thought it was just another weeklong stage race, and you don’t normally get a special moniker for finishing them.

Stage one saw the team take the stage win and yellow jersey thanks to Dean Downing, following a fantastic leadout by James McCallum and Dean Windsor. The race got stopped temporarily with seven km to go due to a huge crash in the bunch. It was at this point the new Rás boys started to realise this race didn’t follow the usual script. Any doubts they had were extinguished on stage 2 when we rode into a gale force headwind all day. The stage winner averaged 33km/h in what was one of the slowest Rás stages ever. The word epic was used both during and after the stage by the riders. If you’re not tough then don’t come to the Rás.

As the days went on and attack after attack was launched and brought back, two of our new boys started talking about wanting to finish the Rás. Not because they were hating the race, quite the contrary; it was because they couldn’t call themselves ‘men of the Rás’ until they finished the last stage. Meanwhile the other new boy had decided this was the most ridiculous and insane race he had ever done and was counting down the hours until he could fly home.

After the race every finisher gets a Rás medal. As a team we’re used to winning races so normally merely finishing a race doesn’t get given much thought. So getting a medal for finishing isn’t something that is usually treasured or taken seriously. But when we were talking about whether we would hang around after the finish to get our medals, the new boys were adamant that we would be going up to the podium. ‘We’ve suffered for eight days to become men of the Rás’ they said, ‘and we want our medals to prove it’

As Rás legend and two-time winner Phil Cassidy said to me when I told him it was my fifth Rás, ‘The first ten are hard, after that they start getting easier’

Maybe in six years time I’ll be writing a blog saying how easy the Rás is, but for now all I can say is what an epic race it is…and that I can’t wait for next year.

So if you meet someone who says he’s a man of the Rás, give him some respect, he deserves it…

Thanks for reading,

Benji

 

2011 Race Technical Guide

An Post Rás 2011 Race Officials Manual

Photographs © Copyright www.rástailteann.com



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