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American Jelly Belly-Maxxis Team For Rás Tailteann 2018
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| Ben Wolfe |
With just over a week left to the start of the Rás Tailteann, a second American team has been confirmed for the event. The USA Jelly Belly – Maxxis team joins the previously-announced USA CCB Foundation – Sicler squad, and looks set to be one of the strongest international teams in the event.
The five-man line-up will include the Americans Jacob Rathe, Taylor Shelden, Curtis White and Ben Wolfe, as well as the Mexican Ulises Castillo Soto.
Rathe is a highly experienced rider, recently winning the green jersey at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. Last year he took the King of the Mountains jersey in the prestigious Tour of Utah and also won the Tour of Xingtai in China.
Shelden finished fifth in the mountains classification in the latter event, and White won the prologue in the 2016 Tour Alsace. Wolfe was third on stage four of last year’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay, while Castillo Soto took third overall in the same race. More>>>
Welsh And German Teams Join Powerful International Line Up
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| Nikodemus Holler, Bike Aid Germany |
The number of international teams announced for this month’s Rás Tailteann has climbed to ten, with the Wales national team and the Germany Bike Aid squad confirmed for the event.
Peter Kibble, Zachery May, Dan Coombe, Will Roberts and James Tillett have been listed as the likely starters for the Welsh squad. Kibble represented the country in the time trial and road race at the recent Commonwealth Games, netting 15th in the former and helping compatriot Jon Mould take silver in the latter.
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| Zachery May Wales |
May was seventh in last year’s 1.2-ranked Rutland - Melton Cicle Classic while Coombe was ninth in the 2017 OberÖsterreich Juniorenrundfahrt 2.1 event for juniors.
“Pete will be our GC rider and aiming to impress in the mountains,” says team directeur sportif Rob Partridge, who rode ten editions of the Rás and was a superb fourth overall in 2015. “Zac will be looking for stage wins on the flatter days, and bring some experience to the team.
“We have a strong back up with James, Will and Dan who are great all-rounders and can be up there on their day as well. Four of the five riders are U23, so a target as a whole would be the young riders' jersey. Our options are very much open, and I'm excited to head to Ireland with this group of talented riders as part of our new U23 programme within Welsh Cycling - Wales Racing Academy.” More>>>
Belgian and Swiss National teams for Rás Tailteann 2018
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| Moreno De Pauw Belgium National Team Wins Stage 5 From Glengarriff To Mitchelstown 2013 |
With less than a month to go until the start of the 2018 Rás Tailteann, a further two international teams have been added to the six already announced for the race. National teams from Belgium and Switzerland will compete in the round-Ireland event, drawing their track racing background to ramp up the speed and aggression of the event.
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| Kenny De Ketele, Belgium National Team |
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| Cyrille Thiery, Swiss National Team |
The Belgian squad is comprised of riders who are set to represent the country in the 2020 Beijing Olympics velodrome.
Former Rás stage winner Moreno de Pauw is returning after two previous participations in the race. These yielded a stage win in 2013. On the track he is a winner of six six-day races and has taken bronze medals in the world and European track championships.
Kenny de Ketele is a past world Madison champion and has also taken silver and bronze medals at the worlds. He is a winner of 16 six-day races and has been seven times European track champion. He will ride the Rás for the second time in his career, having taken fifth in the mountains classification in 2013. More>>>
British And American Squads In Line Up For Rás Tailteann
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| Damien Shaw Holdsworth |
As the weeks tick down towards the May 20 start of the Rás Tailteann, a further two overseas squads have been confirmed for the world-ranked event.
Former Irish national road race champion Damien Shaw and talented young rider Sean McKenna are the first two to be named for the Britain Holdsworth Pro Racing Team. The rest of the squad is yet to be decided, but the two Irish riders have amassed plenty of experience in the race and will share that with their teammates.
Shaw won the national championships in 2015 and finished second, second and third on stages in that year’s Rás. He was also fifth overall in 2016 and again last year. As for McKenna, he was fourth in the mountains classification in 2017 and took 15th overall. He went on to place fifth in the national road race championships.
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| John Harris CCB Velotooler |
“Sean has had a good start to the 2018 season, winning races in Ireland, while Damien always has great form in May,” said sports director Dean Downing. “Perhaps one of our Italian sprinters will be on the team, along with one of the young Irish under 23 riders. It’s a tough decision to choose just five riders. But hopefully we will have a few surprises up our sleeves with our international riders.”
The team will do a series of big races as part of its build-up, including the Tour de Yorkshire. Downing believes the squad will be exactly where it needs to be as it starts the event.
“The Rás is such a hard race to control as it’s a small team of five riders,” he said. “But we will go in with stage win ambitions and to place riders in the big breaks on the queen stages in this year’s race. We will have no leaders, just five lads working hard together each stage.”
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Multiple Stage Winning Team Amongst Squads Announced For 2018 Rás Tailteann
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| Jasdon Van Dalen Delta Cycling |
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| Will Fox,KTM |
A week after the announcement of the first two international squads for this year’s Rás Tailteann, two more teams have been revealed for the race. The Netherlands Delta Cycling Rotterdam team has shone in the past two editions, winning two stages under the Cyclingteam Join's - De Rijke name in 2016 and then repeating that tally last year via Jan Willem Van Schip and Daan Meijers.
In addition to that, Ike Groen was a superb second overall, while Meijers won the points classification.
“Our first goal is to win a stage,” states team manager Jim van den Berg. “We strongly believe in by riding for day wins, the classification will follow automatically. We will not start with protected riders who will try to save energy. That might be a tactic later on, when the general classification comes within reach.” More>>>
Two International Teams Announced For Ras Tailteann
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| Rory Townsend, Canyon Eisberg |
With just over six weeks to go until the start of the 2018 Rás Tailteann, the first two international teams have been announced for the event. The British Canyon Eisberg and Saint Piran squads have confirmed their attendance and are aiming high in what is Ireland’s most prestigious cycling race.
Dexter Gardias will be one of the big guns on the Canyon Eisberg squad, having taken third overall last year in the King of the Mountains competition. He was also fourth on stage one in 2016. He will be joined by fellow Britons Max Stedman, Louis Rose Davies and Matt Nowell, plus newly-declared Irishman Rory Townsend in the event.
Townsend has clocked up five top-ten results in UCI races. These include second in the 1.2-ranked Midden Brabant Poort Omloop, as well as ninth in the 1.1 Rad am Ring. He was also points classification winner in the 2.2 Tour of Quanzhou Bay and mountains classification victory in the 2.1-ranked Tour of Almaty. More>>>
Rás Tailteann Jersey's
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| The full kit. |
To celebrate the legacy of Rás Tailteann and to contribute to its future, we are producing this stunning commemorative cycling kit. Wear the official Rás Tailteann cycling kit as a badge of honour knowing you have helped contribute to the races future, while celebrating its past. All support is greatly appreciated, proceeds will contribute to the running of the event.
Pre order until the April 6th for delivery by the May 20th
Shop now;
CLICK MORE FOR LINK More>>>
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