| |
|
|
Shay O'Hanlon Four Times Rás Winner
 |
| Jim Killean,President Of The N.C.A. Shay O'Hanlon Rás Winner 1962 And Mick Christle Race Organiser |
O’Hanlon rode alone’ is one of the more perceptive observations of Shay O’Hanlon, as offered by one of his contemporaries.
Rás veterans generally like to reminisce about the great Rás riders of their era and, like any sport, the exploits of past masters and the revisiting in the mind’s eye of epic sporting scenes leads to a flow of descriptive and colourful discussion. Enquiry about Shay O’Hanlon, however, provokes a perceptible difference in reaction – a response that hints at an elusive dimension difficult to articulate. His peers, in attempting to describe his qualities as a rider, sometimes struggle to find superlatives; emotion is visibly stirred, while the body language suggests a slight discomfort at an inability to adequately express their sense of him – ‘What can you say about O’Hanlon?’ Personal reminiscences are quickly reverted to – scenes that are burned in the memories of those who rode with him and which might illustrate those subtle qualities: ‘I’ll never forget the day…’
Four outright wins, 24 stage wins and 37 Yellow Jerseys powerfully demonstrate his stature as the most successful Rás rider ever. Such bare statistics, however, merely provide evidence of a phenomenal physical capacity and do little to reveal an equally remarkable intellect. Like the efforts of his peers to signify the essence of O’Hanlon through examples of his feats, the revisiting of a few of the seminal scenes from his Rás career may provide some fleeting illustrations of his combination of acumen and athletic ability which, arguably, produced the most dominant rider ever in Irish domestic cycling. More>>>
Paddy Flanagan Three Times Rás Winner
 |
| Paddy Flanagan 3 Times Rás Winner |
The world of Irish cycling suffered a tragic loss recently with the sudden death of Paddy Flanagan. The Kildare rider was at the top of the sport for nearly two decades and although he had great success in all branches of cycle sport, he will probably be best remembered for his three victories in the Ras. Only Shay O'Hanlon, with 4 wins, has a better record in Ireland's premier stage race but in some ways Flanagan surpassed the Dubliner, notably in the span of his time at the top, 16 years between his first win in 1960 and his third in 1975. O'Hanlon won first in 1962 and then had a purple period when he took the yellow jersey on the opening stage in 1965 and never lost it for the next three years. It is fitting that Paddy Flanagan should be specially remembered on the Ras website and what better way than to retell the story of those three years. It is also a tribute to another Ras rider who died only a few months earlier. Mick Cahill of Cork was one of the stars of the 1975 Ras and was with Flanagan and O'Hanlon in the break of the race on the final Saturday which gave the Kildare rider his victory. Mick went on to finish 8th overall.
JIM TRAYNOR More>>>
Meeting The Iron Man Of Irish Cycling
Meeting the Iron Man of Irish cycling
I WAS led on a pleasant detour by Caherciveen butcher and golfer Jimmy Curran to meet somebody known as 'The Iron Man', on account of his exploits as a cyclist back in the 1950s. Cycling as a sport was gaining popularity back then, and the annual stage race around Ireland, An Ras Tailteann, now known as the FBD Insurance Ras, was responsible for a great deal of it.
The Christle brothers, especially the late big man Joe, were the principal organisers and their motivation came from a nationalistic fervour and a love of all aspects of Irish culture. They were inspired by the Tour de France and had a vision of developing such a spectacle in Ireland in their time. Joe Christle was a great character and a brilliant organiser and I cannot recall an occasion when we spoke other than in Irish. He was married to a French lady, Mimi Battutt. Years later, I taught Mel Christle, one of Joe and Mimi's three boxing sons, when I was on the teaching staff at O'Connell School in North Richmond St, Dublin. More>>>
The Case Of The National Cycling Association
The case of the National Cycling Association, like that of its parent body, The National Athletic & Cycling Association, is a simple one. It simply demands that Ireland be given her rightful status of nationhood in international competition, and it opposes any attempt to misrepresent, curtail or partition the athletic manhood of Ireland.
Only a body representative of all Ireland can represent all Ireland internationally. Any group or organisation which is confined in its alleged jurisdiction to a part of Ireland does not and cannot represent all of Ireland; and, likewise, neither can any individual athlete who is affiliated to any partitioned organisation, be that organisation of six or twenty-six county origin. One can build good intentions on injustice and it is an injustice to misrepresent one’s country. More>>>
Tales From The Gutter By Greg Roche Rás 2003
 |
| Greg Roche In Action During The 2003 Rás |
Consciousness comes quickly. I have slept deeply for the first time in three nights and the fever is gone. Going through the motions of getting up, showering and having breakfast, my confidence continues to grow. The residue of fatigue is there, but then I tell myself it’s bound to be. That’s the same for everyone left in the race. I chatted with Luchio at breakfast and he said his legs were aching. Same for everyone, you see.
Luchio asked what happened. I know he’s referring to my ride the previous day. ‘I’m a bad rider’ I explain, only half joking, but he is kind, accepts that I don’t want to say anything more and treats my comment as a throw away line, laughing.
The truth, the full version, is that in addition to being a bad rider, yesterday everything went wrong. I awoke feverous, tired and rode 120km of a mountain stage at the back of the pack feeling dreadful and fearing the main climb of the day which we were to reach at 150km covered. At 120km the main group was riding a hard tempo, ensuring that the two Kazakh riders who had already escaped didn’t build too great a lead. I was happy with this, hanging on, hanging on. It’s a mind game I can play with myself. ‘Ten more minutes and then swing off’; at ten minutes ‘wait until another rider goes out first and sit up with him.’ It’s a hateful existence at the back, but sometimes, when I know I’m ill or having an off day, I content myself with it. My lot in world cycling. There’s always tomorrow, always tomorrow. Bad cyclists are eternal optimists. More>>>
J P Partland - How I Got Here 2001
Ireland. Milk Ras. Where else would I be in late May? - At home. Doing the usual New York-Metro regional races I’ve done countless times, Prospect Park.... More>>>
The 'Men Of The Ras' 1992
If you were to catch me in a moment of reflection, I would most likely be reliving my days in Ireland, where as a young ambitious cyclist I first ventured in the spring of '92. More>>>
Rás Winners 1
 |
| 1953 Colm Christle Gate C.C. Dublin Winner Of The First Rás Tailteann With Jim Killean President The Of National Cycling Association |
More>>>
Ras Winners 2
 |
| 1991 Kevin Kimmage, Meath |
More>>>
Old Rás Photographs 1
 |
| Do Any Of You Remember Seeing This Van |
More>>>
|
|
| |
