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Final Countdown To Start Of FBD Rás
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| Rob Partridge |
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. More>>>
19 Year Old Philip Lavery Takes On Top Pros In FBD Rás
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| Philip Lavery |
One of Ireland’s most promising young racing cyclists, Philip Lavery, has confirmed he will be in the line-up when the FBD RÁS 8 Day International Cycle Race gets underway from Dunboyne this Sunday. Lavery’s decision means he’ll join the Dublin Murphy & Gunn/Newlynn team in taking on top-class teams from Germany, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria, Japan, Spain, Britain, Wales, USA and the IOM.
There was some doubt about the 19 year old’s participation in the FBD RÁS as he is due to take part in the Under 23 Nations Cup in Canada shortly after the big Irish race finishes but he obviously feels he has the form and the maturity to cope with both.
Lavery’s been competing this year with the Look Academy team in Belgium, as well as doing some short stints back home in Ireland. In March he won the Kruiseke- Wervik race in Belgium and placed 35th in the ZLM Tour Under 23 Nations Cup event, being part of the group sprinting for tenth place at the finish. Two weeks later, he won a stage and placed third overall in the Tour of Ulster, then earlier this month he was a superb second behind double FBD RÁS champion Briton Chris Newton in the Lincoln Grand Prix in England.
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An Post Team For FBD Rás Announced
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| David O'Loughlin Team An Post |
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| Mark Cassidy Team An Post |
An Post Sean Kelly team manager Kurt Bogaerts today named his team for this years Rás, which starts on Sunday May 23rd in Dunboyne, Co Meath. The line up features three Irishmen – Mark Cassidy, David O’Loughlin and Connor McConvey, alongside Liverpudlian Mark McNally and Belgian Pieter Ghyllebert.
The youthful five man team includes three riders who will be making their Rás debuts for the An Post team; McConvey, McNally and Ghyllebert.
Of the Irish trio O’Loughlin is the most experienced, having won the King of the Mountains jersey last year. He has three top five Rás finishes to his name and is also a double stage winner. Cassidy, a former under 23 Irish Champion, is another stage winner and held the yellow jersey for a stage in ‘08. More>>>
Japanese And Spanish Profrssional Teams For FBD Rás
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| Byron Patricio Guama de le Cruz |
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| Luca Barla |
The first-ever pro teams from Japan and Spain to compete in the FBD Insurance RÁS will be included in the huge field of 170 riders representing teams from Ireland, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Belgium, USA, Britain, IOM and Wales when the 1200 kilometres race gets underway from Dunboyne on Sunday week, 23rd May.
The addition of these two teams further boosts the impressive international profile of this year’s race and brings to eight the number of pro teams in the line-up. Ireland will be represented by two national teams, including a development squad, and seventeen county teams. New Zealand, Wales and the IOM will also be national teams.
The Japanese-registered Team Nippo squad will be managed by Alberto Elli, who held the yellow jersey for four days in the 2000 Tour de France. It features former Team Milram pro Luca Barla plus past-NCG Medical-OTC Doors rider Alessio Signego. More>>>
Launch Of FBD Insurance Rás 2010
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| Andrew Langford CEO FBD Insurance Plc. Model Roberta Rowat And Isish Team Member Adam Armstrong At The Launch Of The FBD Insurance Rás InThe Radison SAS St. Helens Hotel |
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FBD Insurance Ras 2010 - Stage 6 results, Carrick-on-Suir - Gorey
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Team Ireland SUBWAY® Announced For FBD Rás
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| Adam Armstrong |
The SUBWAY® chain has announced that it is to sponsor the Irish team competing in this year’s FBD Rás with the team comprising a new generation of riders who will be aiming for stage wins in the eight-day event.
The SUBWAY® chain’s support for the national team is an extension of its sponsorship of Irish cycling with the chain having recently become the title sponsor of the 2010 Classic League.
SUBWAY®, which is the largest quick service food chain in the Republic of Ireland with 109 stores and over 2,000 employees, is no stranger to the sport of cycling and also sponsors a cycling team in New Zealand.
Team Ireland SUBWAY® will be led by the experienced Neil Delahaye following his excellent form in the recent Rás Mumhan where he soloed to a win on stage three on his way to finishing 3rd overall. More>>>
Germany -Thuringer Energie Targets Another FBD Rás Yellow Jersey
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| Marcel Kittel |
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| John Degenkolb |
One of the favourites for this year’s Tour de France, Germany’s Tony Martin, won the FBD RÁS in 2007. The team he led to victory on that occasion, Thuringer Energie, returns to the race this year with another very talented young line-up. Marcel Kittel, John Degenkolb, Jakob Steigmiller, Philipp Klein and Bastian Bürgel will together target the final yellow jersey, as well as the best young rider classification.
“Our objective is the overall standings and results on the several stages,” said directeur sportif Mario Kummer, a former Olympian who has worked with the T-Mobile and Astana teams.
Kittel (22) is one of Germany’s most promising young riders, winning the European time trial championships last year and finishing fourth in the under 23 world championship equivalent. His wins include stages in the Flèche du Sud and the Thuringen-Rundfahrt races. More>>>
Four Former Race Winners Lead British Teams In FBD Insurance Rás
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| 2009 Winner Simon Richardson |
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| 2008 Winner Stephen Gallagher |
Double FBD RÁS winner Chris Newton(2003 and 2005), 2009 champion Simon Richardson and 2008 victor Stephen Gallagher 2007 and Andy Roche 1997 have all be confirmed for this year’s race, with the four riders leading British-registered squads in the event.
Race organizer Dermot Dignam has confirmed that the Rapha – Condor Sharp, Sigma Sport - Specialized, Planet X, Motor point Marshalls’ Pasta and Isle of Man teams will all travel prior to the May 23rd start in Dunboyne, and should have a major influence on the race.
Newton showed fine form this year when he finished fourth in the points race at the world track championship in Denmark. The former world champion and Olympic silver medalist have competed in the prestigious Irish tour on several occasions and have both the experience and the strength needed to shine once again. More>>>
Austria-KTM-Gebrüder-WeissTeam To Target More Success In FBD Rás
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| Josef Kugler |
Motivated by its excellent third place overall in last year’s FBD RÁS and third in the teams classification, the Austrian KTM-Gebrüder Weiss squad will return to this year’s race, which starts next month, determined to clock up another strong showing.
“Our team is concentrating on riding the 2.HC-ranked Tour of Austria plus events in other European countries. So we are glad that we have the opportunity to do the FBD RÁS again,” said Josef Kugler, the likely team leader. “We are a young and highly motivated team which posted some very good results last season. The most impressive was the stage five victory at the Tour of Austria by Jan Barta, but he also took third overall in the FBD RÁS and the whole team performed well.”
Barta will not contest the race this time round as he has moved to a different squad for 2010. Instead, the team will be comprised of the Austrians Kugler and Hannes Gründlinger, who competed in the 2009 FBD RÁS, Michael Singer and Stefan Probst, plus the Romanian rider Lars Pria More>>>
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