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Promising Welsh Selection To Try To Emulate Winn's Vicrory
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| Dale Appleby Wearing The Irish Sports Council White Jersey Of Best Young Rider 2008 |
Ten years after Julian Winn took the only Welsh victory in the FBD Insurance RÁS, a team of riders from Wales will have the chance to follow in his wheel tracks when they line out in the race next month.
Five from Dale Appleby, Rhys Lloyd, Paul Esposti, Huw Wilson, Matt Rowe and Jon Mould will be selected for the prestigious round-Ireland contest, which begins in Dunboyne on May 23rd.
Team manager Gareth Sheppard said that the event would be a big target for the team. “As it is Commonwealth Games year, we are starting the build up to the Games at the FBD RÁS, which will be a very important first step towards Delhi,” he said.
“The aim will be to compete for the overall, while hopefully picking up a couple of stage wins along the way. Final selection for the road team will be made after the British Road Championships in June, so you can be sure that all the Welsh riders will want to lay down a marker for their selection.”
The team will be led by Dale Appleby, a 23 year old who finished 12th overall and was best young rider in the 2008 FBD RÁS. When not on national team duty, the former Under 23 national time trial bronze medallist will be competing with Team Raleigh this season, a new pro setup that has the aim of riding the Tour de France within five years. More>>>
Promising Young American Team To Make Its FBD Rás Debut
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| Eoin McDonnell U.S.A |
The latest in what will be an international spread of teams for this year’s FBD Insurance RÁS was revealed today with the announcement that the Happy Tooth Presented by Inside-Out Sports squad will travel from the US for the round-Ireland tour.
The new elite team is comprised mainly of riders under 25 years of age. The North Carolina-based setup has the goal of developing young riders from the Southeastern US. It has chosen the FBD RÁS as its first-ever overseas contest.
“The main focus of the team will be stage wins and results in the sprint competition” said team director Donald McDonnell.
The team for the FBD Insurance RÁS will be Curtis Staples (27), Matt Howe (23), Eóin McDonnell (23), John Crow (22), and Walker Owen (24). The team points out that each has competed at the highest level in collegiate cycling in recent years, with Howe, Crow and Owen having represented NC State University, Staples having ridden for the University of North Carolina and McDonnell for Virginia Tech. More>>>
Top Swedish Pro Team Sets Sights On FBD Rás Success
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| Alex Wetterhall Team Sprocket Sweden |
Swedish time trial champion Alex Wetterhall will be part of a strong five-man Team Sprocket squad for this year’s FBD RÁS, with the 23 year old being joined by a number of other promising young riders.
The team, which is managed by the 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt, aims to nurture young talent in the sport and to chase big results. It will come to the FBD RÁS with specific goals in mind.
“The race is one of our major objectives of the season, both for stages and the overall classification,” said general manager Martin McCrossan, who will be acting as directeur sportif for the duration of the eight day, world-ranked race.
“It will be the first time we have raced in Ireland, but the terrain suits the riders we have. We are looking for a very strong performance in a race with the prestige and history of the FBD Insurance RÁS.” More>>>
Australian Drapac Porsche Team Has High Aims For FBD Rás
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| Peter McDonald Drapac Porsche |
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| Stuart Shaw Drapac Porsche |
Fresh from its success in the prestigious Tour de Langkawi earlier this month, the Drapac Porsche pro team is building up towards what it hopes will be a very strong campaign in the FBD RÁS in May.
The Australian UCI Continental team will be led by Peter McDonald and Stuart Shaw, who both stood upon the final podium in the Malaysian 2.HC-ranked event. McDonald (31) won the King of the Mountains competition and finished fourth overall in the race, while Shaw (32) raced to an unexpected sprint win on the last stage in Kuala Lumpur.
Given the calibre of that race, there is a very strong reason to believe that they will leave their mark on the Irish contest. More>>>
New Zealand National Team Participation In FBD Rás
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| Marc Ryan New Zealand |
With the start of the 2010 FBD RÁS just over two months away, the first team for this year’s race has been confirmed. A powerful New Zealand national team will be travelling from its temporary base in Europe for the prestigious Irish event, the first such visit since 1988. The quintet is expected to leave a real mark on the race.
While the final line-up will be decided shortly before the start of the eight day contest, a strong squad of seven riders has been announced. Five will be selected from those, with the initial shortlist being Jack Bauer, Marc Ryan, Wes Gough, Hayden Godfrey, Tom Scully, Shane Archbold and Shem Rodger
Bauer is the likely leader of the team, and will take a break from competing as a professional with the Endura Racing team in order to join his compatriots. In January, the 24 year old beat the highly experience pros Hayden Roulston and Julian Dean to win the national title, and recently finished nineteenth at the Tour of Murcia. He also clocked up an impressive eight wins in Belgium in 2009, thereby securing his pro contract. More>>>
Final Closing Date For FBD Insurance Rás 2010 Sunday 7th. March
Final closing date for county teams booking a place in this year’s FBD RÁS is SUNDAY 7th MARCH.
Please return a completed Team Application Form before Sunday otherwise a place in the RÁS cannot be guaranteed
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Wexford Team
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| Wexford Team Cycle Rally |
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Earpiece Radios Banned By UCI
The use of earpiece radios will be banned from this year’s FBD RÁS 8 Day International Cycle Race which will take to the roads of Ireland from 23rd to 30th May. Although now a feature in all major international races allowing team managers, usually also equipped with TV facilities, constant communication with their riders the radios have not always met with universal approval. More>>>
Corrabut Gap County Carlow
According to rumours in cycling circles the peace and tranquillity of the beautiful Corrabut Gap in county Wicklow will gave way to the pounding hearts and gasping lungs of the riders in next year’s FBD RÁS. While the race organisation would not confirm nor deny the rumours it is known the 2010 route will be anti-clockwise which could mean Wicklow will be included.
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Colm Cullen Gets Man Of The Rás Award 2009
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| Adrian Taheny Director Of Marketing & Sales FBD Insurance Pcl., Garda Colm Cullen Chief Marshall Receives The Man Of The Rás Award From Race Director Dermot Dignam FBD Insurance Rás |
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