Michael Flanagan of the Mayo Centra team feels the strain on the Meenirroy climb, Co Donegal, during the sixth stage of the 2012 An Post Rás from Buncrana to Killybegs. County riders like Flanagan pitting themselves against the professionals gives the Rás it's unique character. (Photo: Stephen McCarthy - Sportsfile)
On Sunday the best cyclists in Ireland and some very good professional teams from abroad will roll out from Dunboyne, Co Meath, for the eight-day An Post Rás. There will be thrills and spills, legends will be made and some good men will be broken. It won’t be boring; you can bet the house on that.
On the eve of the race, we’ve put together a useful and informative (even if we do say so ourselves) fact file for Rás lovers everywhere.
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Best places to watch
On Wednesday, get down to the Healy Pass in Co Kerry for stage four (around 2.30pm) where the riders travel from Listowel to Glengarriff. It’s the first category one climb of the race and is sure to break things up significantly. There’ll likely be strong crosswinds as well, so anyone who isn’t up to the standard will be found out quickly. The second, and more brutal climb is the five-mile long ascent of the Wicklow gap on Saturday (stage seven). Given it comes on the penultimate stage, anyone with designs on glory will need to be climbing very well here. It begins gently but the most demanding gradient comes about one third of the way up. The climb was featured when the Tour de France came to Ireland in 1998.
Expect fireworks on ....
Stage Six, from Mitchelstown to Carlow. The 154.6km stage doesn’t present any major difficulties early on, with only a sprint at Urlingford (77.4km) featuring in the first two hours of racing. However, things get tougher after the 100km point, with five climbs rearing up between there and the finish. These are: Byrnesgrove (Category 2. 108.8km), Castelcomer (Category 3, 116.3km), the first category wall of Gorteen (120.9km), plus the second category pair of Coan West (124.6km ) and Clongrennan (133.5km ). Expect some riders to abandon the race on this stage.
Bright young thing
Sean Downey (An Post-Chainreaction) was 11th overall in 2011. The second year professional is in superb form with a fifth place at the Circuit de Wallonie a couple of weeks back. He can climb with the best; a class act with a bright future.
Old(ish) dog for the hard road
David McCann of Synergy Energy Baku Cycling Team: The Belfast man turned 40 years old in March and is a former winner of the event (2004). He’s a multiple stage winner, most recently in 2011 and can read the race better than most, given his experience of riding professionally for almost two decades. He’s managing the Azerbaijani registered team this year which includes the in-form Connor McConvey, also from Belfast. The team is on a high after a great early season. And with the three-time Olympian guiding them through a race he has owned on some of the hardest stages of the last decade and a half, don’t be surprised if these guys are right in the mix.
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Who’s going to win?
A difficult race to predict, particularly with such an international spread to the start-list. The 2012 champion, Nicolas Baldo isn’t back to defend his title though third-placed from last year, Martin Hunal (Czech Republic AC Sparta Praha) will ride.
Any Irish in with a shout of an outright win?
Former An Post-Sean Kelly man Connor McConvey will push for general classification. He was fourth in 2010 and seventh last year and with the backing of a strong team in the shape of Synergy Energy Baku Cycling Team, he can win. Peter Hawkins, also from Belfast, riding for the IG-Sigma Sport team is a class act and has been just outside the top 10 in the past. The An Post-Chainreaction Irish trio of Ronan McLaughlin, Sam Bennett and Sean Downey could all challenge, to name but a few.
Youngest rider in the race
Eoin McCarthy (19) Visit Nenagh Team DMG (Tipperary). DOB: 21/9/1993. Based in Belgium, he’s an Irish U23 international and is riding his first Rás.
Oldest rider
Joe Fenlon (42) Team AquaBlue Cork Team. He’s just won the Tour of Ulster so he’s not quite ready for the pipe and slippers just yet.
Race info
This year’s Rás covers 1180km over eight stages with 33 categorised climbs, including four category one climbs - Healy Pass, Gorteen, Drumgoff and Wicklow Gap. This is the 61st edition of the race, and this year's route is designed by cyclist and former stage winner, Stephen O'Sullivan.
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