Several Rás riders, including Roger Aiken, have winter vomiting bug and some were forced to abandon on he road to Cahirciveen yesterday. There are fears for the rest of the field (Photo: Ramsey Cardy - Sportsfile)
Having reached the halfway point at the conclusion of the fourth stage into Cahirciveen yesterday afternoon, the winter vomiting bug has hit the Rás.
The highest profile casualty so far has been Roger Aiken of the North Louth team who was forced to climb off his bike and abandon during yesterday’s stage.
His team mate Liam Dolan was similarly forced to abandon yesterday; bitter blows for both men, with Aiken having displayed great form last year and also in making the breakaway on Tuesday while Dolan has been in fantastic form all season.
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Also out, and travelling with the men from North Louth, is Sean Loughran. The South Louth team member is also suffering from the condition.
Manager of North Louth, Dominic O'Brannagain confirmed the riders started feeling ill on Tuesday evening just hours after Aiken made a brave bid for stage glory from the winning breakaway into Charleville.
While they were ill through the night into yesterday morning they started the stage and despite Aiken getting to almost the 100km marker and the others racing for well over an hour, they simply had to abandon.
O'Brannagain, a consultant physician and clinical director at our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, confirmed it was the vomiting bug that had floored them.
He said other teams had also been hit by the bug, including the visiting Australian Subaru team. He warned that riders and support staff need to be careful.
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“There have been some races internationally where it has wiped out large sections of the field, up to 50 to 60 riders or so in a few days,” he said of the bug's potential to sweep through a peloton.
“A load of guys in the Rás have it. Our riders who were forced out took to the start today but they simply had no power at all. There are a good few others that have it and a couple of managers off teams too.”
He said his men were due to be dropped to the train this morning to travel home and were “gutted” to be out of the race.
“It’s very disappointing. When guys put in the effort that they do all winter; up a 6am to put in some riding before work. It’s a huge setback for this to happen to them."
O'Brannagain added the virus was highly infectious and could be passed on through people shaking hands, among other methods.
“It’s a matter of hand hygiene and people sterilising bottles, that kind of thing, and that people aren’t switching food from one rider to another,” he said of the precautions that those still on the race might take.
“It can be rampant and it can wipe out a race over a few days if people aren’t taking precautions.”
He observed a number of riders going well off the side of the road during natural breaks yesterday and took that at as a sign that more riders were ill than those he knew about.
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