The author Brian Ahern (Orwell) took the county rider prize on stage 7 into Cootehill last year. The new county rider jersey will be hard fought by strong riders like him.
Having put in some excellent rides in the Rás down the years, former international Brian Ahern has been forced to sit out this year’s race following a bad crash earlier this season. However, the Orwell rider will be joining us this week to bring us some of his expert views as the race unfolds. In his first dispatch he explains how the county riders will be feeling right now just before departure, what they need to watch out for on the road and who he’ll be keeping an eye on from the domestic scene.
Have I forgotten something? Packing your bag for a stage race is an art form and by now most of the county riders will have finished that process. You don’t want to show up at the start line in Dunboyne to discover you’ve forgotten your left arm-warmer or right overshoe.
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You need to pack enough to allow yourself dress appropriately for all weather conditions without packing too much. It can be a balancing act.
Just don’t forget your cycling shoes, helmet and bike. If needs be, you could probably get a loan of anything, even a bike, so don’t stress out about it.
When you arrive in Dunboyne you'll be greeted by a fanfare with a party atmosphere. You want to arrive early enough so you’re not rushing but not so early that you get unnecessarily restless.
The atmosphere in Dunboyne will be different to anything else you’ve experienced this season. When it’s your county team's turn to be called to the start line you'll roll forward up behind the pros and you'll be left waiting with butterflies in your stomach for a little while longer before the race begins.
That’s the worst bit. The adrenaline will have built up inside you and you just want the race to begin. Kids will be looking at you dreaming of being just like you one day. What they don’t appreciate is the impending sufferfest that lies before you.
After the neutralised lap of Dunboyne village (where your only goal should be to stay upright) the flag will drop and you’ll charge towards Summerhill at a higher cruising speed than you thought was possible.
You may need to bat away the negative thoughts that may pop into your head - “No way will I be able to do this for 8 days”! Oh yes you will!
Concentration is required and you really need to stay alert to everything that’s going on around you; always aware of road furniture, pot-holes, parked cars, sheep, tractors and other obstacles that will be thrown at you during the week. Stay Alert.
Riding in a pro peloton is different to the normal A1 races. It’s faster, more compact; sometimes aggressive and those around you are generally more skilful, have more stylish hairstyles and have better looking legs than you.
It’s easier said than done, but you need to try to stay in the top 30 riders if you can. That’s an art form. Guys who are good at it make it look easy and if you can become one of those guys you can look forward to an easier week than the guy with the massive power output who has poor bike handling skills.
You also need to ensure you eat enough, drink enough, hold that wheel in front of you and be stubborn. Do not let that wheel go. You’ll suffer and just when you think you can’t suffer any more, just push yourself a little bit harder and hang on that little bit longer. They might slow down....
At least if you do the simple things right you’re giving yourself a chance to challenge for a top stage placing. It has been proven that Irish county riders are good enough to get into breaks and challenge for stages. Why can’t it be you?
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I always pick a stage and try to give it a lash with an attitude that borders on stupidity. We are now in an age where social media makes it easier to get some recognition. Try to get yourself into a fancy photograph, or get your name on the exciting live twitter feed. Your loved ones will be watching, and seeing your name will provide them a bigger source of excitement than you appreciate.
I, like many others around the country and indeed the world, will be following the Rás closely during the week. I will be reviewing the GC sheets on a daily basis, reading the race communiqué looking to see who got into trouble on each stage.
Who will be first county rider on stage 1? On the rather big assumption that the first county rider will be sprinting in a frantic big bunch into Longford, I will go for the experience of Mehall Fitzgerald riding for the www.visitnenagh.ie team. I don’t care if you haven’t seen his name in too many results this season, he knows how to ride a bike and on stage 1 he will be fresh enough to compete.
Other contenders for this type of stage are John Lynch and Con Collis, both of whom are riding for UCD. Con went through the back window of his team car at last week’s Shay Elliot Memorial so he may still be suffering the ill-effects of that. Those two guys are made of tough stuff and will be in the mix.
As for the county rider GC at the end of this gruelling eight days; I think Roger Aiken of the Louth team is capable of winning it. He won a stage in 2005 and finished 2nd on GC in 2008 behind Stephen Gallagher.
At the recent Tour of Ulster he showed he’s back on form when he made a great effort to wrestle back the yellow jersey from the exceptionally strong Aquablue team.
I will also be keeping a close eye on Aiken’s team mate, Bryan McCrystal. He’s a national champion tri-athlete with a huge engine. If he can cope with the dynamic of riding in the professional peloton he could perform on a day for the hard men with line-outs and cross winds.
Other guys on my watch list include Damian Shaw, Tim Barry, Eoin Morton, Eric Downey, Chris Reilly, Art MacManusa and you can’t ignore the young lads who have been racing in Belgium since the start of the season – Conor Dunne and Eoin McCarthy.
Best of luck to everybody on the start line in Dunboyne tomorrow, especially my team mates representing the Orwell Dundrum Town Centre team. I’m gutted I won’t be there.
Have you packed spare safety-pins?
Brian
Brian was hoping to ride the Rás this year but suffered a scaphoid fracture in February from which he hasn’t recovered
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