The Rás has gotten harder every year, but the Irish can still win stages, animate the race and can possibly still win overall. We profile the men we think will do the business.
The An Post Rás gets underway in Dunboyne tomorrow, Sunday, and though there hasn’t been an Irish winner since Stephen Gallagher in 2008 there’s still reason for the Irish to be optimistic.
The yellow jersey is extremely unlikely to be won by a home-based man, but plenty can challenge for stage wins and some of the foreign-based Irish riders have a chance of winning the race.
Here, we take a look at those who we think can animate proceedings over the next eight days.
David Montgomery: Team 3M
Until a few months ago, U23 man Montgomery was an off-road rider; his biggest win coming in January when he took the elite title at the National Cyclocross Championships. Since then he has secured a place on the Team 3M Belgian-based pro squad and performed very well with the Irish team abroad. He could be a surprise package in the week ahead (Photo: Kristof Bruers)
Advertisement
Damien Shaw: Louth - Team ASEA
The Mullingar man is flying a little under the radar this year, but only by his own high standards. He won a stage of the Tour of Ulster over the May Bank Holiday - with a fractured shoulder - to suggest he can be up there again. He's been in the hunt for Rás stage wins before and once his inury, sustained in a crash last month, doesn't drag him down he can scare all the pros in the field on his day (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
Mark Dowling: Meath - DID Electrical Dunboyne
The best pound for pound climber in the country will once again try for that elusive stage win. He won the Tour of Ulster two weeks ago and his form has only improved since then. He won three county rider awards in a row last year and can go a lot further if he attacks the race early and often; full on.
Sean Lacey: Cork - Aquablue
The Tralee man is having a very good year and is currently in second place in the re-launched National Road Series. He’s a good man for the breaks and always uses his matches wisely. Lacey only took his first county rider prize last year, but like some of the other county men in the race; if he gets into a decent breakaway, the race could very much open up for him (Photo: Marian Lamb – Cycling Ulster)
Patrick Clarke: Mayo - Fitscience
A stalwart of the Irish racing scene and former best county rider, Clarke won’t need any incentive to do well this year as the race has a stage finish right outside his workplace in Ballina. He loves to attack and isn’t intimidated easily. He's scored some good wins already this year. Expect him to get up the road this year, especially when the race hits Mayo (Photo: www.jimmymcelroy.com)
Chris Reilly: Louth - Team ASEA
The Bohermeen man is another who’s well able to tune himself for the Rás and this week usually sees him hit top form. Last year he made the break on the final day and was unlucky not to get a county rider prize. Reilly has not won the same number of races that others on the team have. But he is a very strong rider with big performances to come, whether it's in Rás 2015 we'll soon find out (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Sean McKenna: Cork - Aquablue
The talented Dubliner has looked incredible this year and has almost a dozen wins to his name. He’s been the man of the year and deservedly got his chance to ride the Nations Cup for Ireland. This is his biggest test yet, though. He's a completely different athlete even since this time last year. He has undoubtedly done enough already this season to get a trial with An Post-Chainreaction later in the summer, if he wants that life. A big performance here can be the making of McKenna (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Daniel Stewart: Antrim - Phoenix
Another promising young rider who rarely gets back to Ireland to race. But when he does he usually makes an impact, like at the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan where he helped teammate Sean McKenna to victory as well as getting into a few key moves. He's been racing in France for a couple of seasons so the international nature of the Rás field won't faze him. He is well capable of mixing it in the breakaways (Photo: Andréa Quémener)
Ali Macaulay: Louth - Team ASEA
Has had something of a breakout year so far, taking third overall at the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan and second in the Shay Elliott. He will look to maintain that trajectory in the week ahead and making some key breakaways would be a good ride. A bit of luck will help dictate where getting into a good move may take him (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
Related News
Ryan Mullen: An Post - Chainreaction
Now in his third season as an U23 rider and in his second with the An Post-Chainreaction team, this year's race route will suit a power rider like Mullen. He also now has plenty of experience riding in pro fields and can take care of himself when those crosswinds blow. He has definitely done his best work in time trials so far in his career, but it is possible that may change in the week ahead.
Robin Kelly: Mayo - Fitscience
Almost won the Tour of Ulster and took third in the Des Hanlon; two phenomenal results for a so-called ‘big man’. Kelly can sprint and he can get over the lumpy stuff so he should definitely push for a county rider prize, at least. He had contemplated not riding the race this year. But having shed a lot of weight in the off season and come to the decision that the route suited him this year, he goes to the start line as one of the very strongest county men in the race (Photo: DC Images)
Eoin Morton: Dublin - UCD CC
The Swords man was cruelly denied victory in the recent Tour of Ulster but can make up for that with a performance in the Rás. He can put out enormous power on the flat and hold his own in the big bunches. He won’t be one for sitting in the peloton. He got up the road last year several times. He seems to be going even better this year and he definitely won't be afraid to mix it. He's capable of aiming for the county rider prizes (Photo: George Doyle)
Bryan McCrystal: Louth - Team ASEA
We think the Dundalk man can contest a stage win but he needs all the cards to fall in his favour. Something like a sprint from a group of a dozen or a late solo attack could see him the land the big one. He's one of the few Irish riders in the race who will be able to go in a long breakaway and on his day still have the fire power to animate the final. He had a bad crash last year that ruined his race so there is a sense of unfinished business with the Rás (Photo: George Doyle)
Martyn Irvine: Madison Genesis
The former stage winner is getting better by the week and is in a great frame of mind for the Rás, expecting little but motivated to deliver a result for himself and his team. When Irvine won his stage in 2011 it was after he went clear in a day-long breakaway and then jumped them late in the day to escape the clutches of the closing select group. While in great form of late, he hasn't ridden a stage race on this calibre for a few seasons. But as long as his body holds up and recovers day after day, this could be his Rás (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
Peter Hawkins: Down North - Graham Powerhouse Sport
The Belfast man is a former yellow jersey wearer in the race but is now back in the amateur ranks in Belgium. He loves the Rás with a passion and has something of a score to settle since he crashed out two years ago. He has had a quiter season this year than in previous years but is a great man to peak for a particular goal and once he has gotten his timing right this time around, he can be right in the mix. (Photo: Toby Watson)
Roger Aiken: Louth - Team ASEA
The Banbridge man is a former stage winner and when on form is never far from the front. He admitted to stickybottle recently that he’s not at the form of 2013 when he was eighth overall but if anyone can pull a rabbit from a hat it’s Aiken. We'll know after a few days how his form is this time out. But after having to withdraw when a bug floored many riders in the field last year, Aiken would love to be back off the front again. And once he's able, that's where he'll be. Once again, he might light up the race. (Photo: Jerry Rafferty)
David Watson: Down North - Graham Powerhouse Sport
The commute to Scotland every week isn’t holding Watson back as he’s had a super season, winning the Coombes Connor Memorial as well as a stage and overall at the Tour of the North, among other events. It's hard to know how that form will transfer into what is an international pro race, but he has definitely been one of the men of the season on the domestic front to date. And he looks every inch a rider who can get in the breakaways this week.
Ronan McLaughlin: Cork - Aquablue
His days of having a chance at winning the race are behind him but he’s still at a very good level and can contest for stages. He’s good to sniff out a break and can hold his own on most types of terrain. McLaughlin was recently to the fore challenging for the Tour of the North yellow jersey and if he still has that form, expect to see him off the front this week (Photo with thanks to Source Studio)
Conor Dunne: An Post - Chainreaction
The big man for the big occasion; can Conor Dunne mount a serious overall challenge for An Post Chainreaction? The terrain is certainly to his liking so we think it's in the affirmative. He recently took 3rd on a stage on the Tour d'Azerbaijan. If he got into a few moves early in the race and was his team's best placed man after the midway stage, Dunne could pull a very, very big result out of the bag this week.
Topics
