The message to county riders is clear; get your tactics right and be smart in this year's Rás and you may go a lot further than you think. So says three-time Olympian David McCann, seen above leading Brian Kenneally in the 2007 race.
Omitting all of the country’s tougher climbs in favour of a route which puts a greater emphasis on speed and dealing with possible windy conditions is a gamble for the An Post Rás.
However, three-time Olympian and former race winner David McCann welcomed the new-look route.
“It is going to keep more people in contention,” he said at the route launch yesterday.
“We have seen some of the Ráses [sic] with first category climbs and 15 people finishing within the same minute on GC after the day. It is just going to be more of that.
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“In some ways it will keep more guys in contention.
“The best county riders have shown they can climb with the internationals but, without the big climbs, more of the county riders have a real chance.
Victorious on stage 6 into Kenmare in 2000; he would finish 2nd two days later when team mate Stephen O'Sullivan took victory from a two-man escape.
“It is definitely a Rás for these guys to step up and stop [just] thinking about the county prize,” he reasoned.
“There is no reason why they can’t think of going for yellow.
“It is a Rás that is open to anyone who has a bit of a smart head on him. It is obviously going to be very tactical, having the right guys in the right breaks.
“This could be the first Rás in a while where we could put pressure on to bring home an Irish winner.”
That said, he did emphasise the value of experience and said that the Irish contenders would have to choose their race strategy carefully.
“It is not just about using your legs; it is about using your head as well.”
McCann knows the race well and has excelled on various occasions.
In the yellow jersey and heading for the overall win on the final stage in the Phoenix Park in 2004.
His message was that every rider needs to clock up experience and gain the necessary strength, and how the first participation goes is no reflection on later performance.
“The first Rás I did, I didn’t see the front all week,” he said.
“I think Paul McQuaid won that one and I was right at the back, suffering.”
Years later he would take the final overall victory.
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Then, in 2011, he and his then RTS Racing team mate Martyn Irvine helped turn around a mixed Irish performance when they took back to back stage wins on the seventh and eight stages.
“Both Martyn’s stage win and mine were testimony to just having a go, never say die,” he said.
“We hadn't got a lot out of that Rás and bagged those two stage wins just out of sheer bloody mindedness and determination. But it is possible.
With Stephen O'Sullivan on Rás stage 4 into Tralee, Co Kerry; McCann would win on the day and take the yellow jersey.
“It has changed [since becoming a UCI international event] but it stays the same as well.
“It has a special character; I don’t know if it is just because I am Irish and it is an Irish race [that I feel that way], but I honestly don’t think it is that.
“Other international riders have said to me to verify it that it has a character. Some races don’t seem to have anything like the same character.
“I think a lot of credit should go to stage end organisers. They do a fantastic job every year, as do the whole organisation team.
“It is a family. It has the character that people want to come back to the race.
“I don’t think there are teams who come and don’t want to sample more of the Rás.
“To me it is a sport that deserves a bit of support, so it is great to see An Post get behind it. Having the international teams coming is great.
McCann winning the final Rás stage into Skerries in 2011 having held off the entire field.
“But also to see the participation at stage ends and kids getting involved, that is exciting.
“Going forward it will be good to see even more of these participation rides and getting more people on bikes.”
On whether he might line out once again at 41 years of age, he said: “You are always tempted. Sometimes discretion is a better part of the valour.
“It would be exiting to be involved with some of these younger guys who have the potential to win it. That is what I have moved on to doing [as a coach].
“But I would never say never. There are so many good memories from the Rás.
“Me and (now route planner) Stephen O’Sullivan finished off a one-two on a Rás stage riding for the same team, and I was involved in other one-twos over the years.
“So, yeah, I would be tempted, but I would have to think about it for a while.”
Looking good in yellow nearing the finish of the 2004 edition of the race.
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