Martyn Irvine won stage seven last year and will be looking for more in 2012
Olympic-bound Martyn Irvine and double Olympian David McCann are to target stage wins as their first priority when they line out with their RTS Racing Team in the An Post Rás next month.
Both former stage winners, and McCann a GC winner; they have also not ruled out overall victory.
“Stage wins will be the first priority,” McCann said.
“I’m not sure if the team would be able to defend the jersey. But if it works out to be able to go for the overall, then why not?”
McCann added it will be interesting to see how 26-year-old Irvine does in the race this year. He took a memorable stage seven solo win in 2011 and since then has focussed on his track riding, culminating in his securing a place in the omnium for the London Olympics.
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“It’s hard to say right now what Martyn is capable of this year, but we will both go into the race aiming for stages,” said McCann.
“Alex [Coutts] is a good climber and could do well with the tough stages around Donegal. He was fifteenth on the Genting Highlands stage in the 2011 Tour de Langkawi, which shows how strong he is. He played a big part in Martyn’s stage win in last year’s Rás.”
The two Irishmen and Coutts, winner of the 2008 Tour of Thailand, will be joined by the Taiwanese duo Chang Wei Yi and Huang Chin Lung.
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The team will ride the Tour of Korea in the run up to the Rás, with Irvine also due to train in Mallorca for a period before the Irish race as part of his preparation for London.
Race director Dermot Dignam said confirmation that the two Irish riders would be lining out this year had greatly enhanced the home challenge.
“They’re very strong riders and have performed well in the An Post Rás in the past,” he said.
“I expect they’ll be among the top Irish competitors this year, and will be in the thick of the action during the eight days of the race.”
Dignam also confirmed the French team AVC Aix en Provence would be on the start line this year. Their star turn Thomas Rostollan will most likely be team leader for the eight day event.
The 26-year-old has performed strongly in the past, netting second in the 2.2-ranked Circuit des Ardennes in 2010 and overall victory in the Tour de la Manche last year.
Antoine Lavieu, Jelle Lugten, Thomas Miquel and Remi Sarreboubee are provisionally listed as the other riders who will take part.
The 2012 An Post Rás will be the sixtieth edition of the race. It will begin on Sunday May 20th with a stage from Dunboyne to Kilkenny, and will continue with finishes in Gort, Westport, Bundoran, Buncrana, Killybegs, Cootehill and Skerries.
It will total almost 1,200 kilometres and will feature strong international professional and national teams from Europe and further afield.
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