Ireland's Aaron Buggle leads his Rapha team mates; they are Rás-bound and ready to for battle
With just one month remaining to the An Post Rás, the Rapha Condor JLT British pro team and Team GB development squad have both confirmed they will be on the start line in Dunboyne, Co Meath.
They add to the international flavour of this year’s race in joining with the previously confirmed teams for 2013 in the shape of Czech AC Sparta Praha, Denmark Blue Water, Germany Bike Aid, Austria Gebruder Weiss and the Canadian national team.
Rapha Condor JLT is a UCI-ranked Continental team based in the UK but with an international racing programme. Its manager John Herety has been bringing teams to the Rás for many years and his riders have won it several times, most recently in 2009 with Simon Richardson.
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Last year Richard Handley finished fifth overall and was best U23 rider overall. The squad was also third in the international team classification. Herety said his riders are looking forward to a good race this year.
“We will target stages to start with, and then look at the general classification after four days of racing. Rich Handley and Mike Cuming will be the leaders.”
Ireland’s Aaron Buggle will also be very competitive and is a former U23 national TT champion. Buggle rode the race for Dan Morrissey-Speedy Spokes last year and was very aggressive and also picked up a number of county rider prizes on stages.
He was riding well in Australia in January when he crashed badly but appears to be regaining form well. He will be keen to put up a good showing for what will be his first ride in the Rás in the colours of a professional team.
The squad’s Rás line-up will be completed by Elliott Porter, the son of former top professional Jaanus Kuum and double Olympian Maria Porter, plus the 2012 Junior Tour of Wales third-place finisher Ed Laverack. Porter is relatively new to the sport, having only started racing last year but has already found his way into the pro ranks.
Herety said by the time the team reaches the race start line it will have some very good events under its belt.
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“By then we will have done the Tour of Mzansi in South Africa, the Tour du Loir et Cher, the Tour of Normandie, Boucles de l’Artois & domestic races in the UK, including the Tour of Reservoir and the Lincoln GP.”
Former pro Keith Lambert will guide the Great Britain development squad. He said his line-up would not be finalised until after the Flèche du Sud, one week before the start of the An Post Rás. But he gave an indication of who the riders may be.
The line-up may include Simon Yates, the world points race champion and a stage winner in the Tour de l’Avenir, plus Beijing World Cup 2011 omnium track race winner Sam Harrison, who has also taken silver and bronze in the team pursuit at the world track championships.
Also in the provisional line-up are Commonwealth Games 2010 points race runner-up George Atkins, former junior Peter Buckley Series winner Ali Slater and Owain Doull, who was fifth in this year’s world scratch race championship behind Ireland’s Martyn Irvine.
“They are obviously a young team but I think they have the pedigree to challenge for the race,” said Lambert.
The team will prepare by riding the Ardennes Challenge four-day, then the Tour of the Reservoir Premier Calendar race in Britain plus the five-day Flèche du Sud in Luxembourg.
“We’ll then hopefully arrive at the Rás in good shape,” said Lambert.
An Post Rás race director Tony Campbell knows that both teams could have a very big role to play.
“Both the Rapha Condor JLT and the Great Britain development squad look very strong, and their managers have a huge amount of experience,” said Campbell.
“They understand the tactical skills needed to succeed in the An Post Rás and should be instrumental in shaping the final outcome. The strength of the foreign teams looks very promising, and we will confirm several more in the coming weeks.”
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