Roger Aiken was one of the stars of the 2013 An Post Rás and route director Stephen O'Sullivan predicts the Banbridge man will be one of the best Irish riders again this year (Photo courtesy of Brendan Slattery)
By Brian Canty
Stephen O’Sullivan believes of the county men riding the Rás next week, Roger Aiken and Damien Shaw can really influence the race.
The DID Electrical Dunboyne man had to withdraw from the race for the first time in over two decades last week because of work commitments and an inability to train over Christmas due to injury.
But he believes the race will be suited to strong men who can ride in the wind while anyone used to riding in Belgium and Holland will also have an advantage.
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“It’ll be different this year to last,” explained former stage winner O’Sullivan.
“Someone like Roger Aiken will love it because the harder the racing the better it is for him.
“Once we get out west the weather will be a big factor; if it’s windy it’ll have a big effect on things.
Mark Dowling has had a great season so far and looks like he can really make a big impact on the An Post Rás next week. So says his DID Electrical Dunboyne teammate Stephen O'Sullivan (Photo: Toby Watson)
“To that extent I think any good, strong man will have a chance of surviving in the front.
“I think Shaw will be there and Dowling should go well if he switches the power on.
“Any rider used to racing in Belgium or Holland should be okay too…those with plenty experience of lineouts.”
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Having to withdraw from the race was a bitter pill to swallow for O’Sullivan but he’s not losing much sleep over it.
“I was on a wing of a prayer for a while,” he reasoned.
Damien Shaw has been right in the hunt for stage wins in the Rás before and with more experience of the race now under his belt, it should be very interesting to see how he gets on next week (Photo: Marian Lamb – Cycling Ulster)
“I wasn’t able to train pre-Christmas and I wasn’t able to do as much as I’d have liked.
“This is a race where if you can’t make the effort you can’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll be okay.
“I’ve 21 editions of it done, I know. The race deserves more respect,” he added.
As regards offering advice to those set to do it for the first time he said: “Respect the race but it’s not to be overwhelmed.
“It’s only a race, I know there are international teams but just give it enough respect.
“It’s all about energy conservation and saving energy for the following day. Recovery is the big thing I’d preach.”
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