A new ruling by the organisers of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan will see the number of A3 riders in the race dramatically reduced, while teams are set to be cut from six riders to five (Photo by John Coleman of Dc Images, homepage photo by Brendan Slattery)
By Brian Canty
The organisers of Kerry Group Rás Mumhan have made some changes to the format for this year's edition, with the big news being a limit to the amount of A3 riders each team can enter.
Last year, teams were made up of a maximum of six riders, with no restriction placed on the number of A3 riders in each line-up.
But this time around teams will be reduced to five riders, with no more than two A3 riders on each.
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A maximum of 40 teams will be permitted to enter; up to 200 riders in the field.
Places have been reserved for nine invited squads, leaving 31 places available for home-based teams.
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The smaller teams should make the Easter showdown harder to control, though like most stage racing in Ireland Rás Mumhan has always thrown up frantic racing.
And the restriction on the number of A3s may also mean the standard nudges higher, creating a harder race.
Again, teams are expected to come from the England, the Netherlands, Scotland and possibly one or two from abroad other parts of Europe, though they are yet to be confirmed.
As usual, the race takes place over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, which starts on Friday March 25th and runs until Monday March 28th.
The exact route details are yet to be finalised though it is expected to be along the lines of last year’s race.
That would see the riders crest one of the steepest roads in Ireland, the category one Coomanaspic, on Easter Sunday’s penultimate stage.
Entry will open on February 21st and close on 6th March with the full list of competitors and teams expected to be published on March 9th.
For more details check out the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan website by following this link.
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