Kurt Bogaerts, being interviewed by RTE's Roy Willoughby, is expecting a tough Rás for his An Post-Chainreaction charges
By Brian Canty
An Post-Chainreaction team manager, Kurt Bogaerts has hailed the performance of Sean Downey at last weekend’s Circuit de Wallonie race (1.2) in Belgium where the Banbridge rider took a career best result of fifth.
Bogaerts said Downey had been comfortable all day in the bunch, was disappointed the result wasn’t in fact better and that a ride of that calibre had been coming after a strong showing in Holland the week previous.
“Yeah we are very happy, we had a really good race, we were in the breakaway with two men (Nicolas Vereecken and Laurent VandenBak). All the guys were in the pack and were comfortable. Two guys survived of that breakaway – Nicolas was a little bit afraid to go with them so early.”
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“Normally, it happens from the back from where Sean was, so he was a little bit unlucky that two guys stayed away with maybe 10 seconds at the end but he did a really, really good effort on the last climb – like a Seskin Hill type of climb. They did it five times and he was in the top every time and finished fifth so that was really good,” explained Bogaerts.
The Belgian said Downey had been planning this since the beginning of the season and was delighted to note that the second-year pro is learning the ropes of the scene so quickly.
“At the beginning of the season Sean gave me a list of the races he wanted to do well in. Wallonie was there. He had a tough year in the first year. What I prepare for and what I try to prepare the riders for is the level of racing we do. It’s not easy in the first year.”
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“But I pick young riders for the team because they need time to gain experience and get harder and tougher and then you can get results the year after. That’s happening now with Sean,” he said.
It’s likely Downey will start alongside Ronan McLaughlin and Sam Bennett as one of three Irish riders in the team for the An Post Rás, which starts on Sunday week. And picking that team is never easy, says Bogaerts.
“There are three factors that I always go on. They must, first of all, be in good shape. They must have the right ambition to do the Rás and be proud to go because it’s an important race for us. And then they need to be suitable to the course and that type of racing.”
“It’s not a typical pro race, it’s a really aggressive race with no peloton and you need to be prepared to do that. Then of course if the Irish guys are in shape I try to get them there because it’s their home race and everyone wants to do their home race.”
“I can almost be sure that the three Irish guys are ready but it’s very important they’re in the right shape because it’s a race where if you don’t have the shape, you cannot hide. It’s just not a race where, for example, a good sprinter can hide all day and win a stage; that’s not the Rás.”
“For the Rás you need to be fit to win stages. And as well, in our jersey it’s not easy; you cannot hide because we are watched and we need to be good and be in the best shape of the season for eight days.”
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