Having ridden the Rás in 2005 and taken the B category classification in the UCI ranked race, well known Clonmel cycling figure Barry Meehan does not believe the inclusion of pro riders makes it too hard for county men. Instead, he suggests the domestic racing scene has become too soft.
The An Post Rás is over for another year and the withdrawal symptoms have set in. For the past few editions there has been a lot of talk about the Rás nowadays being too hard for amateurs and county riders who have day jobs and families to fit their training around. Suggestions include having a separate Rás for amateurs and leaving the current Rás to the professionals who are in search of UCI points. I disagree with this notion.
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The old Rás still had riders who would go on to be top professionals. Think of the likes of Giuseppe Guerini, Patrick Jonker and Tony Martin. Go back further and think of the Russians who were as strong as any of top professionals of that time. The British always sent their Olympic hopefuls and it was always the toughest race of the year.
People say that county riders can no longer be competitive but the ‘county rider’ has changed. In years gone by Ireland’s top amateurs spent much of the season riding international races abroad and came home to ride on county teams for the Rás. Sunday races had a regular field of international level riders too.
Out on the bike the other day I asked Michael Fitzgerald, who has won five stages of the Rás, how many times he has worn the green Irish jersey. The answer was 132 times. Any current rider at that level would be riding for An Post-Sean Kelly where they are now given the opportunity to develop their full potential. The Worlds and possibly the Tour of Britain seem to be the only time the Irish jersey is seen abroad now.
Sam Bennett is a huge talent and is the youngest ever Rás stage winner. He finished second and third on the last two stages this year and was unlucky not to get a win. But he was still probably the fastest sprinter in the race. Fifteen years ago he would have been on the Tipperary county team. As a county rider he would still be way above the level of the majority of the bunch.
Ronan McLaughlin did a fantastic ride to almost win a stage, getting caught within sight of the line. He gave it everything and more to try to win the stage. A ride similar to the best of an old-style county rider effort. Ray Clarke has finished second on five different stages and has been in a similar situation to Ronan on a number of occasions.
Dave McCann was on the podium in 1996 and won in 2004. With a bit of luck and less negative racing on the part of some of the foreign teams he could well have made the podium again this year. For a 40-year-old Irish rider who is just recovering from a horrific thumb injury to be that close dispels the notion that the Rás is now too hard for an Irish rider to get a result in.
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Adam Armstrong was best county rider and managed a third place stage finish whilst working in Tesco. Eugene Moriarty, who has seen plenty of the old and new Rás editions, was seventh on the final stage this year whilst holding down a full time job abroad. Robin Kelly from Waterford riding for Dan Morrissey-Speedy Spokes seemed to be a permanent fixture off the front of the bunch almost every day this year.
Gediminas Bagdonas is similar to the Russian riders of old. A man who could eat thunder and crap lightening; he would go through a wall for a win. He rides like his life depends on winning every race he starts. County riders get to learn a lot riding alongside a man like this.
The legendary tales of the fight that county riders put up to get around the race have not changed. Just look at Donal Harrington this year. A former 17-stone truck driver who crashed on the first stage and needed ten stitches over his eye. The doctor said he would have pulled him out of the race had he seen him during the stage but quitting was not an option for this Man of the Rás.
The Rás itself has evolved and kept up with the times. It is still a unique race on the international calendar. It still challenges the best riders in the country and further afield whilst giving the ‘ordinary’ Irish cyclist the chance to do something extraordinary. A separate, easier Rás will not produce a true ‘Man of the Rás’.
The main thing that has really changed is that Irish cycling has gotten softer. The Tommy Sheehan Memorial is lucky to get thirty riders to sign on as there are a few hills in it and then the Rás is deemed to be too hard. Hard races produce hard riders. If we want to see more Irish world-beaters in the future, making things easy is not the way to go. Each and every rider who crossed the finish line in Skerries on Sunday is all the better for it. Dermot Dignam and his crew are doing a fantastic job. There is and hopefully always will be only one Rás.
Barry
This story was first published on www.worldwidecyclesblog.com and has been reproduced here with the permission of the author.
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