The facial expression says it all; Tim Barry (right) leads in a group at the end of stage 6 into Rathdrum on the 2005 Rás. The man in the green of Ireland on the far left is Stephen Gallagher, who would win the race three years later.
It has broken men mentally and physically. But the Rás retains its special place in Irish sporting history precisely because of its chaotic and savage nature. Each year the standard creeps higher and county riders are put under more pressure. But Irish riders can up their game in many ways to make sure they escape the dreaded time cut and survive to become Men of the Rás, writes former international Tim Barry.
Still firmly planted in the minds of many people is the controversy last year when so many riders, most of them county men, were eliminated on stage 4 from Listowel to Glengarrif.
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In total, 25 men went out of the race when they were more than 20 per cent outside the winner’s time. That official time limit was rigidly enforced. And unlike previous years, the riders’ appeals fell on deaf ears.
I’m not going to debate the rights or wrongs of that decision or tease out the complaints from some county riders who argued the Rás had abandoned them by setting the bar too high and forgetting its roots.
But having been lucky enough to be at the front of the race once in my career - but more often than not, at the back - I feel there are a few things the average county rider can do to increase his chances of survival in this new era of the “professional” Rás.
I hope the pointers in this piece will be of use to riders tackling the Rás for the first time or maybe even for riders who have been around it before but are looking to improve.
Even if you aren’t riding the race this year, hopefully there’s something in this piece you can put into action in other races.
Firstly, for those of you hoping to ride the race in May, let’s look at where you are now.
If you haven’t got the long winter miles in your legs by this stage it’s simply too late.
Not everybody can be like former professional and double Rás winner Ciaran Power and dust down his bike in January to take on the challenge; think 2015 instead.
Double race winner Ciaran Power taking an epic stage 4 into Listowel in 2006; not everybody can be like the former professional and ride the race on limited preparation. If you're not ready, don't chance it. (Photo: Eddie Dawson - http://www.rastailteann.com)
Next, if you can’t finish the biggest races on the domestic calendar; Rás Mumhan, the Tour of Ulster, Des Hanlon Memorial and The Shay Elliot, then the Rás is no place for you.
I mean it’s not for you for the moment anyway. Bide you time and take it on when you’re ready for it.
A lot has been said recently regarding the average distances of races in Ireland, with most being only 100km long. These races won’t get you ready for eight days of 150km per day.
But luckily nobody is stopping you from cycling home after a race on a Sunday. So don’t use the short races on the domestic calendar as an excuse.
Nobody said it was going to be easy and if they did, they were lying!
Find a team
Find a well organised team. There is nothing worse than arriving exhausted every day at the stage end to find your “hostel” is 50km away again and the team van has broken down for the fourth time that week.
You won’t want a manager checking high stools for comfort with the mechanic, who isn’t actually a mechanic but more of a drinking buddy for the manager and can wash all the team bikes in four minutes.
You don’t want to find the masseur has hands like a butcher and the deft touch of a drunken elephant, causing your nightly massage to be less than a pleasurable experience and more painful than the stage itself.
Finding the right team may seem a bit daunting at this time of the year but worry not. By the Tuesday after the Tour of Ulster there will be plenty of spots available as reality kicks in and the bluffers are found out. It happens every year.
Not too long ago, one team even had to get their mechanic to ride the first stage of the Rás so the team could start with enough riders to satisfy the UCI regulations.
These were the winners on the day - wrapped up in tinfoil blankets - so you can imagine what state the back markers were in. Get a good team who will look after you and prepare well. Get organised and kitted out properly for everything this savage race can throw at you. Left to right, Eugene Moriarty, Roger Aiken and Morton Hegerberg after Aiken won stage 1 into Emyvale in 2005 (Photo: Eddie Dawson - http://www.rastailteann.com)
Stage 1 start line - the finish is only a week away
This will be fast and nervous. Furious opening stages are standard in every stage race in the world and the Rás is no exception.
So keep that in mind as you crest the first climb at 45kph. If you don’t take the mountains jersey at least you will get a few “Stravas” along the way.
The speed will settle as the week goes on and this also applies to the nervous tension in the bunch.
Just because that skinny tanned French lad behind you has his brake lever imbedded in your butt cheek for mile after mile doesn’t mean he’s looking for a fight or a boyfriend.
So save your aggression for when you will really need it; swinging at the end of a line-out later in the week.
Feeding
You can’t ride a stage race without learning how and when to get a feed from your team car. In the Rás, as per UCI rules, feeding can only take place after 50km has been covered and always behind the commissaire’s car.
Be patient, because once you put your hand up for a bottle it may take a little time for your car to arrive from its position in the cavalcade, which will probably be at the back.
Whatever you do, don’t go back into the cavalcade looking for your car. Just do not do it.
The 50km rule has confused a few Rás virgins over the years. A rider once asked me would I keep an eye out for the commissaire so he could take a quick drink from his bottle.
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The poor guy had been told by his manager that there was no feeding in the first 50km and had taken it quite literally.
It looks great on the TV, but just do not go back to the cars for any reason during a stage; it creates too much work to get back on. Wait for your car to come to you, and be patient. (Photo: Eddie Dawson - http://www.rastailteann.com)
Equipment
Don’t turn up the day before the Rás with anything new or untried. Also, buy a box of pins as it’s totally acceptable to put more than four pins on each race number to stop them flapping in the wind like plastic parachutes.
After all, you spent the entire GDP of a developing African country on your latest deep section carbon wheels so you might as well look the part.
Wet bag
Leave a bag in the team car with heavy gloves and rain cape in case the weather turns nasty mid stage. Heading to Clifden from Tipperary a number of years back the temperature dropped from +12 to just above freezing, leaving the majority of riders in a bad way.
Former Cycling Ireland president Rory Wyley - a tough but skinny individual - saw his Rás finish when he developed hypothermia mid stage, forcing him out.
My recollection of that day is of almost crashing with former stage winner Stephen O’Sullivan close to the finish. We were so cold neither of us could use our brakes nor steer our bikes.
Having to shower with my gear still on after the stage because I couldn’t use my hands remains one of my Rás highlights.
The weather has been excellent for the last number of years. But without trying to sound like a cycling Nostradamus; this can’t go on forever.
You haven't lived until you've hurtled down Healy Pass, Co Kerry, in the rain on a Rás, like these riders in 2011. The race has been dry in recent years but this is Ireland so the dry editions won't last. Pay attention to details like having a wet bag ready and spare kit like capes and gloves in your team car even on stages when it's warm at the start. Nothing will crack you like being caught out by the cold when you're already on your hands and knees (Photo: Eddie Dawson - http://www.rastailteann.com)
Natural breaks
This is a delicate subject, but with stages of 4 hours plus you will have to go sometime unless you plan on racing in a dehydrated state for the entire week.
During the stage you have two options: hope that with the new style of “pro” racing in the Rás the yellow jersey will call a piss stop, or else learn to “go on the go”.
The first option usually entails all the foreigners stopping with the yellow jersey. Then a few bewildered Paddies realise opportunity has knocked. But by the time they stop, the yellow jersey is back in the bunch and racing has resumed, leaving a trail of half emptied county riders chasing in the cavalcade.
“Going on the go” requires excellent bike handling and steady nerves. If you’re going to use this option you will need to practice it on a quiet road in training. Just don’t get caught; you might get arrested and I’ll deny that I ever gave this advice (and it will be deleted from stickybottle – Ed).
Also, never attack during a piss stop. The rider who does will never be forgiven and the 2km of fame you spend up the road will not be worth it. When you return to the bunch you’ll be treated like a leper.
The cavalcade
If you find yourself in the cavalcade for whatever reason, the key to getting back to the bunch is not to panic. The biggest mistake people make is to try to get back to the bunch too quickly, causing them to blow totally and get dropped.
Always keep looking up for safety and never at the bumper in front of you. Watch for the brake lights on the cars ahead. This is the time to move from car to car as the vehicles slow down.
The men from the Mayo Centra team looked pretty wasted after the 2012 Rás stage into Budoran; but they got through. With the new stringent enforcement of cut of times, it is more important than ever that county riders who find themselves in the grupetto work together. Sitting on is contagious so share the load and get everyone through to fight another day. (Photo: Oliver Whyte)
Grupetto riding
The grupetto is the bunch of dropped riders that forms at the rear of the race most days. In the grupetto everybody must ride. If one rider sits on another rider will and then another.
Or as British professional and former Vuelta points classification winner Malcolm Elliot summed it up one day as he pulled my legs off on the race; “sitting on is contagious”.
Despite the different coloured jerseys, everybody in the grupetto is a team mate for the day. If riders don’t all work together the time limit can be missed and then everybody is out of the race. Think ‘shared goal’.
The real danger occurs if there is a climbers’ prime early in the stage, like Listowel last year. Obviously, if you get dropped early you have far longer to ride to the finish with the potential to lose a lot more time. Watch out for stages 5 and 7 this year.
Finally, never (ever - Ed) commit the cardinal sin of some county riders.
After a nice steady 80km of up and over with your “new” grupetto teammates, close to the finish some idiot always attacks in order to take 178th on the stage and move up from the sixth to fifth page on the general classification sheets.
This offence should be punished with water boarding.
Stay with the group and save your energy. You will probably need it the following day and you also don’t want to have made 30 new enemies by pissing off the entire grupetto.
It may have changed over the years and people’s expectations have had to mirror those changes. But I‘ve ridden my last Rás and miss it already.
The Rás truly is a beautiful race and one I fell in love with from a young age; watching it in the Kerry Mountains when I should have been in school.
To those trying it for the first time; work hard, be realistic and be willing to suffer. Trust me, it will be worth it and you too can become a Man of the Rás.
Thanks for reading
Tim
Donal Harrington of the Mayo Centra team crashed on the opening stage in 2012 but battled on bloodied to finish and went on to complete the race. Because of this photo - by Stephen McCarthy of Sportsfile - he became the face of Rás 2012; the stand-out county man among the Men of the Rás.
