Dunboyne ready for rs start on sunday

Next Sunday the 2015 An Post Eight-Day International Ras begins from Dunboyne and will take the riders around Ireland with stage finishes in Carlow, Tipperary, Bearna, Newport, Ballina, Ballinamore, Drogheda before the final stage into Skerries on Sunday 24th May.

Some 175 cyclists, representing 15 International teams along with 20 Irish county teams will depart from Dunboyne at 12.30pm on the 154.4km opening stage to Carlow next Sunday.

This stage will feature four third category climbs at Sherlockstown, Boherboy, Hacketstown and Kilcommon.

There will be Hotspot Sprints at Naas, Clonegal and Ballon and time bonuses will be on offer to the winner of each sprint.

It is expected that the stage into Carlow will finish at approximately 3.43pm.

This year’s Ras will hold huge local interest with lots of riders returning from overseas to contest this prestigious event.

Men like Irish Elite National Road Race champion Ryan Mullen, who competes with the An Post Chain Reaction team and who has family members residing just outside of Duleek, could well be in contention for a podium finish.

Javan Nulty from Cooperhill in Julianstown is another rider who will make it home for the An Post Ras. He has been competing in the south of France all season and will be teaming up with his Meath DID team teammates as will Tim O’Regan who has been racing in the UK since the beginning of the season.

Another extremely strong rider on this same team will be the very much in-form Mark Dowling who has recently won the Tour of Ulster four-day, four-stage race.

Dowling is a prolific rider and normally he would be in line for a top finishing position, but with the absence of severe climbs throughout the entire Ras, and this is where Dowling excels, it just may not suit him this year.

Another rider in this year’s line-up will be ex-Drogheda Wheelers cyclist, Daragh Campbell who now competes with the Novo Nordisk Development team in the USA.

This team comprises riders who all suffer from Diabetes and it will be the first time that the team competes in this race and will also be 20-year-old Campbell’s first Ras. On the final stage from Drogheda to Skerries, the Ras will pass his home on the outskirts of Donore village.

The Meath Martin Donnelly/Fast Shipping team of Colin Robinson, Colm Laverty, Niall Doggett and Stuart Cox.

Clemens Fankhauser from Austria, who won last year’s An Post Ras, is returning to defend his title.