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Last Updated: 12 Oct 2020 - 3:04:43 PM |
AN POST TEAM GEARED UP AND READY TO DELIVER AT RAS
By Shane Stokes
15 May 2009,
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| Paidi O'Brien, Mark Cassidy, David O'Loughlin and Benny De Schrooder. Niko Eeckhout will also compete with the team. (photo by Sportsfile) |
The An Post Sean Kelly Team is back on home soil for the first time this year ahead of this weekend's FBD Ras, which gets underway in Kilcullen, Co. Wicklow on Sunday. Mark Cassidy was confirmed as the final member of a five man An Post team on Wednesday, which includes two further Irish riders, David O'Loughlin and Paidi O'Brien. However, last year's Ras champion Stephen Gallagher is ruled out and will not be back to defend his title.
World Track bronze medallist and recent Olympian, David O'Loughlin, who made his debut in the Ras in 1997, will be competing in the Ras for the first time as part of the An Post team. The three Irish riders will be joined by Belgian duo Nicko Eeckhout and Benny De Schrooder.
Bogaerts had named four team members for the Ras last week, but waited until this week before confirming the final rider to take the fifth position in his Ras team. Irish rider Mark Cassidy, who wore the yellow jersey at last year's Ras for one stage before being forced to pull out due to injury, got the nod for the fifth and final place and is confident he can put in a good showing over the challenging eight stages.
"I took a heavy fall in last year's Ras that I hadn't fully recovered from and it was my pelvis that was causing me problems, so it was quite painful and the recovery time has been slow," Cassidy said. "I've been back racing since the end of March though and I feel in good condition. I wasn't sure of my place in the team until the last minute, so I'm delighted to be in and want to reward the manager for putting his faith in me."
"My aim is to take a stage but I'm very confident of a good team performance as we have a strong team in place now that can do well over the week. Stephen (Gallagher) is not here to defend his title but I hope one of us can put in a performance like he did last year and secure successive Ras wins for the team."
Ras veteran and World Track medallist, David O'Loughlin, joined the An Post team this season and found the adjustment from the Track to the road a major challenge.
"This is probably my tenth time competing in the Ras as I debuted back in 1996 but have missed a few in between," O'Loughlin said. "I'm looking forward to the Ras as it was one of the key races I looked at when I joined the team. Racing in Ireland is always special and we have a strong team that I'm confident can perform well.
"In terms of my own performance, I'm happy with how I'm doing but it was a big challenge to adjust from the Track, with the emphasis on power and speed, to the road, where endurance is vital. We trained hard before the season started and have continued to put in the work in the past few months, so hopefully it will stand to us on Sunday and over the week."
An Post team manager Kurt Bogaerts believes his team has improved a lot even since last year's memorable Ras victory, and hopes his An Post team can put in a good showing in their first race back on home soil this year.
"We did very well at last year's Ras, so the confidence coming into the race is high," Bogaerts said. "The team of five we have is strong and the Belgian riders Niko and Benny are riding well, but a race back in Ireland is a big opportunity for the Irish guys, so hopefully they can do well. Last year there was great support for the team, which really helped also. We are confident but know it will not be easy."
The An Post Sean Kelly team are competing in the 57th edition of the FBD Ras, running from May 17th until May 24th. Starting in Kilcullen and travelling clockwise through fifteen counties, the gruelling 1289 kilometre route will see the riders slug it out over twenty categorised climbs. Stages will finish in Wexford, Cobh, Cahirciveen, Killorglin, Scariff, Castlebar and Clara, while Skerries is once again the setting for the big finale of the race. Massive crowds are once again expected there, cheering on the international field after another gripping, suspense-filled eight days of racing.
An Post Sean Kelly Team - FBD Insurance Ras (Uci 2.2)
David O'Loughlin (IRL)
Paidi O Brien (IRL)
Niko Eeckhout (BEL)
Benny De Schrooder (BEL)
Mark Cassidy (IRL)
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13/5/09 CASSIDY TO GET SECOND CHANCE IN RAS
Meath man Mark Cassidy has won his battle to reach peak race fitness in advance of next weeks FBD Insurance Ras and has taken the last spot on the An Post team.
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| Mark Cassidy (Sportsfile) |
Cassidy looked destined for success early in last year's Ras, taking the yellow jersey after stage three, 25 years after his father ' double Ras champion Phillip Cassidy ' took his own first yellow jersey, but crashed out only 24hours later, after a nasty fall left him with a badly bruised arm.
Cassidy joins fellow Irish riders Paidi O'Brien and David O'Loughlin, who is riding in the green of An Post for the first time. The Mayo man won the final stage of last years Ras, and shared the podium with his current team mate, An Post man Stephen Gallagher, the overall Ras winner.
Following on last years strong showing by Irish riders - three Irish riders held the yellow jersey ' David McCann and An Post riders Stephen Gallagher and while McCann, Ciaran Power and David O'Loughlin took stage wins - there is huge expectations on the three Irish riders on the An Post team going into the race.
"It was very disappointing, crashing out like that last year; I was enjoying fighting for the jersey, defending it that way. But it was good to have had the jersey for a day." Said Cassidy "It gives me the appetite to ride hard and achieve more of the same this year"
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| David O'Loughlin, Mark Cassidy, Benny De Schrooder and Paudi O'Brien of the An Post Sean Kelly FBD Rs Team with Barney Whelan, (Director of Communications An Post) |
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