Featuring 28 categorised climbs, of which three are first category ascents, plus eight days of racing and a total of 1247 kilometres, the route of the 2011 An Post Rás has been unveiled. Just over three months remain until the May 22nd start of the race and there’s every indication that this year’s edition will be a close-fought, gripping battle of tactics and strength.
Beginning in Dunboyne and moving counter-clockwise around the country, the race will include stage finishes in locations such as Portumna, Kilrush, Castleisland, Castletownbere, Blarney, Tramore and Kildare. After battling through many counties and under all sorts of weather conditions, the riders will conclude things on Sunday May 29thwith the now-customary, crowd-thronged finale in Skerries.
This year’s race will make history on two fronts; it is the first with new title-sponsor An Post, and it will also see a working group take responsibility for organising the race, overseen by race director Dermot Dignam.
He has worked closely with a large number of people in the past number of months, both in planning this year’s race and also in laying down the structure that will run the event for many years to come.
He has worked closely with a large number of people in the past number of months, both in planning this year’s race and also in laying down the structure that will run the event for many years to come.
“This year we took the innovative step of asking a cyclist, Stephen O’Sullivan, to design the route, Stephen has a wealth of experience as a RÁS rider having competed no less than seventeen times and a stage winner into Tullow a few years, and will also be in the line-up again this year,” said Dignam. “I believe he has come back with a route that will test to the extreme each and everyone of the riders from the ten countries expected to participate. It is a most challenging route with long, hard, gruelling stages, fast open stages and mountain climbs spread over seven of the eight stages of the race”.
With three first category climbs, seven second-cat ascents and nineteen third category ramps, the final winner will be a very complete rider. He will need to be physically talented, but also tactically astute and able to read what is one of the most unpredictable races on the international calendar.
2011 An Post Rás:
Stage 1, Sunday May 22: Dunboyne – Portumna, 148 kms
Stage 2, Monday May 23: Portumna – Kilrush, 164kms
Stage 3, Tuesday May 24: Kilrush – Castleisland, 175kms
Stage 4, Wednesday May 25: Castleisland – Castletownbere, 142kms
Stage 5, Thursday May 26: Castletownbere – Blarney, 156kms
Stage 6, Friday May 27: Blarney – Tramore, 172kms
Stage 7, Saturday May 28: Tramore – Kildare, 157kms
Stage 8, Sunday May 29: Kildare – Skerries, 133kms
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment