Damien Shaw and Jack Wilson have been named in the The An Post Chain Reaction team that will chase success in this year’s An Post Rás, which begins on Sunday.
General manager Kurt Bogaerts has confirmed that national champion Shaw and Wilson will be joined by Belgians Nicolas Vereecken and Emiel Wastyn and New Zealand’s Aaron Gate.
The team has a strong history in the race, with multiple stage wins and overall victory in 2008 and 2011. They were one of the most dominant in last year’s edition and Bogaerts anticipates another strong showing, although his selection was complicated in recent weeks due to injuries.
One of those related to Shaw, who crashed in the Fleche du Sud on May 6th. He sustained a hairline fracture to his finger and was side-lined for several days. However, he was able to return to racing last weekend.
The Mullingar man also went into last year’s race with disrupted preparation but came good to place second, second and third on the final three stages. He then won the National Road Race Championships several weeks later. As a result of those performances, he subsequently secured a contract with the team.
Bogaerts said that while he still has a problem gripping the handlebars, he was able to race aggressively in last Sunday’s Shay Elliott Memorial and has decided to give him the opportunity to race.
“I made this selection a long time ago and I feel it’s the right one. Connor McConvey is riding really well and is unlucky to miss out. We have a new system on the team with long-term selections and I want to try this new approach, so we will see how it goes.”
Wilson decided to walk away from the sport last year due to a spate of injuries, but an intervention by Bogaerts and Sean Kelly convinced him to give it another shot.
“Jack has come from a long way,” he states. “He was basically at the end of his career last year. He stopped cycling but since coming back he now has a renewed motivation and is at a really good level. His consistency has ups and downs but is improving all the time.
“Gate is, I think, in really good condition but I’m not sure how the general classification (GC) will work out with the toughness of the course. Wastyn is a pure sprinter who can win a stage in the sprint and I’m excited to see how he will fare.
Vereecken was going really well but crashed at a recent training camp and had bad cuts to his leg. He’s a very strong character and is definitely capable, so I expect him to challenge for a stage win.”
Last year the team won two stages plus the points classification with Gate. Aidis Kruopis also took a couple of stages while Josh Edmondson and Ryan Mullen secured second and third overall in GC.
In addition to that, Mullen won the best young rider award and the squad topped the international team’s classification.
In addition to the Irish sponsored team, there will be 14 overseas squads in the race.
They include the Austria Tirol Cycling Team of 2014 race winner Clemens Fankhauser, Australia Data #3 Cisco Racing Team, Britain NFTO Pro Cycling, Britain Madison Genesis, Britain JLT Condor, Britain Pedal Heaven, Britain Neon Velo, Denmark Riwal Platform, France AVC Aix en Provence, Germany Stradalli Bike Aid, Netherlands Join-S de Rijke, USA CCB Racing and the Australian and New Zealand national teams.
Together, this line-up includes former Olympic medallists, past world champions, professional riders and some extremely experienced competitors who will play a huge part in shaping the outcome of the 2016 An Post Rás.
However, the overseas competitors won’t have things all their own way: a strong Irish national team comprised mainly of under 23 riders will be looking to make their mark, as will twenty county teams.
“The county riders are an integral part of the ethos of An Post Rás,” states race organiser Tony Campbell, “and, as ever, will be a big part of the story of the race. Many of these are working full time and have to fit in their training around that, but will still line out on Sunday with big ambitions and a willingness to attack.
They are a big reason why the race is as unpredictable as it is, and why it is so highly regarded.”
This year’s Rás will total almost 1240 kilometres, and will include 25 categorised climbs. The race will roll out from Dublin Castle this Sunday 22 May, with the venue chosen to mark the 2016 Easter Rising commemorations. After a neutralised section, the flag will drop in Clonee at 12.30.
The world-ranked event will feature stage finishes in Multyfarnham, Charleville, Dingle, Sneem, Clonakilty, Dungarvan and Baltinglass before concluding in Skerries on 29 May.
