Rás riders in for tough launch from Tallaght
COMPETITORS in next week’s Rás Tailteann International Cycle Race will be keeping one eye firmly fixed on the start to Stage One in Tallaght.
Following assembly and registration at Tallaght Stadium on Wednesday, June 15, riders will move out towards the Jobstown House Pub where the flag will drop to signal the start of the iconic race.
The first time that the event is being run since 2018, its return to the racing calendar has been hugely welcomed by the Irish and international cycling community.
Riders will cover 756km with eight categorised climbs, but it will be the challenge of the embankment from Jobstown that will preoccupy their early thoughts according to Lucan Cycling Road Club rider, Ronan Killeen, who will be guesting for Mayo-based team, Unit 7 in what will be his fourth Rás Tailteann.
“It’s starting from Tallaght this year and that embankment is going to be a real test” insisted Killeen.
“A lot of riders will have that on their mind as they look at the first stage.
Adriaan Pretorius of Lucan Cycling Road Club will be guesting for St Tiernan’s CC in the 2022 Rás Tailteann International Cycle Race
“There’s a lot of talented riders coming over, so the pressure is going to be on very early and spectators are going to see a lot of pained faces soon into the race.
“We haven’t had a start like this for the last few years and so the knife is going to be very much to the throat from really early on and riders won’t be looking too far into Stage One.
“Almost immediately there will be guys in real trouble in the first few kilometres of a 140km stage and that’s racing
“You really just want to get over that tough start and be in a reasonable position for when it comes to the more flattish roads” he told The Echo.
LCRC’s Ronan Killeen will be hoping to build on his Mondello Circuit Race win this year when he competes in the Rás Tailteann for the fourth time (Image: Sean Rowe)
Certainly the competition is going to be fierce with some ten visiting teams from the likes of the United States, the UK, Netherlands and Spain poised to compete alongside a further 25 Irish outfits in an event that will involve some 175 riders.
The Irish National team, Trinity Racing and EvoPro Racing, who include another top LCRC product in Conn McDunphy, are expected to be among the big hitters in what will be the 67th edition of the event.
Killeen is relishing the challenge and will be coming into this year’s competition on the back of some strong results.
Indeed, he carded a victory in a circuit race in Mondello and enjoyed a further three podium finishes in the Boyne GP, the Crotty Cup in Clare and the Waller Cup in Meath.
On top of that, he recorded a fifth-place finish in a National Series race only last week, leaving him on a sound footing for the big one next week.
“I’m happy to go into the Rás with those results, but again I understand how difficult stage racing is and the style of racing in Ireland is very hectic.
“My training has got more intense, getting more kilometres into the legs so that you get used to the fatigue that you’re going to come up against in the Rás.
“It’s over five days, so it’s just about being able to keep going day after day.
“Over the last month or two the training has gone up and you’re trying to compete in more back-to-back races to help you get prepared” he said.
While Killeen will be drawing on all the experience he has garnered in his three previous Rás races, his Lucan clubmates, Adriaan Pretorius and James Delaney will be making their debut in the competition next week.
A young Under 23 rider, Delaney will be lining out with Cycling Leinster Team for the 2022 Rás while South African, Pretorious, a more senior rider with the club, will guest for St Tiernan’s CC over the five days.
