With the start of the FBD MILK RAS being today, Race Organiser Dermot Dignam, confirms there are no late withdrawals and the scene is set for a record breaking race. One hundred and ninety riders, the highest ever from a unprecendented number of countries will face the starter in Navan next Sunday. For the first time the race is included on the Calendar of International Events making it one of the select group of world-wide events eligible to award Union Cycliste Internationale qualifying points for Olympic Games, World Cycling Championships and ranking points for professional teams.
Teams from Poland, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, USA, Britain, Scotland and Wales will compete against the best of Irish cycling. In recent days Dignam turned down requests from the professional Slovenian KRKA and French Big-Mat teams and from the German Federation for invitations to the race. The German Federation was keen on entering a national team.
On paper, the Swiss, Ficonseils team look to be one of the strongest squads in this year's race. Led by 2000 Giro D'Italia stage winner and former Linda McCartney pro, David McKenzie of Australia, the professional squad includes experienced stage race riders under the direction of former Giro rider and Tour of Romandie KOM winner, Jacques Jolidan.
Jet Fuel Coffee is the first ever and only Canadian professional cycling team. The team will be led by reigning provincial criterium champion, Josh Hall, and he will be backed up by a quartet of former and present Canadian national team members.
The USA team also includes present and future stars. 25 year old Joe Papp has been a member of the U.S national team since 1994 and Joe Miller has won three U.S national Championships and in 1999 was contracted onto the all-conquering US Postal squad of Tour De France winner, Lance Armstrong.
Other strong pro squads will be those of Poland's Legia Bazylisek and the Japanese outfit of Miyata-Suburu.
Teams returning to the Ras include those of MalarEnergi from Sweden which took a stage win into Listowel last year with Kristoffer Ingleby and the German Telekom - Jan Ullrich team, whose, Stefan Faruhn, held the King of the Mountains jersey for three days last year. These young German riders have aspirations of making it onto the senior Telekom squad of former Tour De France winner Jan Ullrich.
Last years winner, Julian Winn, will also be back to lead a strong Welsh team in defence of his title. The rest of the international line-up will be made up of BRC Kennennerland from Holland, RG Hamburg from Germany and provincial and national teams from Scotland and England.
The British Cycling Federation, determined to capture the number one spot at the end of the race, has named its strongest possible team. Led by in-form Chris Newton, winner of the recent world-ranking French Circuit Des Mines classic, the Brits just may this year have the team to fulfil a long standing ambition of conquering the difficult Irish roads and unique mix of international and county teams.
Ireland, not to be outdone, has probably one of the strongest teams in its history on the FBD MILK RAS. Leading the team will be current Irish national champion and CCC-Mat professional, David McCann from Belfast. He will be supported by experienced Tonnisteiner ex-pro and former national champion - Morgan Fox from Athlone, another former national champion and FBD MILK RAS winner, Tommy Evans from Belfast, former world Junior champion and future star Mark Scanlon of Sligo and in-form Dundrum man, Aiden Duff. All of these riders are based abroad and have enough ability and experience to certainly win stages and possibly win the Ras overall, hopefully collecting enough UCI points along the way to automatically qualify Ireland for future world cycling championships and Olympic Games.
The FBD MILK RAS and its entourage will wind it's way from Navan along it's 1,119 kilometre journey to stage ends in Ballaghadreen, Portumna, Castleisland, Killorglin, Skibereen, Dungarvan, Bunclody, taking in 31 mountain climbs including the likes of the Conor Pass, Mount Leinster and Molls Gap and finishing in Dublin on Sunday May 27th.
The Dublin finish will again this year be a spectacular Criterium on O'Connell Street/Parnell Square circuit, starting at 3pm.
The full list of competitors can be found here.
Issued by Gerard Cromwell.
Giro stage winner, David McKenzie is riding for FICONCEILS
Japan's MIYATA-Subaru team.
Joe Papp, leading the USA challenge
