Tour of Ireland (Pro tour - Aug)

michaelm

I know this is a little premature but is there any word on the grapevine on the route for this year's tour?

Caroline_ie

I did hear about a Northern start ... but i could be wrong.
The launch should happen next month afaik.

Chips Lovell

Lance has raised concerns about the roads. There's talk of most of the route being through Texas.

ednwireland

should be here when it is announced
http://www.tourofireland.ie/index.html
if i remember right it was quite late when the route was announced last year

and lance can just F**k off he's such a whiner, does anyone listen, does he think anyone cares what he thinks.

northern start might come somewhere near me hopefully (might get to see it this year)

Caroline_ie

scottreynolds

el tonto wrote: »

Lance has raised concerns about the roads. There's talk of most of the route being through Texas.

Yes after the Giro Centary celebrations I'm sure Lance will completely negate the racew after he wins the first stage.

kenmc

scottreynolds wrote: »

Yes after the Giro Centary celebrations I'm sure Lance will completely negate the racew after he wins the first stage.

Would be awful if the route brought them down one of the boreens where those wild thumb-tack plants grow

CheGuedara

Still loving the idea of painting

KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE

on the road up the biggest climb of the tour

Although sub in KELLY instead and if the man himself caught a glimpse of it on Eurosport it could be a bit of a laugh

Raam

CheGuedara wrote: »

Still loving the idea of painting

KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE
KIMMAGE

on the road up the biggest climb of the tour

Although sub in KELLY instead and if the man himself caught a glimpse of it on Eurosport it could be a bit of a laugh

Doubt the TOI will be on Eurosport
We did get a good 30 min program last year though.

scottreynolds

Raam wrote: »

Doubt the TOI will be on Eurosport
We did get a good 30 min program last year though.

That was pre-lance :-)

Chips Lovell

ALLEZ BASSONS
ALLEZ BASSONS
ALLEZ BASSONS
ALLEZ BASSONS

Raam

RAAM
RAAM
RAAM
RAAM
RAAM

Caroline_ie

Lance is definately bringing a lot of interest to the race and we should be expecting world wide press coverage, which is great for ireland

Raam

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Lance is definately bringing a lot of interest to the race and we should be expecting world wide press coverage, which is great for ireland

Aye, look what he did for France!

Caroline_ie

Raam wrote: »

Aye, look what he did for France!

Yes -Lance made the TdF what it today, never the tour de france would have been what is it today without the almighty Lance. The Champs Elysees are now called the Lance Elysees

The tour Before Lance:



The Tour post 1999:

michaelm

I only wanted to know if anyone (really meant Caroline!) had any inkling of the route - enjoyed the discussion though.

ednwireland

now you know what we're like on here !

any excuse to digress

Caroline_ie

michaelm wrote: »

I only wanted to know if anyone (really meant Caroline!) had any inkling of the route - enjoyed the discussion though.

I am afraid you'll have to wait for the launch ( it's soon )

Esroh

You just know LA would love the ford they went across in Kerry last year.Cannot find the pic of Cav going thru it.:D

zzzzzzzz

Esroh wrote: »

You just know LA would love the ford they went across in Kerry last year.Cannot find the pic of Cav going thru it.:D

drogdub

The Danilo Di Luca look alike behind him looks particularly annoyed

CheGuedara

Yup, that's part of my neck of the woods. You come along the road really nicely and then it all goes slightly cyclocross on you all of a sudden, then there you are biting you're tongue hoping the stones don't ding your Highroad Zipps....

We'd like to run a sportive around there maybe next year (running Tralee - Connor Pass - Dingle - Slea head - Dingle - Aunascail - Castlmaine - Tralee or similar as a suggested long route) but that crossing can pose a bit of hassle - and you should see it on a properly rainy day!!! I mean anyone able to fit pontoons to a bike?!

michaelm

Esroh wrote: »

You just know LA would love the ford they went across in Kerry last year.Cannot find the pic of Cav going thru it.:D

Some of my own pics from there:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmolamphy/2810510599/in/set-72157616364990909/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmolamphy/2810509149/in/set-72157616364990909/

Chips Lovell

I think those pics should be broken out every time someone expresses concerns that a road bike may not be sturdy enough for their commute through Dublin.

CheGuedara

el tonto wrote: »

I think those pics should be broken out every time someone expresses concerns that a road bike may not be sturdy enough for their commute through Dublin.

+1

Great shots BTW

ednwireland

just spotted this in the indo

World-class field set for Tour of Ireland

CYCLING: FOLLOWING THE success of the FBD Insurance Rás, which was won by British rider Simon Richardson last Sunday, attention is now turning towards the next months’ national road race championships in Dunboyne and the Tour of Ireland in August.



Ireland’s top professionals Nicolas Roche, Philip Deignan and defending champion Daniel Martin are all expected to return for the former, while some of the top teams in the world are expected for the latter.

Details are still to be announced for the Tour of Ireland, but more information will be available shortly.

“We have been very busy putting together what we believe to be a very exciting and challenging route,” project director Darach McQuaid told The Irish Times this week.

“Lance Armstrong’s participation has prompted us to include some elements not seen in the 2007 and 2008 editions. We will be announcing the route in the coming weeks.”

The statement points to the possibility that a time trial might feature in the race, which will run from August 19th-23rd. If so, this would increase the likelihood of a prominent showing by the American.

McQuaid expects a strong presence, both on and off the bike.

“We are working with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society on exciting programs to promote Lance’s cancer message during the race. This will culminate in the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in Dublin the day after the Tour of Ireland finishes.

“Lance’s current strong performance in Italy indicates that by the time the Tour de France and Tour of Ireland take place, he will have found the racing form to compete and win which of course is exciting for our event.”

full article here
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0529/1224247669166.html

Esroh

What are the chances of an Etape de Ireland on closed roads on one of the stages for Irish Cancer Society. That woud be off more use than fixing the race for LA

RobFowl

"McQuaid said that there were still “significant partner opportunities” available for the event, which is being carried live on RTÉ, ITV in Britain and Versus in the US, as well as many more networks worldwide."

Like that bit

Chips Lovell

signficant partner opportunities = we need more sponsors

Quigs Snr

The route is known to some people, I think it became available last week. There is another stage finish in Waterford I was told, after that I kind of switched off. If I speak to that person again this weekend I'll let you know.

RobFowl

Quigs Snr wrote: »

The route is known to some people, I think it became available last week. There is another stage finish in Waterford I was told, after that I kind of switched off. If I speak to that person again this weekend I'll let you know.

Was told the route was being specifically designed around LA :eek:

Caroline_ie

@RobFowl - You're in this year as well?

blorg

Whatever you think about Lance and his unretirement his participation in this race is good for the race and good for cycling in Ireland IMHO.

Caroline_ie

blorg wrote: »

Whatever you think about Lance and his unretirement his participation in this race is good for the race and good for cycling in Ireland IMHO.

I agree 100% - This great is for the tour

* Must finish reading Bad Blood though

ednwireland

RobFowl wrote: »

Was told the route was being specifically designed around LA :eek:

definitely not across the luas tracks in dublin then !

RobFowl

Caroline_ie wrote: »

@RobFowl - You're in this year as well?

Was asked but they haven't confirmed yet !

emtroche

I think theres going to be a time trial in the carrick on suir/clonmel area.

RobFowl

emtroche wrote: »

I think theres going to be a time trial in the carrick on suir/clonmel area.

I still get goosbumps thinking of Kelly's TT ride there in the first Nissan

Caroline_ie

THEY READ MY QUESTION ABOUT THE TT ON EUROSPORT LIVE!!!!

Raam

Caroline_ie wrote: »

THEY READ MY QUESTION ABOUT THE TT ON EUROSPORT LIVE!!!!

Whatchya ask? I asked about pink shorts once, but they never answered.

Chips Lovell

Caroline_ie wrote: »

THEY READ MY QUESTION ABOUT THE TT ON EUROSPORT LIVE!!!!

YAY!

Did Sean begin his answer by saying: "Well certainly..."

Zipp101

Caroline_ie wrote: »

THEY READ MY QUESTION ABOUT THE TT ON EUROSPORT LIVE!!!!

I heard it....pity they didn't answer it

Caroline_ie

el tonto wrote: »

YAY!

Did Sean begin his answer by saying: "Well certainly..."

Sean Said It was possible, that he had heard of the rumour too and that the tour was more or less built around LA this year and there was probably going to be a wool carpet whever LA rides ... or something like this.

niceonetom

what's the email address for questions?

we should be all over that.

Raam

niceonetom wrote: »

what's the email address for questions?

we should be all over that.

cycling.eurosport@yahoo.com

Caroline_ie

niceonetom wrote: »

what's the email address for questions?

we should be all over that.

cycling.eurosport@yahoo.com

TinyExplosions

I was mentioned the other day when I answered their question about Russian riders winning stages.... made my day it did

Zipp101

BMC racing,Garmin,Columbia and Astana all taking part according to their websites.

RobFowl

Zipp101 wrote: »

Astana according to their website.

Do you mean Trek/Livestrong ??????

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2009/jun09/jun01news2

Caroline_ie

... i hope saxo bank takes part too ...

TinyExplosions

RobFowl wrote: »

Do you mean Trek/Livestrong ??????

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2009/jun09/jun01news2

That's Lance's Amateur team, not necessarily what Astana will become