An Post Ras 2015

marvin80

Has anyone heard anything about the route for this year?

Beasty

Last year's route was announced on 29 January. There's nothing on the website about this year's but I guess another week or so and they should be releasing details

wav1

12.15 pm on Tuesday next 27th

Beasty

Complete guess, but I reckon it may finish in Skerries this year ....

Eamonnator

From today's Drogheda Independent

RAS HITS DONORE IN MAY.
A local councillor has called for road repairs on the stretch of road from Donore to Drogheda in advance of the 2015 Ras passing through the area in May.
Cllr Eimear Ferguson made the plea at last week's council meeting in Duleek.
"The 2015 Ras comes through that way to Drogheda and works are needed", she urged.
She said she'd welcome even more road markings..
Engineer , Jim Colwell said the repairs only begin in May and he wasn't keen to do works "two weeks before the race".
He said he would look into the matter again.

Beasty

Yep - May is the time of year some of us get our roads repaired - t'was better than usual last year with the Giro coming through in the opposite direction, meaning we got both sides sorted:pac:

simonrooneyzaga

Eamonnator wrote: »

From today's Drogheda Independent

RAS HITS DONORE IN MAY.
A local councillor has called for road repairs on the stretch of road from Donore to Drogheda in advance of the 2015 Ras passing through the area in May.
Cllr Eimear Ferguson made the plea at last week's council meeting in Duleek.
"The 2015 Ras comes through that way to Drogheda and works are needed", she urged.
She said she'd welcome even more road markings..
Engineer , Jim Colwell said the repairs only begin in May and he wasn't keen to do works "two weeks before the race".
He said he would look into the matter again.

Fair play for raising it.

I see work has just recently been finished on the resurfacing of Westland Row / the chicane through Fenian st where the Giro finished last year. Would have been nice if they had had that in place for the event :rolleyes:

StevieGriff

Eamonnator wrote: »

From today's Drogheda Independent

RAS HITS DONORE IN MAY.
A local councillor has called for road repairs on the stretch of road from Donore to Drogheda in advance of the 2015 Ras passing through the area in May.
Cllr Eimear Ferguson made the plea at last week's council meeting in Duleek.
"The 2015 Ras comes through that way to Drogheda and works are needed", she urged.
She said she'd welcome even more road markings..
Engineer , Jim Colwell said the repairs only begin in May and he wasn't keen to do works "two weeks before the race".
He said he would look into the matter again.

Disguise it as a cobbled stage, be grand!

wav1

Beasty wrote: »

Complete guess, but I reckon it may finish in Skerries this year ....

An [educated] guess.

Beasty

wav1 wrote: »

An [educated] guess.

Only educated by reference to the stress lines appearing on the face of the Lion of Fingal, who swears every year will be his last .....

wav1

Beasty wrote: »

Only educated by reference to the stress lines appearing on the face of the Lion of Fingal, who swears every year will be his last .....

If your guess is correct this will be the 10th year that Skerries will have hosted the finale..Becoming the Paris of Irish Cycling.
Really great atmosphere there every year and they do themselves proud there.
Anyway I have my cable ties and paint brush ready and will gladly pack that old bag for the 38th time.Cant wait.

Beasty

The town really gets behind the event, which is a great credit to the volunteers (including Deano) who put a lot of effort into it. The place lends itself to hosting th finale (even if it does end up causing a bit of hassle to one or two of us attempting to marshal with impatient motorists attempting to push their way onto the circuit!)

mcgratheoin

Is it going via Zambia?

marvin80

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/route-unveiled-for-an-post-ras-big-climbs-left-out-to-encourage-attacks/

Unveiling a fast and tactical route which totals almost 1,200 kilometres but no really tough climbs, the organisers of An Post Rás today launched what could be one of the most suspenseful editions of the race in recent history.

Deliberately omitting any first category climbs that have featured in recent years, the emphasis this time around is on opening up the possibility of attacks at any point in the race.

This change is set to add greatly to the unpredictability An Post Rás has long been known for.

The 2015 edition of the race will begin in Dunboyne, travelling clockwise around Ireland with stage finishes in Carlow, Tipperary, Bearna, Newport, Ballina, Ballinamore and Drogheda, before the customary finale in Skerries.

Scrapping it out over eight days, the riders will still have 21 categorised climbs to deal with. But with just two of these being second category, surprise attacks, high speeds and strong winds will likely be the biggest factors in shaking up the peloton and deciding the final overall result.

JK.BMC

Hacketstown Hill on Stage1; there was always a mad gallop into it in the Gorey. Wonder what it will be like for the Ras!

AIR-AUSSIE

Would that mean crashes galore? (Flat with less Cats)

QueensGael

Will have to put in for time off for the stages in Mayo - looks like a few good days in the West

lennymc

AIR-AUSSIE wrote: »

Would that mean crashes galore? (Flat with less Cats)

Are they letting A4s ride it this year??


(runs away)

ArraMusha

The council will need plenty tarmac and rocks to fill all the craters in the connemara route.

lukegjpotter

It's coming to Galway on my Birthday!!
I'll pedal over to it.

buffalo

Pity the Rás launch gets a back seat to comments at the event: http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/threetime-irish-olympian-brands-lance-armstrong-selfserving-over-latest-doping-comments-30941483.html

Ken1975

JK.BMC wrote: »

Hacketstown Hill on Stage1; there was always a mad gallop into it in the Gorey. Wonder what it will be like for the Ras!

Gorey 2013 went up Hacketstown on 53 x 19 so Id imagine Ras will be 53 x 17-16

Lusk_Doyle

Ken1975 wrote: »

Gorey 2013 went up Hacketstown on 53 x 19 so Id imagine Ras will be 53 x 17-16

Two stage wins for you or else don't bother coming home.

wav1

7 day countdown is on to kick off next Sun.At least 2 boardsies I know off riding this year,possibly more that I don't know off.Looking forward to my annual pilgrimage at this stage.Weather doesn't look great for the first few days but I hope im wrong on that one..Really looking forward to the stage in to hometown on Sat 23rd where its a technical finish to say the least..To all boardsies riding or travelling on the race this year,good luck to you all,and don't forget to touch base with wav en route.I'll either have cable ties,paint brush,or a chequered flag in hand[dead giveaway]..Cant wait to get on the road,but a small extra worry this year will be the wait for mini wav each day,so see how he gets on,but delighted he's getting the chance to ride it..See ye on the road.

mhiggy09

Is there a time schedule sheet thing out yet? Was going to head to a stage but don't know any times.

killalanerr

wav1 wrote: »

7 day countdown is on to kick off next Sun.At least 2 boardsies I know off riding this year,possibly more that I don't know off.Looking forward to my annual pilgrimage at this stage.Weather doesn't look great for the first few days but I hope im wrong on that one..Really looking forward to the stage in to hometown on Sat 23rd where its a technical finish to say the least..To all boardsies riding or travelling on the race this year,good luck to you all,and don't forget to touch base with wav en route.I'll either have cable ties,paint brush,or a chequered flag in hand[dead giveaway]..Cant wait to get on the road,but a small extra worry this year will be the wait for mini wav each day,so see how he gets on,but delighted he's getting the chance to ride it..See ye on the road.

With finishes in Drogheda and Skerries its only half a week away this year Wav,countdown is defo on .... its your round

YeahOK

Anyone know of any Rás diaries online for this years edition? I like to read about people increasing disillusionment as the week progresses

QueensGael

Weepsie wrote: »

What's the atmosphere like at this generally? I'm only a 30-45 min cycle away so could pop along on Sunday to see it off.

It's brilliant, well worth the spin down to see it

markusz

mhiggy09 wrote: »

Is there a time schedule sheet thing out yet? Was going to head to a stage but don't know any times.

http://www.anpostmedia.com/Media/cycling/AN%20POST_RAS%202015_Technical_Guide.pdf

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

YeahOK wrote: »

Anyone know of any Rás diaries online for this years edition? I like to read about people increasing disillusionment as the week progresses

I know LCD on here had one last year which was an entertaining read, not sure if he plans to do one for this year.

Andy Magic

Weepsie wrote: »

What's the atmosphere like at this generally? I'm only a 30-45 min cycle away so could pop along on Sunday to see it off.

Skerries is very good, I'd recommend not cycling to it though unless you have a change of shoes for walking around and trying to view the race

The Davestator

Andy Magic wrote: »

Skerries is very good, I'd recommend not cycling to it though unless you have a change of shoes for walking around and trying to view the race

I agree about bringing runners. Also, bring some money as the scouts sell amazing cream cakes for €1!

I like cycling to it as there is generally a group to join onto if you;re on your own.

tunney

Any decent twitter feeds for this?

buffalo

I usually watch it finish in Skerries, and for the last few years I've followed this pattern: https://goo.gl/maps/KhD3O

1 T-junction just after Cross of the Cage KOM point, race passes through going straight. You'll meet a very nice boardsie here if you're lucky! As well as a former National Champ (not the boardsie).
2 Then head down to the top of the Black HIlls climb by Ardgillen castle - another KOM point. Race comes through here three times total - stay and watch all three, or watch one or two and race to a nice spot by the finish line.
3 Skerries - finish line, presentations, festival atmosphere. Cheer on the men of the Rás.

wav1

buffalo wrote: »

I usually watch it finish in Skerries, and for the last few years I've followed this pattern: https://goo.gl/maps/KhD3O

1 T-junction just after Cross of the Cage KOM point, race passes through going straight. You'll meet a very nice boardsie here if you're lucky! As well as a former National Champ (not the boardsie).
2 Then head down to the top of the Black HIlls climb by Ardgillen castle - another KOM point. Race comes through here three times total - stay and watch all three, or watch one or two and race to a nice spot by the finish line.
3 Skerries - finish line, presentations, festival atmosphere. Cheer on the men of the Rás.

Your schedule could be somewhat different this year..Good luck chap

midonogh

if anyone is coming out to Skerries for the final stage and would like to be a bit more involved we really could do with a few more marshals. Marshal briefing is at 1pm in Holmpatrick school. PM me if you would like to lend a hand. It would be gratefully received and would mean a few less sleepless nights for the Stage End Committee.
Thanks
Michael

wpd

Is there a list of starting riders in this years RAS anywhere?

De Bhál

http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/IrishCyclingRas/Info/Teams+and+Riders/

Snowchaser

Anyone know if the highlights of each stage are being shown on TV?

wpd

Thanks De Bhál just what I was looking for

Chips Lovell

Merged this with the main Rás thread since it might be useful to keep all info in one place.

lukegjpotter

tunney wrote: »

Any decent twitter feeds for this?

They did a great job on their YouTube Channel for the highlights last year.
https://www.youtube.com/user/anpostcycling/videos

on_the_nickel

De Bhál wrote: »

http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/IrishCyclingRas/Info/Teams+and+Riders/

Is Dunbar fit after TOY crash?

YeahOK

lukegjpotter wrote: »

They did a great job on their YouTube Channel for the highlights last year.
https://www.youtube.com/user/anpostcycling/videos

@CuchulainnRas and @anpostras were two of the better ones to follow last year....

michael196

mhiggy09 wrote: »

Is there a time schedule sheet thing out yet? Was going to head to a stage but don't know any times.

google an post ras, there is a pdf ras 2015 technical guide, with routes and estimated time arrivals etc

wav1

@anpostras on twitter will be doing the business.Did a great job last year.
Might throw an odd one out myself