Ras Mhaigheo 2018

yop

Lads
We are back for year 5 of Ras Mhaigheo.
Entry is open online for the 2 Day A2/A3 race.

A4 race is on the day registration only.
All details are on our page.
https://www.westportcc.ie/2018/01/15/ras-mhaigh-eo-2018/

Any questions give me a shout or contact Richard our race director.

RowanHarley

Hm... The A4 race looks very flat. Are there no good races for A4's these days?

Esroh

RowanHarley wrote: »

Hm... The A4 race looks very flat. Are there no good races for A4's these days?

If your making that assumption from the profile, don't be fooled. A line on a map has caught many a man out.

elchupanebrey

As far as i know racers are permitted to make a race hard too! Just a thought!

JK.BMC

RowanHarley wrote: »

Hm... The A4 race looks very flat. Are there no good races for A4's these days?

Have you done many?
Racing in Mayo is some of the best in the country in my opinion.

Eamonnator

RowanHarley wrote: »

Hm... The A4 race looks very flat. Are there no good races for A4's these days?

No, not a one.
I think your best bet is to win a couple and get yourself up to A3 as quickly as possible.

yop

RowanHarley wrote: »

Hm... The A4 race looks very flat. Are there no good races for A4's these days?

Thats a very flat route, we tried finding a few fat flats, but Mayo is like any of the flat roads you'd find around Majorca or Lanzarote.

Best to HAMMER it from the drop of the flat and TT it all the way.


See you in March.

JK.BMC

yop wrote: »

Thats a very flat route, we tried finding a few fat flats, but Mayo is like any of the flat roads you'd find around Majorca or Lanzarote.

Best to HAMMER it from the drop of the flat and TT it all the way.


See you in March.

Excellent advice there ðŸ˜႒

Holy God.... it the 2nd week of February and the complaints about A4 racing have started already. Give it another few days and the moaning about watts, average speeds and having to sprint will start again, as it has been for about the last 10 years.

Back on topic- won't make it to Mayo this time but will return later in the season; good to see racing in Connacht restored this season.

Chumpski

RowanHarley wrote: »

Hm... The A4 race looks very flat. Are there no good races for A4's these days?

Lacey Cup and Cycleways cup the first weekend in March have hills and are tough courses.

Theres also the race in Carlow that same weekend in March as the Ras Mhaigheo.

For St Patricks weekend, im not 100% sure on the course but id imagine the Carrick on Suir route might be hilly as ive never raced a flat course in Carrick.

Lots of hilly races, a few in April too with Stamullen and the Deenside cup.

And if not hilly, its up to the guys in the race to make it hard for the guys who want to sit in and wait for the sprint.

yop

Chumpski wrote: »

Lacey Cup and Cycleways cup the first weekend in March have hills and are tough courses.

Theres also the race in Carlow that same weekend in March as the Ras Mhaigheo.

For St Patricks weekend, im not 100% sure on the course but id imagine the Carrick on Suir route might be hilly as ive never raced a flat course in Carrick.

Lots of hilly races, a few in April too with Stamullen and the Deenside cup.

And if not hilly, its up to the guys in the race to make it hard for the guys who want to sit in and wait for the sprint.

Markowiz Cup in Sligo has a slight hill in it also, well worth going to that if hills are required.

daragh_

RowanHarley wrote: »

Hm... The A4 race looks very flat. Are there no good races for A4's these days?

Flat as a pancake. Attack at the back of the course around the N59. You'll probably win.

thekooman

the A4 race is always hard and usually breaks up either crossing to Delphi or the main road back in by the Church... hard roads and if the wind blows its even harder. most years its won by a break and won solo as well.

thekooman

yop wrote: »

Markowiz Cup in Sligo has a slight hill in it also, well worth going to that if hills are required.

the Marky cup has the Hungry rock in it... 5mins at ur max and then the descent is even harder! last year only 2 A4's were left at the end when the scratch got them on the 2nd last lap. they basically dropped the rest of them. about 800metres of climbing in 60k-ish.

RowanHarley

thekooman wrote: »

the Marky cup has the Hungry rock in it... 5mins at ur max and then the descent is even harder! last year only 2 A4's were left at the end when the scratch got them on the 2nd last lap. they basically dropped the rest of them. about 800metres of climbing in 60k-ish.

Ya i'm going to this race. The hill really suits me as I'm a very small rider (5ft 5'). As for the Ras Maigh Eo, not sure if it's a course that'd suit me. Not sure what my chances would be like if it came to a sprint although I do like getting into breakaways

Bambaata

yop wrote: »

Markowiz Cup in Sligo has a slight hill in it also, well worth going to that if hills are required.

Nice hill alright! Hope to get back up to this race this year, and hopefully up that hill a bit faster this time!

RowanHarley

Bambaata wrote: »

Nice hill alright! Hope to get back up to this race this year, and hopefully up that hill a bit faster this time!

Ya I'm seeing averages there of around 20km/h. It must be fairly hard. On the strava segment, about 500m of it averages over 10%! One way to kill the legs off anyways

thekooman

RowanHarley wrote: »

Ya I'm seeing averages there of around 20km/h. It must be fairly hard. On the strava segment, about 500m of it averages over 10%! One way to kill the legs off anyways

oh its hard... and the finish is at the top of the Hungry Rock. only half the starters finish it usually and the last lap is manic. if you can stick with the scratch group, you're doing very well.

RowanHarley

thekooman wrote: »

oh its hard... and the finish is at the top of the Hungry Rock. only half the starters finish it usually and the last lap is manic. if you can stick with the scratch group, you're doing very well.

Ya mightnt have chosen the best first race to do lol. I'll be happy if I can finish it then but I feel like I'm fit enough to keep up with the faster groups, looking at last year's results

yop

thekooman wrote: »

the Marky cup has the Hungry rock in it... 5mins at ur max and then the descent is even harder! last year only 2 A4's were left at the end when the scratch got them on the 2nd last lap. they basically dropped the rest of them. about 800metres of climbing in 60k-ish.

Bambaata wrote: »

Nice hill alright! Hope to get back up to this race this year, and hopefully up that hill a bit faster this time!

Its a pig and its sister that race. But its great early session training/death imitation.

yop

RowanHarley wrote: »

Ya mightnt have chosen the best first race to do lol. I'll be happy if I can finish it then but I feel like I'm fit enough to keep up with the faster groups, looking at last year's results

You wont be long in A4 if you are keeping up with the fast groups in that race

yop

TT google map below. This is about 1/2 way into the TT climb.
https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.7755609,-9.7093867,3a,75y,224.68h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWRVpINPMUtFdstMwb3l39Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Some inside info for boardsies!

RowanHarley

yop wrote: »

You wont be long in A4 if you are keeping up with the fast groups in that race

I doubt I will but I could definitely hold the pace on the main climb anyways Id say

yop

RowanHarley wrote: »

I doubt I will but I could definitely hold the pace on the main climb anyways Id say

You can change your license up to A3 as your a junior, sounds like you are much too strong for A4 races and will only waste your season down with that lot.

Contact CI and upgrade.

RowanHarley

yop wrote: »

You can change your license up to A3 as your a junior, sounds like you are much too strong for A4 races and will only waste your season down with that lot.

Contact CI and upgrade.

I'm not sure if I should. Its my first year racing and although I do think I'd be able to keep up with them on the hills, I think I'd rather do the race then if I do well, contact CI and upgrade. Will they let me do that or if I race, will I need to get the points

yop

RowanHarley wrote: »

I'm not sure if I should. Its my first year racing and although I do think I'd be able to keep up with them on the hills, I think I'd rather do the race then if I do well, contact CI and upgrade. Will they let me do that or if I race, will I need to get the points

1st year racing, go learn to race then. Learn what its all about and how it go. A4 will cut your teeth.
Get your points in and then move to A3, win the races and get their on merit.

Get down to Ras Mhaigheo, you'll be top dog down there.

fondriest

yop wrote: »

TT google map below. This is about 1/2 way into the TT climb.
https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.7755609,-9.7093867,3a,75y,224.68h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWRVpINPMUtFdstMwb3l39Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Some inside info for boardsies!

Apart from the TT are the other 2 stages the same as last year ?

RowanHarley

yop wrote: »

1st year racing, go learn to race then. Learn what its all about and how it go. A4 will cut your teeth.
Get your points in and then move to A3, win the races and get their on merit.

Get down to Ras Mhaigheo, you'll be top dog down there.

Well an update on being in A4... Spoiler: I've been moved up to A3. To elaborate, I was contacting them on something different and they realised I was A4, took it as a mistake and upgraded me to A3. Should I say that I deliberately chose A4 or should I just go along with it?

yop

fondriest wrote: »

Apart from the TT are the other 2 stages the same as last year ?

They are indeed

fondriest

yop wrote: »

They are indeed

Thanks , great stages . Looking forward to it.

Chumpski

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well an update on being in A4... Spoiler: I've been moved up to A3. To elaborate, I was contacting them on something different and they realised I was A4, took it as a mistake and upgraded me to A3. Should I say that I deliberately chose A4 or should I just go along with it?

If it’s your first year racing I’d correct them and start as A4. A3 races are long, some 100k or more and there are some quality riders in that bunch. Some juniors for example will be pretty much near A1 level.

Up to you really, on the plus side you are eligible to do some really cool races like Gorey 3 day and the Shay Elliot at A3. Just if you are a normal guy like most of us you may struggle initially.

A4 is more forgiving for newbies as that’s what it’s there for really.

JK.BMC

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well an update on being in A4... Spoiler: I've been moved up to A3. To elaborate, I was contacting them on something different and they realised I was A4, took it as a mistake and upgraded me to A3. Should I say that I deliberately chose A4 or should I just go along with it?

Apart from here, is anybody advising you about bike racing? A real and much debated topic in the country in recent years has been the number of cyclists who enter races with little or no prior experience and the dangers that brings to both the individuals and the other racers.
By all means take up the racing- but only if you have done some proper fast paced group riding with other experienced riders.
And whatever you do, don't go near the Gorey 3-Day as a 16 year old with no prior experience of big bunch racing; that would not be in any body's best interest.
The suggestion to start in A4 seems sensible. And if you reckon you can hang in with A1 riders on Hungry Rock outside Sligo, well more power to you. See how you get on

RowanHarley

JK.BMC wrote: »

Apart from here, is anybody advising you about bike racing? A real and much debated topic in the country in recent years has been the number of cyclists who enter races with little or no prior experience and the dangers that brings to both the individuals and the other racers.
By all means take up the racing- but only if you have done some proper fast paced group riding with other experienced riders.
And whatever you do, don't go near the Gorey 3-Day as a 16 year old with no prior experience of big bunch racing; that would not be in any body's best interest.
The suggestion to start in A4 seems sensible. And if you reckon you can hang in with A1 riders on Hungry Rock outside Sligo, well more power to you. See how you get on

Ya I've decided to stick to A4 for the first few weeks at least. As for the group racing, I've practiced keeping near riders with club members who raced before and entered some of the club races. Also smoothened my up and over technique. I'll give the markievicz cup a go and see how I go. If I can keep up and do well, I'll consider moving to A3, but in the meantime, I've contacted back CI and told them that choosing A4 was deliberate.

JK.BMC

RowanHarley wrote: »

Ya I've decided to stick to A4 for the first few weeks at least. As for the group racing, I've practiced keeping near riders with club members who raced before and entered some of the club races. Also smoothened my up and over technique. I'll give the markievicz cup a go and see how I go. If I can keep up and do well, I'll consider moving to A3, but in the meantime, I've contacted back CI and told them that choosing A4 was deliberate.

Best of luck.

PS- practice how to sprint. Seriously. It will bring success

RowanHarley

JK.BMC wrote: »

Best of luck.

PS- practice how to sprint. Seriously. It will bring success

I've practiced it a bit but I'm not really much of a sprinter. I struggle to pass 50km/h. I'm more into climbing though tbh

Esroh

RowanHarley wrote: »

I've practiced it a bit but I'm not really much of a sprinter. I struggle to pass 50km/h. I'm more into climbing though tbh

As you can see from the replies .Races that have serious climbs are limited so you need to develop your weaknesses.
Unless you are winning Solo you need a sprint.
If there is 1 decent hill on a circuit you need to be able to ride comfortably within the bunch to get there.You need to develop your power to follow the ebb and flow of the bunch surges on all terrain
You cannot beat racing experience and race fitness.
It's not always the fastest or strongest that wins. It's the rider who makes the smartest use of their talents on a given day.
A race like Ras Mhaigheo on a good wide rolling road with lots of drags would be a good place to start.
Connaght Bunches are never as big as those in other provinces.

JK.BMC

Esroh wrote: »

As you can see from the replies .Races that have serious climbs are limited so you need to develop your weaknesses.
Unless you are winning Solo you need a sprint.
If there is 1 decent hill on a circuit you need to be able to ride comfortably within the bunch to get there.You need to develop your power to follow the ebb and flow of the bunch surges on all terrain
You cannot beat racing experience and race fitness.
It's not always the fastest or strongest that wins. It's the rider who makes the smartest use of their talents on a given day.
A race like Ras Mhaigheo on a good wide rolling road with lots of drags would be a good place to start.
Connaght Bunches are never as big as those in other provinces.

This is an excellent piece of advice and any new/young rider needs to take this seriously on board; also, any cycling club with young riders surely has a responsibility to ensure they are adequately prepared for racing.
And on top of all this, the racing in the west is undoubtedly a good starting point, probably safer and probably far more varied than in the bigger races in Leinster.

RowanHarley

Ya might get out today and do some sprint practice. I wonder why they don't use ireland's mountain ranges more often... There's plenty of category 3/4 climbs down in Slieve Blooms and I'm sure it's the same with many of the mountain ranges around Ireland

elchupanebrey

RowanHarley wrote: »

JK.BMC wrote: »

Best of luck.

PS- practice how to sprint. Seriously. It will bring success

I've practiced it a bit but I'm not really much of a sprinter. I struggle to pass 50km/h. I'm more into climbing though tbh

If you can hold 49kmph for like a minute you would be grand also🙈 seriously though a lot of A4 races come down to a sprint with potentially 100 lads. No place for the faint hearted. A1/2 and some A3 races even on the same courses generally have a breakaway deciding the win which makes the sprint safer, if not any easier!

I'll be interested in your progress and will probably be in Sligo trying to chase you down so good luck on the Hungry Rock 🖒

RowanHarley

elchupanebrey wrote: »

If you can hold 49kmph for like a minute you would be grand also�� seriously though a lot of A4 races come down to a sprint with potentially 100 lads. No place for the faint hearted. A1/2 and some A3 races even on the same courses generally have a breakaway deciding the win which makes the sprint safer, if not any easier!

I'll be interested in your progress and will probably be in Sligo trying to chase you down so good luck on the Hungry Rock ��

I'm just hoping I haven't overestimated myself. The only races I did last year were club races on a 12 kg steel bike from the 1980s. Now that I've got full carbon, I'm able to fly up hills. Ya I've got until my first race to choose between A3 and A4 so I'm gping to bring it up on our Sunday club spin. We're going down to loughrea to do a route with 800m of climbing. It'll be a good gauge on how my climbing is going along.

elchupanebrey

RowanHarley wrote: »

elchupanebrey wrote: »

If you can hold 49kmph for like a minute you would be grand also�� seriously though a lot of A4 races come down to a sprint with potentially 100 lads. No place for the faint hearted. A1/2 and some A3 races even on the same courses generally have a breakaway deciding the win which makes the sprint safer, if not any easier!

I'll be interested in your progress and will probably be in Sligo trying to chase you down so good luck on the Hungry Rock ��

I'm just hoping I haven't overestimated myself. The only races I did last year were club races on a 12 kg steel bike from the 1980s. Now that I've got full carbon, I'm able to fly up hills. Ya I've got until my first race to choose between A3 and A4 so I'm gping to bring it up on our Sunday club spin. We're going down to loughrea to do a route with 800m of climbing. It'll be a good gauge on how my climbing is going along.

The only way you will find out is to try. And keep going back for more if you do find it harder than expected. It might not get much easier but you will manage better the more racing you do

RowanHarley

elchupanebrey wrote: »

The only way you will find out is to try. And keep going back for more if you do find it harder than expected. It might not get much easier but you will manage better the more racing you do

Ya I've always been into the racing aspects of sports. Raced in swimming and running beforehand so I'm not new to the racing background. But then again, cycling is a much different sport, as there are more factors affecting your chances of winning. I've just been waiting all year to get into this racing! Any idea how many people show up for the markievicz cup? Also, is it just register on the day or do I register on CI?

elchupanebrey

Yeah register on the day in Colooney. Usually about 70 show up. A good mix of all categories

Farloo

Would anyone have a Strava profile for the TT course by any chance?!

thekooman

Farloo wrote: »

Would anyone have a Strava profile for the TT course by any chance?!

https://www.strava.com/segments/3425871
thats the hill segment

first 1.5-2k is on rolling road into that.

Raymzor

Top marks to Westport CC for running a great event. They even arranged nice weather.

thekooman

top marks to the Covies... great organisation, great weather, great sandwiches yesterday! :-)
big thanks to marshalls as well.

tough out racing yday on the way back from Kylemore... nearly blew but just hung on in the bunch. legs were shot after that!

yop

Thanks lads, it was cracking weather and thankfully it went off well.
Busy weekend, but my hands were nearly falling off me Sat evening doing the timing counts at the start! The TT hill was a nice finish, not sure if ye got to see the view at at!!!

Any comments negative pass them on please.

fondriest

Cracking weekend of racing . That section back in to Leenaun yesterday was brutal but enjoyable.
Great organisation and I’ll be back next year .

DirkVoodoo

My first stage race in about 7 years I think, second road race of the season. I was a little on edge leading into it, but thanks to some great team mates and great organisation by Covey, it was a fantastic weekend.

For anyone coming back to this next year:

Positives:

• Well organised
• Well marshalled
• Supportive locals
• The views, my God, the views!
• Good courses

Negatives (short list):

• The 20 euro deposit for numbers/chips caught a few of us out

I will definitely be back next year, hopefully with a few more watts in my legs, I just wanted to finish, but I'm not sure I'll keep road racing if it's just a case of "finishing in a bunch" every time, life is too short and I'd prefer the challenge of XC. Or maybe triathlon.

yop

Thanks for the feedback.

The 20 euro deposit is to cover us for chips that aren't returned. We have around 3 now which weren't returned and we have to pay the timing chip guys for those out of that within a few days if they dont appear.

I had thought all weekend we had put up about that 20 euro deposit on the website, but looking here, I can't see it, so that is an oversight on our part, so apologise about that.

Fair play for coming and doing it, ya even as a local who is from there the TT was held, I think we got one of the best days in a long time.

Raymzor

yop wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback.

The 20 euro deposit is to cover us for chips that aren't returned. We have around 3 now which weren't returned and we have to pay the timing chip guys for those out of that within a few days if they dont appear.

I had thought all weekend we had put up about that 20 euro deposit on the website, but looking here, I can't see it, so that is an oversight on our part, so apologise about that.

Fair play for coming and doing it, ya even as a local who is from there the TT was held, I think we got one of the best days in a long time.

Weather extraordinary after the rough and extended winter we had. Roughly How many signed on Saturday?

I forgot to admire the view after the TT!