2018 Rás

daragh_

Stage 1, Sunday May 20: Drogheda to Athlone, 136 kms:
Stage 2, Monday May 21: Athlone to Tipperary, 148.7 kms:
Stage 3, Tuesday May 22: Tipperary to Listowel, 140.4 kms:
Stage 4, Wednesday May 23: Listowel to Glengariff, 153 kms:
Stage 5, Thursday May 24: Glengarriff to Mitchelstown, 150.2 kms:
Stage 6, Friday May 25: Mitchelstown to Carlow, 154.6 kms:
Stage 7, Saturday May 26: Carlow to Naas, 141.2 kms:
Stage 8, Sunday May 27: Naas to Skerries, 144.6 kms:

Total: 1180.5 kms

Some brutal looking stages.

More here.

1bryan

still no sponsor, though I can't imagine one won't be found by May.

I guess whether they can invite foreign teams will depend on whether they get the sponsor on board? That's presuming the prize pot is more important to teams the the UCI points.

Though I am getting a little bit excited at the prospect of the race becoming predominantly a county team race. Now that would be great!

Bambaata

Pity it's not rolling out of Dublin Castle again but am happy to see stage one covers home turf for me

Plenty of climbing in some of those stages!!! Glad to finally see the route. It'll be interesting to see how much of an impact no title sponsor will have. Hopefully it's still well supported out on the road.

joey100

I hear you got on a team Bambaata, great news. Well done.

Bambaata

joey100 wrote: »

I hear you got on a team Bambaata, great news. Well done.

So long as the team gets accepted now!

Beasty

1bryan wrote: »

still no sponsor, though I can't imagine one won't be found by May.

Think they will have one, but will be very fortunate to find one prepared to devote anywhere near as much resource as An Post have been doing.

I know one of the big planks of the current CI's election campaign was he thought more money should be coming into cycling via sponsorship. I'm struggling to see who is prepared to invest the sums needed to run this and indeed the Ras na mBan at the levels they have been running them.

Just really glad they were able to get it up and running this year. Hopefully something can be done sponsorship wise into the future . I don't think Sean Kelly's team had any luck finding one either did they?

I like the fact it's starting here in town and finishing in Skerries, means myself and the wee one will have 2 chances to cheer them on. We had a great day out in Skerries last time.

DKmac

Beasty wrote: »

Think they will have one, but will be very fortunate to find one prepared to devote anywhere near as much resource as An Post have been doing.

I know one of the big planks of the current CI's election campaign was he thought more money should be coming into cycling via sponsorship. I'm struggling to see who is prepared to invest the sums needed to run this and indeed the Ras na mBan at the levels they have been running them.

Very hard to see a big independent sponsor come on board. The race sells itself on being an international stage race but predominantly the media focus is on the county rider and their stories so that goes against attracting a larger & possibly even an international sponsor. Also the presence of county riders prevents the race from moving up the UCI rankings which could potentially put off bigger sponsors from getting in at a lower level and staying long term to see the event grow.

The county riders bring great interest to the race and are essentially the spirit of the race but I think it will struggle to attract as big support as An Post provided when they are competing.

1bryan

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't think Sean Kelly's team had any luck finding one either did they?

I thought they did have one but couldn't get everything arranged in time for next season. Thus they had to take a season out and reconvene the year after.

thekooman

Stage 4... Glengarriff... wasnt that where 27 lads didnt make the time limit a few years back? looks horrific.

TheBlaaMan

For Stages 4-8 it looks like the exact same route as 2013. Will definitely get out to one or two of the stages nearer home

daragh_

Really looking forward to seeing the lads from my club do this again this year. And the icing on the cake will be watching them come over the Shay and the Wicklow Gap. Start picking your spots now - there will be big crowds #COYBIP

Kaisr Sose

Beasty wrote: »

Think they will have one, but will be very fortunate to find one prepared to devote anywhere near as much resource as An Post have been doing.

Very true. I know that behind the scenes, An Post did a lot of work that nobody saw. An incredible amount of work before the route launch, between that and the first stage and during the race itself. It will be hard to top it.

CrowdedHouse

Rás road book now available

http://rasireland.ie/race-technical-guide/

Amprodude

Some A2 riders dox

Amprodude

Some A2 riders do the ras. It must be hard for majority of them who are 2-3 levels off some of the pro teams.

CrowdedHouse

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

Rás road book now available

http://rasireland.ie/race-technical-guide/

Best get my wee one studying this, she was a disaster in the kids race they had in Skerries last year, team car mammy had to intervene and give her a sticky bottle most of the way :pac:

What a great day out that was, we'll be heading for the finish again this year for sure.

buffalo

Best of luck to all the riders and race staff starting today. Some good coverage around the place:

https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling/rs-set-to-remember-race-legend-36923161.html

http://www.the42.ie/ras-2018-mark-dowling-unpredictable-mental-4016734-May2018/

https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling/happy-hennebry-has-put-the-balance-back-into-racing-36926614.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeKO10hK_-E

dahat

One rider needing assistance already!

dahat

dahat wrote: »

One rider needing assistance already!

Front puncture not even 1km from the off, best get the bad luck out of the way early and empty the bladder 3 or 4 more joined that Swiss rider for a wee break on the left.

buffalo

Any truth to the rumours that Nicolas Roche quit the Giro to ride the Rás?

Kaisr Sose

Great that the race organisers got another co-sponsor on board.

R.dufy454773

Is there any coverage\ live stream of this does anyone know ?

Raam

No Shane Stokes updates this year?
Nothing here anyway: https://anpostraswithshanestokes.wordpress.com/

dahat

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Front puncture not even 1km from the off, best get the bad luck out of the way early and empty the bladder 3 or 4 more joined that Swiss rider for a wee break on the left.

Indeed, best place for it to happen then.

buffalo

Raam wrote: »

No Shane Stokes updates this year?
Nothing here anyway: https://anpostraswithshanestokes.wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/rastailteann

Raam

buffalo wrote: »

https://twitter.com/rastailteann

Thanks, pity they start with the last one first.

CrowdedHouse

Full Stage 1 Results

Boscoirl

Do they post estimated times for certain parts of the stage as to when they’ll Pass?

It’s passing by Nenagh tomorrow and want to skive off work to watch it pass

Eamonnator

Boscoirl wrote: »

Do they post estimated times for certain parts of the stage as to when they’ll Pass?

It’s passing by Nenagh tomorrow and want to skive off work to watch it pass

You'll get race time estimates in the regulations:

http://rasireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Race-Tailteann-2018-Technical-Guide.pdf