Rás Mumhan 2018

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that Munster has a special place in my heart and even more so the Cork and Kerry Mountains so when a spare man with limited skills was required for support down at the 2018 Rás Mumhan, I decided I was the man for it. The riders were spread across two teams, a huge leap for the club ... More

Ras 2017: Stage Seven – Here comes the rain

ALL the good weather was used up in Donegal and on waking on the morning of Stage Seven, grey skies and torrential rain awaited - all the way to Ardee. There was one categorised climb to deal with and getting over that intact would hopefully ensure a large group to ride home in. That went to plan, but the pace didn't. ... More

Ras 2017: Stage Six – Yellow socks on Glengesh

AFTER yesterday’s epic, it would surely calm down on Stage Six? The race to Donegal town did indeed begin calmly, with a non-GC break establishing after a few minutes. For the ones looking for a day of respite this was a positive. The bunch didn’t pursue over the first KOH at Loughnambraddan, all OK. Then there was ... More

Ras 2017: Stage Five – Teamwork beats fading time and soaring temps

WHEN the line-outs start after 10 of the day's 180km on the year's hottest afternoon so far, you know it’s going to be a big one. The race up front has been completely torn apart in Donegal, and what it takes to make that happen did damage everywhere else too. James Quinn was caught on the wrong side of the elastic ... More

Ras 2017: Stage Four – The meeting of Mamore

WHAT do we say about a day like Stage Four on the 2017 Ras? The race started like it finished yesterday - a frantic pace with close to 50km covered in the first hour - the speedometers were touching 90kmph at one point coming into Letterkenny. The team had four riders in the main bunch on reaching Buncrana for the ... More

Ras 2017: Stage Three – Redefining ‘easy’ as flat roads run out

THE story of day three on Ras 2017 was line-outs, and then more line-outs. It was one of the ‘easy’ days that don’t actually exist in the Rás. A flat day that was initially viewed as a transition day, before the road goes up in Donegal, it turned out to be super fast and super tough, producing a super Irish ... More

Ras 2017: Stage Two – Cross-winding and line-outing to Westport

DAY two of Ras 2017 down and it was a tough one. True to the form of the Rás, a fairly innocuous looking day is one that can take the most out of you, and the wind that crossed the route from Longford to Newport today, did just that. After yesterday’s break gaining just too much time, no break was going to be let off ... More

Ras 2017: Stage One – Crash holds up Quinn, as Greally features in GC

THE 2017 An Post Rás has begun and is rolling. Amazing atmosphere in Dublin Castle this morning where there was a mix of nerves, pride, excitement and slick continental bike racers on show! A typical day in the Rás is always atypical and James Quinn found out quickly when he was caught up behind a crash in Leixlip. ... More