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The Mythical Legend That Is The Rás By Tommy Evans
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| Rás Winner Tommy Evans Derry Clarke Brothers With The George Plant Trophy |
The Rás has a deep ingrained history within Irish Cycling, form growing up as an underage rider I loved to hear the stories of the Rás, the great men that race had some amazing stories to tell, I didn’t care if they where true or false I knew I had to conquer it.
As a 14 year old I knew from then that I loved stage racing everyday gave you an opportunity to win, rectify your mistake from the day before, out do an opponent more miles on the clock.
Roll onto 1992 my first taste of the Ras as a 19year old full of confidence and no fear, taking on a 9-day stage race, the longest race I’d ever ridden!!
We had the Italians who just looked the business, they had amazing kit, fantastic bikes, they even smelt nice!!!
While here I was amongst all the other county teams fighting to survive, a few occasions seen me over zealous on some of the descents ending up in the ditch on more than one occasion!!!
I always remember being in a crash with Tosh Lavery who was well bashed up but being harder than nails he just got stitched up and rode on!! At 19 you look at this and realise no-one likes to quit this race no matter what.
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John O'Hallorans Rás Storey 1992
If Im honest ; I was hooked from the start . The first story of the Ras ,the first time seeing a stage end , the thought of being in it I was hooked.
I got my chance in 1992. My club NT Oranmore would enter team for the first time. Apart from our mechanic Johnny Varley and the highly experienced Colm Bracken we were all new to this. there was Nick Holland [Nick the fish] and no, I have no idea why he was called that, Dave Nugent who remains a great friend and I.
Dave was 20 and I was 19 Nick was and still is ageless. The common thought around Galway was we would never finish it.
Gerry McEnerney had put his skills,organisation and boundless love of cycling into getting us there. The sense of occasion at the evening sign on was immense . There was a mix of nerves and old friends meeting.
I sat and tried to look as if I belonged ,as established internationals, foreign managers , the UK riders,tanned and seriously lean Italian and Belgians sauntered in.
My goal was simple enough " get around", hopefully in one piece and if at all possible get to the front , try to get in a break and have a" good go " on the stage 2 into Oughterard Galway.
Ahh , the innocence youth, looking back at now ; little did I know then. More>>>
Seamus Kennedy Winner Of The Health Race Rás Tailteann1978
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| Seamus Kennedy |
When Seamus Kennedy won Irish cycling’s greatest prize, the Rás Tailteann, in 1978, he declared that he had achieved his life’s ambition, and that he was going to retire.
“I’m finished now. I will retire at the end of the season. I have won everything I can,” he is quoted as saying in July 1978. But that was never going to happen. Kennedy’s passion for cycling was such that he would never retire from the saddle. Fr Stan Deegan, PP, Kilcloon, celebrating his funeral Mass last week, said that Seamus Kennedy had never envisaged finishing early, withdrawing from the action. But he had lived a full and complete life, Fr Deegan continued. Kennedy passed away on Monday of last week, following illness. he was aged 65. More>>>
‘The Rás – The Story of Ireland’s Unique Bike Race’
The 2019 cycling season passed in Ireland without our beloved Rás Tailteann stage race for the first time since 1953. The recent press release announcing its return in 2020 came as a welcome relief to all concerned.
The preservation of the race itself is not the only thing at stake as an annual Rás is crucial in sustaining a vibrant racing calendar and the ongoing development of the sport is dependent on this.
However, there is still the somewhat contentious question about which type of Rás best serves that secondary purpose of promoting the overall best interests of Irish cycling: the so-called ‘old’ Rás, prior to the event’s inclusion in the UCI calendar in 2000, or that ‘new’ Rás we have seen from then to 2018. More>>>
Rider Blog Team Gerard DHL
Normally nerves play a huge role leading into a cyclist’s first participation in the Rás, but for me, there was no time to be nervous. With a heavy college schedule building up to exams that finished just 2 days before stage 1, the Rás was just a date on my calendar.
2018 marked the first year of Team-Gerard DHL but also the first Rás for 80% of our Rás squad. To help us through 8 days of chaos was Paidi O’Brien. A man with huge experience and success in the sport, most of which I am still unaware of. More>>>
ESB At 1961 Rás Tailteann
In the summer of 1961, staff from ESB’s Rural Electrification Office (REO) took to the road with the Rás Tailteann, a national multi-stage cycle race across Ireland. Instead of bicycles, their mode of transport for the race was a rather large Mobile Display van known as LIK 650.
This large demonstration vehicle, traditionally used for local shows around the Cork area, was relieved of its usual duties on this particular occasion and dispatched to Dublin to undertake an important if not somewhat unusual mission. More>>>
Gabriel Howard, Legendary Figure In Irish Cycling
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| Nicholas Roche being interviewed by his good friend Gabriel Howard |
‘Everybody knew Gaybo the length and breadth of the country and beyond’ - Gabriel Howard, a legendary figure in Irish cycling, passed away earlier this month following a farm accident, writes Paul Fitzpatrick
The 1963 Rás Tailteann, the 12th renewal of the race, was groundbreaking. In first place was Zbigniew Glowaty of Poland, the first non-Irish champion, who beat Kerry’s Dan Ahern into second.
Behind him in sixth was Christy Kimmage, father of future Tour De France rider and leading journalist Paul. And way back, clinging on to a friend on a service motorcycle, was a man whose name would become synonymous with the annual event and the sport of cycling itself — Gabriel ‘Gaybo’ Howard, from Stamullen, Co Meath. More>>>
The Late Gabriel Howard
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| The Late Gabriel Howard |
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Gerry Keogh Stage Winner In His First Rás Tailteann
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| The Late Gerry Keogh |
Ratoath native Gerry Keogh, who died in Dublin recently, was a prominent cyclist at a time when Meath riders were enjoying considerable success nationally, in the 1950’s. A native of Halltown on the Skyrne Road Ratoath, he lived in Clonsilla, and was aged 91 when he passed away at Connolly Memorial Hospital Blanchardstown on the 16th November 2015.
Working in Dublin as a young man, he began his cycling career with The National Cycling Club in his twenties. He worked in Allied Irish Finance alongside Kerry cyclist, Gene Mangan, having earlier worked at construction, including operating what was then Ireland’s biggest crane at the building of the church in Finglas.
He took part in his first Rás Tailteann in 1955, and won the sixth stage, a testing 88 mile spin from Cork to Tralee over mountainous terrain. He was in an eight-man breakaway group for nearly 100 miles before breaking away on his own in the closing stages to win by 10 seconds from Gene Mangan, Kerry who was the outright winner. More>>>
My Own Personal Feeling
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| Aidan Crowley 19 Rásannas Ridden In His Career To Date |
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