CYCLING | The Louth team for this year’s An Post Rás has been unveiled

Friday last saw the launch of the Louth Cuchulainn Cycling team for the upcoming An Post Rás at The Bike Station in Dundalk.

The team will compete in the professional bike race which starts at Dublin Castle on May 21st and finishes some eight days and 12,00km later on May 28th in Skerries.

The eight-day event heads to Longford, then Newport, before spending four days in Donegal. It is the North West county where the race will most likely be decided with testing roads and savage climbs, notably the Category One Glengesh Pass and the Gap of Mamore. Stage five, in particular, will see the riders tackle 185km from Buncrana to Dungloe with three categorised climbs en route.

The race leaves Donegal on stage seven and makes the 167km journey to Co Louth with a first ever stage finish in Ardee. This route will feature roads well known to the Louth team, in particular, Ardee’s Tómas McCabe who will be tackling his first Rás. The race finishes the next day with the traditional circuits in Skerries, with multiple ascents of the steep Black Hills.

The Louth team is comprised of Alan Gray (Dundalk), Ray O’Shaughnessy (Ravensdale), Liam Dolan (Dundalk), Tómas McCabe (Ardee) and Cootehill cyclist John Fitzpatrick.

A race of this magnitude requires a huge financial input and the team has secured title sponsorship from Tony Meegan Salvage Ltd. Local businessman Meegan has always had an interest in local sport and was very keen to get involved with the Louth Cycling team.

The team was announced at The Bike Station where Tony Meegan and a number of other sponsors were in attendance. Ray Fedigan, owner of The Bike Station, will accompany the team for the eight days to ensure that all equipment is working smoothly.