Sorry for the delay in getting a race report up on the site.As the race moves into the second half of the week Team Wexford-Innovate.ie have enjoyed every second.Many riders at this stage are finding the going tough, but we have really enjoyed the experience that is the Ras. In Gorey as most of the team meet on Sunday morning and sorted out gear the nerves was really starting to show.Sunday is normally a day for prayers, and this day was no different.Soon we were on the road in convoy, 2 team cars and the team van. The journey up was uneventful from the point that we were too nervous too talk. In Dunboyne as the whole team meet for the first time in the race car park, the nerves was replaced with a great sense of adventure.
Lots of people turned out at the ‘Ras festival’ in Dunboyne organised by Ras legend Phil Cassidy.Little market stalls lined the streets while a rock band blared out the hits that created a massive carnival atmosphere.As the riders signed on and made final preparations to their bikes the start whistle alerting the riders to the start was blown. Commonly at this stage of a race riders and team mates would joke and laugh about the race ahead… this was different. Unlike other races the Ras was an adventure not to be taken likely. None of the past months and weeks of preparation ,prepared us for the feeling of anticipation and excitement.The riders moved out and lined up to be presented to the 1000’s of people that turned out to see the race off.
As Team Wexford was announced and presented to the crowd, the lads rolled out onto the Main street to a massive cheer… Murt told me afterwards that he was never as nervous standing there waiting to get going.. As the heat was so intense I stood there with them given them water to keep them hydrated. We rolled out of Dunboyne to do a small 4 mile circuit, and race back through the town center before we headed off north.
As we went through the town the second time, I saw Liam Ruth and we ‘high 5′d’ each other as we drove by,and he shouted Loch Gorman Abu!… then the tears welled up in my eyes as I realised we were finally on our way. The Race to Dundalk was electric, the atmosphere, the heat the set up it was as near to the ‘Tour’ i’ll get but by christ it was something special. Marting Gill stayed at the back in the Wexford car while myself Pat and Ken were car number 15. Driving in the cavalcade in the Ras is a whole new ball game. I have to be honest not something I care much for as its pretty much who can hold his nerve the longest. As the first 30K came along Alex started to come under pressure… this was down to some nervous, but hung in there with great gusto….
The race soon reached Dundalk, when the first major problem hit the team.. the team car over heated with the hard driving in such conditions. So we had to do a swap, Martin was behind in the skoda and we meet up on the side of the road and swapped radios, wheels and even bags of ‘chips’.. the new team car was soon back in the race, and I nursed the other car to the hotel. It turns out 4 cars over heated that day with the same problems.. the ras is really that tough!..
The stage finish in Dundalk was good, and myself and Dave the physio had buckets and buckets of ice ready for the lads. The deck chairs were out in the shade awaiting the arrival of the riders.All came in safe in the 3rd and 4 th group on the road… we had some grub and headed back to the hotel. We shared the hotel with pretty much all the pro teams along with Carrick wheelers, Murphy & Gunn, Eurocycles etc… When soon set up the physio room and the lads rested and got their legs sorted. At about 8pm that night after a lovely dinner I hit the wall.. only an hours sleep in 2 days my adrenaline had run out and it was time for bed.
The next morning we parked up and said goodbye to the BMW team car… it was along a few more cars that failed to finish the day before. We signed on and unpacked the van again, laying out the sets, food bottles and whatever the riders needed. Nerves were alot less as we joked and laughed about the experience ahead. Another sunny day in Dundalk. Myself and Dave headed off in convoy in the van to Carrig on Shannon, we zigged zagged the course taken in some beautiful scenery along the way.. one was Sean Quinns house (of the Quinn group).. we joked to ourselves asking did he still live there or in a caravan around the back!.. We arrived in Carrig on Shannon, what a lovely place it is too.. we checked into the B&B and had all bags ready for the riders.. we headed back to the race car park and unloaded the van, this time putting up the gazebo…as the sun was unrelentless.. it was then when we recieved reports of a ‘jeep hitting the bunch’ and that the race was been neutralised to the finish. Reports were hard to get as we had no radio anPat in the team car had no reception on his mobile… a few minutes had passed when we found out that it didn’t involve any of our lads, but none the less a horrific crash that shouldn’t have happened. As we were we ahead of schedule, physios from other teams sat in and joined us and we made the most of the wonderful day. As the race neared we headed up the finish line to receive our riders and direct them to the race car park. All was well when they arrived, glad that no one was injured but disappointed too that we didin’t race. Back to the B&B that we shared with Sigma Sport Specialized…2 on their team past winners, Stephen Gallagher and Simon Williamson. The riders unpacked and qued for their rubs, while I went to Tesco to get more supplies and some things we forgot… Pat, Martin and Ken cleaned and serviced the bikes while Martin unloaded the van yet again!!…
That night we discussed the problem of getting food and water to the riders, as we’re car number 28 getting to the peleton was not easy and on the first stage odhran nearly got blown out the back, as he was waiting on us to get to him but it took 9 minutes to pass all the cars to get to the race, by then he had slipped back about 9 cars, and had to really fight to get back on… he did, but wasted valuable energy. We decided the best course of action was the feed station, and if a rider comes back for a bottle, he must take at least 5 bottles. The heatwave conditions didn’t help the problem. We asked Sigma sport for some musettes to helps us which they dually oblidged. It took us about 1 hour of a team meeting to decide that.. the reason why it took so long, was that sprits were so high we laughed an joked our way through it…
The next morning we signed on and had our team parked up on the banks of the Shannon along side the boats… Dave got the lads ready while we finaliesed the drinks and food… myself and dave headed off ahead of the race for the feed station. Pat, Martin and Ken went in the team car. We found the feed station over looking a beautiful lake (i cant recall the name off).. out with the deck chairs and myself, dave and ciaran Power sat off talking cycling, the race wasn’t due for another hour. The Connemara countryside is the most spectacular I’ve ever seeing.. the little village of Cong, where stage winner O’Loughlin is from, is unreal, I truely recommend you get there at some stage. The break cam through about a minute ahead of the bunch, from memeory there was O’Loughlin, Delahaye, A sweden from team sproket, and 2 Sigma sport riders… We had our musettes on the ready, Keith and Alex did the honours and passed about the food. We headed back along the course to the stage end. We set up base and waited for the riders… we had our rucksacs full of the riders needs, cans of coke, wet face cloths, jackets etc… we waited at the finish and the arrived in bunch after bunch. On the last KOM the race yet again was torn to shreads.
We relaxed in the race car park, packed up the van, yet again and headed to our B&B just out the road. The B&B was a lovely old country home run by Mary and Pat. They made us feel right at home. The usual ritual was set up, lads get their naps and rubs, while Martin sorts the van, Ken cleans the bikes and Pat sorts the bottles and mussettes. We were like a well oiled machine now! We went down to the hotel next door for dinner which the race had the function room ready for all involved in the race. The food was good, and we were starving. Some walked back to the B&B to stretch the legs, I was forced to walk back as I insulted MArtin Gill and he refused to drive me!.. ha
The next morning we had breakfast, again laughing and messing ensued as we were all delighted with the way things were going. Another day heading south to Tipperary town. The race started like any other day, reaching an average speed of 44kph. We were lined out going through Galway city. We were then able to see the lenght of the race.. it took 2 and half mins for the race to pass a particular point, so ya can imagaine how long it is!… The thing i enjoyed most about the race was the way people came out to support it… especially schools. The route was lined with school kids shouting and adding to the athmosphere. The cars returned the gesture with flashing lights and car horns!, the 2 ambulances joined in too…
This stage was another typical ras day… loads of speed and pain, and a team car full of food and drink. I don’t think at anystage while I was driving did I ever feel I’d get the ‘knock’… .. 2 KOM climbs today and our lads flew up them, but it was nearer Tipp when the pressure started with the pro teams driving at the head of affairs.. leaving the county riders trailing at the back! Only 20K into the stage when the dreaded call of ‘Attention, Attention, Attentions’, comes across the radio, a crash in the bunch, ya listen then to see if any of your numbers come up, one did, John lynch from Murphy Surveys. We got held up for 15 mins behind the crash while the 5-6 riders are attended too.. We helped Galway Bay prep a bike for one of their riders as the one they had in the crash was a write off… We are eventually waved through and the site of neck braces, spinal boards and blood is not a pretty sight, but thankfully all riders are well, and get well soon John…
The race seems to take a similiar pattern… the first bunch is your top end pros, the second bunch your top amatuers and the 3rd bunch the county riders. The race car park in Tipperary town was tight, but we got a space and had everyting laid out for the lads as they arrived with team physio Dave. Again they were pampered and got ready to cycle the few K out to the B&B. We stayed in Ballyglass hotel, we had the whole place to ourselves. Rooms were sorted out and we got too work. As the week went on we got better and better at doing our jobs therefore we were finishing quicker everytime. We sat down to dinner that evening and we had a massive choice of grub… we eat and shared some stories and slagged Gill, the usual carry on….After dinner, some of the riders rested, the backroom staff, some went for a spin on their bikes, others retired to the residence bar to watch the Giro…A pleasant stay in Tipperary town all round.
The next stage from Tipp to Seskin Hill, started at the local community centre.. the van unloaded one more time, and the physio gets to work preping the lads for the day ahead. While Alex is getting ready, we interviewed him about the race so far for the video camera, Alex thought we were serious, the clip will be up on You Tube in the coming days, its funny!, As the race lines up on the Main street, there was a big bang… Alex’s gets a blow out.. however he is sorted before the race departs…. The stage was fast and testing, however for our riders we knew the Pike climb from Dungarvan would be the killer punch to the race.. and we were right, even Irish amatuer Delahaye popped on the climb as it was ripped to peices by the pros up front… Keith rode himself into the 3rd group on the road, and really was getting stronger as the week went on… The race hit Seskin Hill and it really was a great finish for a stage, the crowds on the hill were amazing and really egged on all the riders… the picture of Alex on this site shows the massive effort needed to get to the top… We set up camp on a slip road a mile from the finish, I rode down to meet the riders and send them to the van. Dave and MArtin had the chairs out and plenty of coffee and sandwichs on the ready to sort the riders. Our B&B was 7 miles away so we packed up the team and headed for base. We were sharing with Motorpoint Marshalls pasta. They were a great bunch of lads and we had good craic with their mechanic as we cleaned the bikes in the car park and washed bottles etc…Sinead Power called by to see how we were doing and made sure we looked after Keith. Dinner in the bar was nice home cooked food, however the landlord thought we were messing when we explained one of our riders was a vegetarian, his reaction was like something out of ‘D’unbelievables’, he quickly explained that he was raised on ‘fastfood….. Rabbits and Hares!’….priceless!…
The next morning was the stage back to Gorey, I wished the team well that morning, and especially Murt and Alex as they both knew this was a very special moment for them both. I bummed a lift with the crew incharge of the stage finishes. Joe, from Galway worked in a bike shop in the city and this was his first Ras. Ya soon realiese in the Ras everybody there is like a big family, with most having riden it 4-5 times and helped out on another 20 Ras’s… all volunteers!…
We arrived in Gorey and got to work. Matt soon arrived with Mick and the South East Road Club was out in force to make sure the event went of smoothly. All the lads, Derrick, Garrett, Donal, Colm, Ken, Jason, Jonny, Scott, Mick, Pat, Ciaran, John and the rest have to be thanked for making sure the riders got the finish safely. The roads from Monaseed to Gorey are bad at the best of times and with a bunch of 150 riders at speeds of 40 mph we had to be extra vigilant. As the race neared the finish, word got back that Murt Doyle was behind, he had been involved in a small crash early in the stage and had to sit in a bunch of 10 riders and write the day off…
Over the Corabutt gap, frank Dunne was on hand to push the riders as their legs were burning with pain… The first 2 riders came to the finish… Dan Craven been one of them , putting in a good show for the yellow… Then a bunch of 40 riders came over the line, all top end pros… then another bunch of riders 5 mins down… then another bunch 9 mins down came into view and in it was 4 Wexford riders, Will, Odhran Keith and Alex… As I saw them come up the Main street the tears filled my eyes as we had done it… We had a Wexford team in the Ras and here we are on home soil… things couldn’t get better than this.. Alex crossed the line punching the air as he felt the same as I did… He cycled over to me and we hugged and both of us burst into tears… the raw emotion was unreal… I was never so happy in my life.. then our attention turned to Murt, we found out he was only 4 k out the road. After what seemed a life time he appeared in the distance… Ray Kennedy the MC announced it over the speakers and a massive roar went up.. Again the emotion was all over Murts face, as his wife Anne and the kids cheered him on… We eventually composed ourselves and the team was invited up on stage. Not sounding like a big girl.. but to see the lads up there was an amazing feeling all the work paid off.. everybody who helped out all the fund raising the meetings the texts the phone calls everything… worth every second!.. What a great day it was, the Ras in Gorey with a Wexford Team and 2 local lads … unreal…
That night we stayed in the Ashdown hotel, it might sound a bit odd, but we felt it extremely important to keep the team focused on the job and the same routine was in place.. clean the bikes, clean the van, massages for the lads… all to be the same. We had dinner that night and our spirits were through the roof… part one of the plan was to get too Gorey, now part 2… finish the Ras and get our medals!…
Saturday morning was a typical sunny south east summers morning, pissing rain… We got up had breakfast loaded up the van yet again and headed too the Amber Springs for sign on… The van went early so we could set up the tent to make sure the lads where sheltered at least. I think the emotion of yesterday and the adrenalin still pumping through our veins the daunting stage of a wet windy day spent going over 3 major climbs with professional riders seem almost enjoyable… The race was lead to the ceremonial start on the Main street. My dad John Webb and his life lone friend Joe Funge posssed for photos as a great young cyclists from the my own Club Becky Heany presented Dermot Dignam with a trophy to commerate the stage arriving in the town of Gorey. The Wexford lads all lined the front of the peleton…the race was off and it rolled on out towards Carnew. Myself, David and Martin jumped into the van and lead the convoy of vans to the top of the Shay Elliot for an unofficial food stop. Along the way, the gentleman Martin Gill had to drive Galway Bays team van as the young lass was having difficulty with a sore leg. The weather at the top started to lighten up and the cloud lift. Dave headed onto the finish to for one more time have the food, tables and chairs ready for the riders upon their arrival. At the top the usual suspects were there, Frank O’Leary was up to show his support along with John Lynch, Mick Considine with the underage clubs members in tow!… As the races neared myself and Martin spaced ourselves out waiting on our riders. Mark cassidy flew by with a rider from team Sproket.. a few more riders in 4-5’s then the first of our riders.. Will Byrne, riding strong he grabs a bottle and a few gels, today we decided against mussttes, as the riders founded easier on the descent to take a bottle with gels strapped to it. Then Keith arrived, looking stronger by the pedal stroke at this stage, in he distance I hear a roar..’Derek!!!!’ it was Alex, just letting me know not to bother picking up empty bottles and look after him, which I did!.. Murt was soon after.. Just to note we had I think 20 bottles starting out the week, but by robbing every other team in the race and picking bottles up on the side of the road, I think by sunday we had 20 bottles each!!!… I jumped into team car driven by Pat, MArtin went with Galway bay as the girl was still unable to drive. We followed Murt all the way over the Wicklow Gap and down into Kilcullen. We arrived there in the community centre known just one more day and Murt, Alex, Will Oadhran and Keith will be men of the Ras!.. We relaxed in Kilcullen with sambos made by Wills wife.. they were lovely… Again the van was packed up and we headed for the Green Isle.
In the car park it was cluttered and packed with team cars and vans all cleaning their bikes and there was a real sense of family amoung everybody. Having Pat Whitney on the team was a real bonus as he knew everybody and everybody knew Pat. The lads got their rubs while Ken myself and Martin cleaned the bikes and bottles for one more time… the van was packed up and it was dinner time.. We q’d for an age and had our dinner.. it was lovely. We then went to the bar for a few drinks and had a laugh about the week gone by. It was getting late so I went to the bed, when I say late it was well after 9!
The next morning, breakfast for the last time with the lads. Sadly Pat was unable to make the last day, I wish he was there as I know he wanted to see Murt and Alex finish! The weather again was great. We got ready at the stage start and we shock hands one more time and We headed off from kilcullen. MArtin and Dave went straight to the stage finish and for the second last time unpacked the van. Myself and Ken did the team car. The race was pacey all the way to Skerries, no major accidents apart from one motor bike rider having a minor collision with a car, thankfully all was well… We arrived in Skerries with massive crowds out to see the riders home. The race was in 3 bunches and all our riders finished comfortably. We pulled into the race car park and I waited for the lads to arrive. What seemed like an eternity Alex rolled in.. and then Murt.. at last Men of the RAS!!.. what an unbelievable feeling to shake their hands. We had no real time to take in the situation as we had to go to the stage for our medals. 6 of us rode down… again the tears filled my eyes with pride as I had a Wexford Flag draped around my neck riding down to the stage with the lads behind me. We got up on the stage and got our medals… I got one for team manager which meant as much to me as if I had rode it myself!…
I meet my dad and wife in the crowd just after that and we all hugged and enjoyed the moment. We made our way back to the race car park and for one more time we relaxed in the sunshine eat more food and smiled!. A bottle of bubbly soon showered us all and even Martin had a drink! We said our goodbyes to Will and Odhran as they went home straight from the race. And we again packed up the van and headed home..
5 men started the Ras and 5 riders finished.. mission accomplished. Naturally as we were growing in experience its no surprise 2 times winner Ciaran Power wanted to know our secrets and bummed a lift off us.. what a way to crown the week than to share a lift with a cycling legend!. We arrived back in Gorey at my home and for the last time we unpacked the van. The gear was sorted, girlfriends and wives arrived and we said our goodbyes. I shut the door to my house and all I could think off was will 2011 be just as good!?…
I have my Ras hat, medal and team photo framed and will take pride of place in my home. To everybody who played small parts to big parts in making this a reality I thank them dearly on behalf of the team.
We have come along way from Bill Jordan’s quiz night… the charity cycle and the charity race. Gianni Pondzi for organising the bikepure.org write up and all his support. Patsy Macaffery for all his work and fundraising, a true gentleman. Paul Nolan who was neutral service at the race who every morning and evening always came over and asked how we are.. much appreciated. To frank o’Leary for been on the end of the phone for advice and help.. Mick Considine for calling up to Galway to show his support, a great cycling supporter and great friend. John Maguire for the Web site and doing the ‘tweets’ while my mobile wouldn’t work! Jonny Gordan who looked after the team with help, advice and sponsorship… unfortunately he couldn’t make it but gave us Ken as he said himself he was proud to be apart of the team. To Jim Hughes of Innovate.ie for his money!.. and his support … To all who texted to wish the team luck it meant alot… To John Lynch for helping me locate riders when we were stuck!….
My own club The South East Road Club, for their kind wishes. Above all for the work that the likes of Mick and MAtt showed to organise a highly successful stage finish in the town of Gorey.
Some people over the few months I got to know better as we worked closely.. Liam Ruth from Slaney.. a true gentlemen and a great PRO, and now a friend.. and he promised to buy me a drink when ‘its all over’ Pat Whitney, a man who has been around the block , I think 50-60 times know, I think the night in Galway at our ‘team meeting’ when we told stories and jokes for 2 hours I will remember for a long time. Pat was a vital member of the team and has bags of experience and we have already chalked him down for 2011!.. thanks Pat, so sorry you weren’t there Sunday.. but the 6 days was great.
Again Sinead Power, many thanks for your help and advice, your a gem and I look forward to working again with you on any race in the future
Ken the mechanic… a true professional and a talent with the bike.. he had the car sorted with all kinds of wheels everyday, knew what to do from the first minute and was vital to make sure all bikes ran smoothly. All did.. just proves he was worth his weight in gold.. Dave the physio.. arguably one of the funniest men alive.. althoug in the van on stage 3.. the van was never as quiet as we decided to pass out an auld one in front of us, as he pulled out a Range Rover Sport came from behind easily doing 80MPH and over took us all.. another half second we would have been in trouble.. the van was very quiet for all of 5 mins as we took in our near miss!.. although 5 Am in the Ashdown myself Ken and Dave shared the room.. Dave was wondering about looking for his phone for some reason and as he bent down there was this huge bang! he smashed his head into the table!, been the kind caring person I am I jumped up and made sure all was OK, as he hit this table full on, once I realised it wasn’t life threaten and the bleeding would stop in an hour or so, I jumped back into bed a laughed myself too sleep! classic.. Thanks Dave, it was a pleasure having you on the team.
Martin gill, what can ya say about this man.. he has the heart of a lion and without a doubt his calming words, great knowledge of the Ras and sheer will to work with a team, he was truly a person the team wouldn’t have functioned without. He was the butt of alot of my jokes, some I thought he was going to kill me for, well he did make me walk home to the B&B after dinner in Galway!.. but he took them all in his stride and gave as quick as he took them. However next year it’ll be different he’ll be riding it!, but still a vital member none the less.
The riders, Odhran and Will, both done the Ras before and both great riders. Will has been around cycling for years and knew nearly as many people has Pat. Wills pep talks before the stage was great, he knew what to expect and helped those like Murt and Alex along with his knowledge.. I think things will change when he has his first child in the coming months he might have to cut back on the cycling!.. I learned alot from Will and he brought alot of experience to the team and to the backroom staff. I wish himself and Evelyn all the best with their new arrival and I am sure we’ll have a pic up on the site in due course. Odhran was a strong rider and again rode the Ras last year. He had his injury worries in the 2nd stage, but never entertained the though of quiting, a great fighter.. a man that is welcome back to team Wexford anytime he likes…
Keith, was a rider who got stronger everyday. I ve great admiration for him as he was off the bike along time and to come back after these years to ride as strong as he does is powerful. He got on with things in the team and was no fuss, plus he laughed at my jokes which helps. He was able to read the GC sheet to perfection and knew exactly how the next day would play out. Cheers Keith, looking forward to meeting up with ya again…
The last 2 was Murt and Alex… I’ve known Murt since I was in school and you will never meet a more genuine man with killer one liners in your life. Without sounding patronising, I was so thrilled for Murt to finish the race as he has been around the block for many years and deserves a medal for that alone!, he nicknamed him ‘Wee-man’.. he isn’t getting any younger, but certainly is getting smaller… Alex thanks for the memory of the Main Street in Gorey, I will never forget that, also the video ‘interviews’ priceless.. I don;t think there is a harder working cyclist in the country, but even with his bags of skill and fitness still has time to go out on the bike with fat people like me…speaks volumes for his character, and I am sure now Alex, behind the Mrs back is plotting his training for the Ras 2011, and I look forward to be been there with him.. a great friend and cyclist.
A special mention to Frank O’Leary, Derrick Evans, Anthony Mills, Frank Dunne, Cathal Redmond all riders who had the ability to rider the Ras but were unable too, thanks for showing your support to the team when it counted.
One more person I wanna say thank you too is my wife… on a normal week she puts up with alot… in the months, weeks and days leading up to the Ras she was a tower of strength and looked after everything for me so I can work on the Ras. I haven’t mentioned 2011 just yet, but when she reads this report, she’ll know living with me next year will be just as bad…
Del
