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Last Updated: Feb 19th, 2008 - 09:23:58 |
Route details announced for P&O Easter Tour
By Anthony Mitchell
Feb 19, 2008,
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The NICF, organisers of the P&O Irish Sea Tour of the North, now just over four weeks away, have announced details of the 5 stages that will make up the Easter weekend event.
Once again, Stormont will play host to the opening Prologue Time Trial on good Friday evening. As Easter this year is on its earliest date since 1913, the opening stage will get underway at 6pm, with the organisers having been granted special dispensation from Cycling Ireland to run the 100 riders off at half minute intervals.
This will be the 8th year that the 1 mile climb to Parliament Buildings has played host to the opening stage, and this year has an extra prize on offer if the stage winner breaks Welshman George Rose`s 2004 record of 2 minutes 5 seconds, making the shortest stage potentially the best paying stage of the event.
Saturdays stage remains unchanged from last year and is based in Ballymena, taking in the North East Antrim Coast. The 70 mile stage will include 2000feet of climbing, and takes in Glenariff, the longest climb of the race at just over five miles.
Bangor features two stages on Easter Sunday, starting with a 4.5 mile Time Trial from Donaghadee to Bangor on Sunday morning, followed by a 53 mile lap of the Ards Peninsula in the afternoon. Despite this being the shortest road stage of the event, it has played a pivotal role in shaping the overall winner in recent editions of the race. This years stage will include the Donaghadee rd climb out of Ards on the run in to the finish.
Carryduff will again see the event finale, with a 68 mile route that is again unaltered from 2007. This stage proved popular with riders and spectators alike, with the remainder of the field tackling the Boiling Well and Moneyslane climbs in both directions on the outward and homeward directions.
With a full field of 100 riders from including teams from Europe, the P&O Irish Sea Tour of the North is gearing up to be an International extravaganza.
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