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Last Updated: 14 Oct 2020 - 12:47:15 PM |
Schleck brothers Andy and Frank are probably the two biggest names in this year's Tour of Ireland, but the race start today in Kilkenny will also see many others who could end up with the final trophy on Sunday.
Former Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke is leading the Unibet.com team and with the Australian saying he is back up to full fitness following a nasty crash in the Tour of Catalunya, his sprinting speed plus his ability to get over the shorter climbs marks him out as a dangerman. T-Mobile galloper Bernhard Eisel is another who should be in the mix, while CSC certainly cannot be ruled out.
The world's number one ranked team has the Schleck's as captains and even though they'd prefer a much more mountainous parcours [or a time trial or two], their ability means they have to be considered. Between them they have won the Amstel Gold Classic, the Alpe d'Huez stage of the Tour de France and taken second overall in the Tour of Italy. Team-mate Karsten Kroon is another who could ride strongly.
Amongst the other contenders are UCI Europe Tour leader Martijn Maaskant (Rabobank), who has been in fine form this season, plus Team Maxbo Bianchi's impressive 20 year old Norwegian Edvald Basson Hagen. He's taken a clutch of victories including both stages plus the final overall in the recent Paris Corr'ze race.
Team-mate Alexander Kristoff is also very quick, having outsprinted Thor Husovd to win the Norwegian road race championship earlier this summer. He'll be up against the likes of Ceramica Panaria Navigare's Maximiliano Richeze in the sprints. Argentinean Richeze won stages of the Tour de Langkawi, the Tour of Trentino and the Tour of Luxembourg this season and also finished in the top ten eight times at the Giro, including two second places and a third.
Borut Bozic fronts the LPR squad and is motivated after his Tour de Region Wallonne win. DFL Cyclingnews Litespeed rider Daniel Lloyd is keen to move up a place after finishing second in both the prestigious Tour de Qinghai Lake in China and the British road race championships. In both instances he lost out by a mere second, so a win is now overdue.
Two previous winners of the FBD Insurance R's will also aim for success. Chris Newton is top dog in the Recycling.co.uk team while Kristian House could deliver for Navigators Insurance. He won the closest-ever edition of the Ras in 2006, beating Slipstream team leader Danny Pate on points. Pate is back and will want to get over the disappointment of that by taking success here this week.
Simon Bates (South Australia.com/AIS), Anthony Colby and double San Francisco GP victor Charles Dionne (both Colavita Sutter Home) are others to watch.
Of course, there are quite a few Irish riders also taking part and these will be highly motivated to do well.
Hopes for stage wins and a high overall placing could perhaps best lie with ProTour riders Nicolas Roche and his Ireland team-mate Philip Deignan, both of whom have been riding top-ranked events recently. Roche fared well in the Tour de l'Ain while Deignan showed solid form in the Deutchsland Tour and is clearly on his way back to full fitness after a spring wrecked by injury. They will be supported by Brian Kenneally, Dermot Nally, Paul Griffin, Derek Burke and Martyn Irvine.
National road race champion David O'Loughlin is another who is gunning for success and he will lead the Navigators Insurance team. Ciaran Power was also supposed to be there but has been ruled out of the race due to a virus. Former champ David McCann also heads a US-based squad and if he has the form, he will have the backing of the Colavita Sutter Home squad.
As the only Irish Continental team, Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly are keen to achieve good results in front of their sponsors. Stephen Gallagher, Paidi O'Brien and Mark Cassidy were named yesterday by manager Kurt Bogaerts as the riders in best form and will be backed by former pro Morgan Fox, talented 18 year old Isaac Speirs, Belgian rider Rieno Stofferis and the Dane Glenn Bak.
The action begins with a 174 kilometres from Kilkenny Castle to Cork, leaving the Marble City at 12.35 and heading on to a hot-spot sprints in Kelly's backyard of Carrick on Suir and in Clonmel. The riders will then climb the second category ascent of the Vee, hit another bonus sprint in Lismore and then pass through Midleton en route to Cork city, the two ascents of St. Patrick's Hill and the finish on South Mall.
Full route details:
The race will revisit many of the highlights of the Nissan Classic, which ran from 1985 to 1992. St. Patrick's Hill in Cork, perhaps the most famous 'wall' in the country, will feature, as will other Nissan staples such as the Healy Pass, Moll's Gap and Ladies View. It will also pass through Carrick-on-Suir, the hometown of four-time winner Sean Kelly.
Stage one will take the riders 174 kilometres from Kilkenny Castle to Cork, leaving the so-called Marble City at 12.35 and heading on to a hot-spot sprint in Kelly's backyard of Carrick on Suir (39.1 km). Another follows half an hour later in Clonmel (61.8 km), then the riders will speed on towards the second category ascent of the Vee (94.8 km). Shortly after the top there will be another bonus sprint in Lismore (108.6 km), then the peloton will head through Midleton and on to Cork city. There one of the most spectacular sights in Irish racing history will be repeated as the riders strain to get up the wall-like St. Patrick's climb, which is an estimated 25 percent in severity. The first ascent will buckle the field; the second should break it, enabling the strongest riders to sprint it out for victory on South Mall.
A big emphasis on day two will once again be on guaranteeing a spectacle, but this time round it should be the scenery which impresses as much as the racing. Over the course of the 166 kilometre stage the riders will pass through the stunning Beara Peninsula, taking in the Healy Pass and Moll's Gap, two well-known climbs from Nissan Classic history.
Fifty kilometres after the 13.00 start in Clonakilty the field will crest the summit of the third category Glenlough climb. Very soon after the top two bonus sprints will come in quick succession, one at Bantry (60.1 km) and the second at Glengarriff (77.6 km). Almost immediately the lumpy parcours will see the riders hit the third category Derreenacarrin climb (85.7 km), then drop back down and speed on towards what could be a decisive point of the stage.
Ranked as first category, the rugged Healy Pass comes 63 kilometres from the end of the stage and could act as the springboard for a winning move. It tops out at kilometre 103.1 and then just 11 kilometres later the riders will hit the top of the third category Knockreagh. While neither has the length nor the altitude of Alpine climbs, a determined group could stop clear on what are sluggishly heavy roads.
After another bonus sprint in Kenmare (133.6 kilometre) the riders will begin climbing the second category Moll's Gap, another very picturesque mountain which should make for great television pictures. The Irish tourism authority Bord Failte are the primary backers of the event and with coverage going to countries around the world, this consideration was of importance when selecting the route. It should also make for exciting racing, as the summit comes just 23 kilometres from the finish in Killarney.
Day three covers 194 kilometres from Tralee to Ennis, passing near the fort of legendary Irish king Brian Boru and through Limerick and Killaloe. The route sees it skirt the Shannon, Ireland's longest river, for much of the stage, then peel west toward the finish. It's flatter than the previous day's action but has intermediate sprints at Tarbert (64.9 km), Foynes (85.1) and Limerick city (123.4), then the third category Cahir Mountain (155.5) which comes less than an hour before the front-runners fight it out for stage honours.
The following day is the longest stage, a marathon 232.5 kilometre leg starting and finishing in Galway City and taking in the hugely picturesque areas of Cong, Westport and Leenaun. Films The Quiet Man and The Field were both made in this area of Ireland and with the stage being both long and lumpy, it's likely that other exciting camerawork will be produced.
Following an early-morning start in Galway's Eyre Square, the peloton will hit the second category Finny climb (57 km) and then the first cate Tourmakeady (76.5 km), intermediate sprints in Westport (98.1 km) and Louisburgh (119.3 km) and the third category climbs at Leenaun (152.3 km) and Maumturk (167.8 km). From there remains the third intermediate gallop of the day in Oughterard (187.9 km) and the second category ascent of Keeagh (203.1 km), these coming in the buildup towards the final sprint in Salthill, Galway.
While it lacks the high peaks of day two, the length of this stage plus the fact that it is the penultimate day of racing and thus crucially important to GC means it is likely that this could be a very decisive part of the race.
The event will then be settled with a final 147.7 kilometre leg from Athlone to Dublin. The riders will slug it out on a route through Moate and Enfield, up the Strawberry Beds, though the Phoenix park and concluding with ten laps of a circuit of Merrion Square. It's mainly flat, lacking any categorised climbs, but intermediate sprints at Kinnegad (56.4 km), Lucan (104 km) and Merrion Square (130.9 km) will spice things up before the final few circuits outside government buildings.
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Stage 1, Wednesday: Kilkenny - Cork:
Kilkenny, Carrick on Suir (sprint, 39.1 km), Clonmel (sprint, 61.8 km), the Vee (Cat. 2 climb, 94.8 km), Lismore (sprint, 108.6 km), Midleton, Cork City, two ascents Patrick's Hill, Cork finish (174 km)
Stage 2, Thursday: Clonakilty - Killarney.
Clonakilty, Bantry (sprint, 60.1 km), Glengariff (sprint, 77.6km), Derreenacarrin (Cat. 3 climb, 85.7 km), Healy Pass (Cat. 1 climb, 103.1 km), Knockreagh (Cat. 3 climb, 114 km), Kenmare (sprint, 133.6 km), Moll's Gap (Cat. 2 climb, 143 km), Killarney finish (166 km)
Stage 3, Friday: Tralee - Ennis:
Tralee, Tarbert (sprint, 64.9 km), Foynes (sprint, 85.1 km), Limerick (sprint, 123.4 km), Cahir Mountain (Cat. 3 climb, 155.5 km), Ennis finish (194 km).
Stage 4, Saturday: Galway - Galway:
Galway, Finny (Cat. 2 climb, 57 km), Tourmakedy (Cat. 1 climb, 76.5 km), Westport (sprint, 98.1 km), Louisburg (sprint, 119.3 km), Leenaun (Cat. 3 climb, 152.3 km), Maumturk (Cat. 3 climb, 167.8 km), Oughterrard (sprint, 187.9 km), Keeagh (Cat. 2 climb, 203.1 km), Galway finish (232.5 km)
Stage 5, Sunday: Athlone - Dublin:
Athlone, Kinnegad (sprint, 54.6 km), Lucan (sprint, 104 km), Merrion square circuit start (124.5 km), third passage of finish line (sprint, 130.9 km), Merrion square finish lap ten (147.7 km)
* The race will enjoy extensive television coverage around the globe. In Ireland, RTE will be screening live action from the Tour, and also showing highlights each evening.
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