Irish riders Sean McKenna, Damien Shaw and Matthew Teggart have been named in the five man An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly Team for the 65th edition of An Post Rás, which begins on Sunday 21st May.
The three Irish riders will be joined by in form Polish sprinter Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz and the experienced Regan Gough, who hails from New Zealand.
The team will go into this year’s race brimming with confidence following some recent impressive results and performances. Mullingar’s Shaw took the first professional victory of his career last month, soloing to victory on the opening stage at the Tour Loir Et Cher (2.2) while Kasperkiewicz secured a superb stage five win at the Tour de Bretagne (2.2).
The Rás is a key race in the calendar for the An Post team and manager, Kurt Bogaerts, believes the squad are peaking just at the right time:
“We have an extremely well balanced and prepared team. I am very proud of their recent performances and am hopeful that they will make a massive mark on the An Post Rás. The competition will be tough and we know exactly what the Rás is about but we are coming into the race feeling confident. Matthew Teggart in particular has been working on a very specific training programme to get ready for the Rás and Damien and Sean have both experienced it before so we’re looking forward to it.
With less than two weeks to go before the start of the race, the riders have varied training schedules. Shaw, Kasperkiewicz, Teggart and McKenna will rest from competition while Gough will compete in the Gran Prix Criquielion (1.2), this Sunday 14th May.
Commenting on the announcement of the An Post team lineup for the 2017 An Post Rás, race director Tony Campbell said
“This looks like one of the strongest ever An Post Chain Reaction teams to take part. Kurt and his men are always sharp and this year they have confident, winning riders on board so they will be looking to make their mark on every stage.
The 2017 An Post Rás will begin in Dublin on Sunday May 21st and features stage finishes in Longford, Newport, Bundoran, Buncrana, Dungloe, Donegal, Ardee and Skerries. The race comprises eight days in duration, totalling 1200 kilometres in distance and includes 21 categorised climbs.
An Post Chain Reaction Team for An Post Rás
Matthew Teggart (IRL)
Damien Shaw (IRL)
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (POL)
Sean McKenna (IRL)
Regan Gough (NZ)
An Post Rás 2017 (Total: 1199.8 kilometres):
Stage 1, Sunday May 21: Dublin to Longford (146.1 kilometres)
Stage 2, Monday May 22: Longford to Newport (142.9 kilometres)
Stage 3, Tuesday May 23: Newport to Bundoran (149 kilometres)
Stage 4, Wednesday May 24: Bundoran to Buncrana (151.8 kilometres)
Stage 5, Thursday May 25: Buncrana to Dungloe (181.2 kilometres)
Stage 6, Friday May 26: Dungloe to Donegal (132.1 kilometres)
Stage 7, Saturday May 27: Donegal to Ardee (167.3 kilometres)
Stage 8, Sunday May 28: Ardee to Skerries (129.4 kilometres)
