Cassidy maintaining family Rás honour

MARK CASSIDY was little more than an interested spectator when he stood alongside his mother in Drogheda to watch his father, Philip, don the coveted race leader’s yellow jersey at the end of the penultimate stage of the 1999 FBD Insurance Rás.

Philip was about to join those cycling legends who had won Irish cycling’s showpiece more than once but the amazing fact about this achievement was that his first victory had come 17 years earlier and two years before he represented Ireland at the Los Angeles Olympics.

It passed over the head of the younger “Cass” whose big interest at that time was swimming but, since then, he has made his own impression on the sport which his famous father graced with distinction.

He has been a member of the An Post/Sean Kelly Academy for the past number of years and he wore the coveted golden fleece in the 2008 Rás before an horrific crash in dreadful weather conditions on the outskirts of Limerick stripped him of the jersey.

This year will be extra special for him when he goes to the line for the ceremonial start in his home town of Dunboyne.

“I’m really looking forward to starting the Rás in Dunboyne, in front of my family and friends,” he said.

“The Rás is a special race for my family, with my dad winning it a couple of times and a goal of mine is to join him on that (winners) list. It’s a route that I’m really familiar with at this stage so I can’t wait for the action to get underway.”

He was one of three Irish riders included when the An Post/Sean Kelly team manager, Kurt Bogaerts, named his team for this year’s Rás and he will line up alongside fellow Irishmen, David O’Loughlin and Connor McConvey with Mark McNally from Liverpool and Belgian rider, Pieter Ghyllebert, completing the squad.

It will be the first Rás experience for McConvey, McNally and Ghyllebert while O’Loughlin, former national champion and Olympic track cyclist, won the king of the mountains classification last year and has three top-five placings.

McConvey, from Belfast, is a former mountain biker who has switched to the road and has been one of the most consistent riders on the An Post team this year.

Ghyllebert, a newcomer to the An Post squad, has been a regular on teams this year while McNally is another with proven form this year.

“I have picked a really strong all-round line up, as the overall aim of the team this year is to compete in every category, general classification, young rider and king of the mountains, as well going for stage wins,” Bogaerts said.

“I feel very confident coming into this year’s Rás.

“We have been training very hard with this race in mind, so I’m upbeat about our chances of repeating the podium successes of ‘08 and ‘09.”

Cycling legend, Sean Kelly, never won this race as a rider and he has made no secret of the fact that he would dearly love to see a member of the team claim the title.

“The Rás is a race we specifically target every year,” he said.

“It’s on home turf, in front our sponsor’s and fans so we really want to perform.

“We have a bunch of talented young riders in the academy so this is a big chance for them to show how good they are.”

A UCI 2.2 event, the Rás starts in Dunboyne on Sunday and concludes the following Sunday in Skerries with stage finishes in Dundalk, Carrick- on-Shannon, Oughterard, Tipperary, Seskin Hill, Gorey and Kilcullen.