Former winners added to FBD RÁS field

TWO more former winners have been added to the list of entries for the FBD Insurance RÁS, which gets underway in Dublin on May 22.

Paul Manning, winner in 2001 and 2003, and Chris Newton have both been named on the British professional team, Recycling.co.uk/MG-XPOWER/Litespeed and will be backed by the perfect blend of youth and experience, Rob Sharman, Shaun Snodden and Ben Greenwood.

Also joining professional teams from the Czech Republic, Estonia and Norway are teams from Canada and the Netherlands.

The Dutch Team B&E is comprised of a list of seasoned campaigners who have been competing with all the big names throughout Europe and also have the added advantage of having competed in the RÁS a few years ago.

Tino Haakman, Richard Kooijman, Aldo Klomb, Sander Lomans and Gerard Windhouwer make up the team.

David Butler, Directeur Sportif of the Canadian team, Jet Fuel Coffee, has built a solid cohesive team of young riders around the experienced Stig Somme and Andrew Randell.

Randell won a stage into Castletownbere on their last appearance in 2002.

Three of Canada’s most promising young riders, Zach Bell, Kevin Miller and Mark Pozniak, complete the team.

The maximum field of 200 riders, which is a record entry, will also include amateur teams from France, Germany, Scotland, Wales and the Irish national team led by former world junior champion, Mark Scanlon, and 17 county teams.

Are Andresen will lead the Norwegian professional team, Sparebanken Vest. He was runner-up in last year’s Tour of Bulgaria, third overall in the Norwegian Cup and is on the Norwegian Time Trial Championship team.

Another member of that team, Morten Christiansen, has twice won the Norwegian Cup and was second to Andresen last year. He won three stages in the Tour of Hungary and emerged as the best climber in the international Ringerike Grand Prix.