Rás Na mBan 2104 Draws Closer

Post date: Sep 10, 2014 8:55:42 PM

(By Steven Franzoni)

Soldiering on, a team was put together around the Mullingar girls, Sonja O'Mahony and Michelle O' Halloran. To make up the squad to the required five girls, we now have Navan resident and Richies Cycles rider Karen Robinson. Karen has a few Rás's under her belt but is also a keen triathlete, competing at Ironman level. Also coming on board are two experienced riders from the UK. Jessie Walker a young and upcoming rider from Sheffield is joined by Julie Erskine from Scotland. Julie placed 6th in the Queen of the Hills competition at last years Rás.

In the background is a four strong team beavering away preparing all the logistics,which has been a serious task in itself. Paul Daley, Stuart Cox, Colin Robinson and myself have all been working very hard to get every thing organised.

Open Invite

To celebrate the team participation we are having a meet and greet at Outdoor Escape at 8pm this Tuesday. This is a chance to say hello to all the team and there will be finger food on offer.

Follow The Progress of The Squad

We'll be keeping you posted on the progress of the team throughout the race. A Rás na mBan page has been set up and we'll be posting bulletins after each stage so don't forget to check in every day to keep and eye on how the team is doing. You'll find the page here and there's also a link to Rás na mBan 2014 on the left navigation pane of the site.

The season has been long and arduous for the Mullingar girls. The Rás was penned down in March as a major goal for the season and all training and racing roads lead to next week. Bad luck struck a few months ago with illness forcing Aisling Flanagan out of contention for a top spot in the Women's National League and participation next week. We wish Aisling a speedy recovery and understand how frustrating it must be for her to have watched the preparation unfold over the last few months. Next year Aisling...

The countdown continues and the excitement grows, for me anyway, as the Ladies Lakeside Wheelers Team move into the final days of preparation for this years Rás na mBan.

This five day, six stage race is the premier race in Ireland for female cyclists and a first for the newly formed Wheelers squad. Not to be taken lightly, this race attracts competitors from as far afield as America and always has a strong European contingent.