The Ras

Well the Ras updates didn't go to plan.
It was always going to be a struggle. I was so shattered after every stage that the last thing I wanted to do was start typing shit and pretending I wasn't shattered.

The Ras was a struggle but I was racing. Some lads go to the Ras just to survive - I was one of those last year. There is nothing shameful about surviving the Ras, it is something that should be celebrated. Other lads who are capable of racing but for one reason or another, choose not to race and simply follow wheels all week - these are the lads I don't understand. I enjoy the aggressive side of racing, there is no fun for me in following wheels all week without sticking your nose in the wind.

It was an eventful week. Sometimes I attacked, sometimes I followed and other times I held on for dear life. I was in small breakaways at the front of the race, sprinting for the win on stages and out the back in the cars. I was sunburnt and soaked - the week had it all.

I'm not going to drone through eight days in a narrative.
The highlight,race wise, was finishing up 23rd on GC and Second County rider. The non race related highlight was the absolute madness which was the team dinner in Blarney. I nearly wet myself laughing and my throat hasn't been the same since.

The lowlight (if that's even a word) was loosing teammate Colm Cassidy, when he was forced to abandon after a crash on stage four.

I am off to Spain on Tuesday for a World Cup on the Tandem but it shouldn't be too hectic with only a road race and time trial to compete in over the course of a week. The Ras took a fair bit out of me so I am going to re-charge the batteries and shift the engine back to neutral for a couple of weeks and build again for the nationals.