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52nd FBD Milk Rás - 2.5
Ireland, May 23-30, 2004
The foreign contenders
A strong foreign entry means that Irish riders will have to fight hard for success this year, writes Shane Stokes of irishcycling.com
Given that three out of the last four winners of the FBD Milk Rás have been from overseas, it seems astonishing now that in the recent past a home winner was almost expected. Between 1990 and 1999 Irish riders came out best in every edition of the race. Welshman Julian Winn bucked the trend when he took yellow to Dublin in 2000, while Great Britain's Paul Manning (2001) and Chris Newton (2003) emerged best since then. Ciarán Power's win in 2002 is the only interruption to the recent pattern.
The race's graduation to a 2.5 ranked event on the UCI international calendar three years ago is a big part of this overseas domination. World ranking points attract bigger teams, and so good professional outfits and strong national teams are amongst those making the journey each year. The concomitant increase in the difficulty of the race has also seen a decrease in the number of Irish riders taking part, further swaying the balance of the event.
In recognising this new trend it is crucial to look amongst the foreign contingent for possible - or even probable - winners of the race. This year is no different, with a number of strong teams chasing stage wins and the final yellow jersey.
One of those certain to be in the shakeup is the Scandinavia Team Bianchi Nordic squad, managed by former top professional Tommy Prim. Prim finished second in the Tour of Italy in 1981 and 1982 and so will be the most experienced team manager in the race; this, combined with the talent of his young riders makes the Scandinavian professional outfit a very strong prospect indeed.
Swedes Tobias Lergĺrd, Jonas Holmkvist and Petter Renäng, Finland's Kimmo Kananen and Glenn Bak of Denmark are expected to be one of the strongest squads in the multinational line-up, with 24 year old Lergĺrd determined to improve on his second place overall last year. Holmkvist took two stages in 2003 and he too will head back with the intention of equalling or bettering that performance.
The squad was top international team in last year's race and is likely to once again challenge for that award. Also gunning for the top spot in that classification are the 2003 runners-up, Kazakhstan. The team was one of the main animators twelve months ago, winning the King of the Mountains classification and placing riders second and third on the toughest mountain stage.
National team director Valentin Rechert has named a strong team drawn from the country's best young riders. Valentin Iglinskiy showed his good form when he won the prologue of the recent Tour of Hellas in Greece, also a 2.5 ranked international event, while Alexandr Dymovskikh, Ivan Andreev,Vadim Vdovinov and Alexandr Dyachenko will similarly be in the hunt for stage wins and overall success.
The Kazakhs are expecting big things, having learned greatly from their debut twelve months ago. 'Now that we know the very competitive nature of the FBD Milk Rás we are better prepared,' said one team official. 'We will be in the reckoning for overall honours.'
Another big threat are the Slovenia Team Perutnina Ptuj squad, ranked sixth in the division three pro tables. They are lead by Valter Bonca, who was second last year in the both the Slovenian national road race and time trial championships. His team-mate Mitja Mahjoric is another to watch, having won the 2.5 ranked Tour of Slovenia in 2003 and also placing second in the 2.5 Paths of King Nikola tour. Miran Kelner was seventh in the 1.3 ranked GP Krka.
The Germany Team Comnet Senges squad are another Division three pro outfit and will also be a big threat. Tjarco Cuppens will be in a position to brief the team on the tactics and peculiarities of the FBD Milk Rás, having competed here four years ago when he won the opening stage. There will be a second German squad in the race, the Team Stevens Von Hacht outfit, who also figure amongst those travelling over to take part.
The Great Britain team are very familiar to the race, Paul Manning and Chris Newton winning in the GB colours in 2001 and 2003. This year the build up to the Olympics means that Newton and Manning will concentrate instead on the World Track Championships, but manager Simon Lillistone is bringing a strong under 23 team to the FBD Milk Rás. Graham Briggs and Evan Oliphant have been in good form of late, Briggs winning the Paris-Evreux event in France and Oliphant taking twelfth in the Lincoln GP earlier this month. Matt Brammeier won both the national junior road race and time trial championships in 2003, while Mark Cavendish finished second in the road champs and more recently won the first stage of the Girvan Stage Race. Edward Clancy was the national junior pursuit and points race champion in 2003. They may be young, but they are clearly talented.
The Wales Stena Line squad also come here meaning business. The team will be led by experienced Welshmen Huw Pritchard and Anthony Malarczyk, both FBD Milk Rás regulars. The duo will be joined by promising young rider Yanto Barker, who finished third in the Junior Tour of Ireland in 1998, plus Paul Shepperd and 22 year old David Crowley.
Two teams will be in attendance from the USA, namely Team Stelvio Teamwear and the Under 23 Team CRCA/Sakonnet Technology. There will also be a combined USA/Britain squad on the race, plus a total of five regional squads from the UK.
The strongest of these is likely to be the Yorkshire Team Murphy and Gunn set up, comprising five strong Rás veterans. John Tanner, Mark Lovatt and Kevin Dawson have each either taken stages or worn yellow in the race, while Julian Winn won the 2000 edition outright and also took the King of the Mountains award in 2002.
All four have got the capacity to win the race, but it is their fifth rider, Malcolm Elliott, who may end up being the most prominent. The former top professional and Tour of Spain points jersey winner made his comeback to racing last year, placing second on the final stage. More recently he highlighted his blossoming form when he won the Girvan Stage Race, finished second in the Shay Elliott Memorial and third in the Lincoln Grand Prix. Lean, mean and by far the most experienced rider in the race, he's determined to have a good showing. Elliott may be 42 but few would bet against his chances; watch out for him doing something big during the week.
In all, the quality of the foreign entry suggests a great race is in store. The days are gone when an Irish victory is assured; thing is, the FBD Milk Rás is all the better for it. The standard is higher, the racing is better; whoever comes out best will certainly have earned it the hard way.
