Castlebar - County Mayo - Castlebar Team for FBD Ras

Castlebar Team for FBD Ras

Sponsors, Western Edge Medical Communications Ltd are proud to announce the entrants of Castlebar cycling club into the world ranked FBD Ras cycle race 2009.

May 17th will see the Castlebar CC/Western Edge Medical Communications Ltd (WEMC) cycling team compete in one of the most gruelling and demanding sporting events in Ireland this year. The FBD Ras comprises of eight stages following a route around the country. The length of the race is 1289 kilometres, which will see the riders negotiate long stage distances and tough ciimbs. The stage end in Castlebar being a highlight for the town's thriving cycling club.

The field in the this year's Ras is truly world class, with riders competing who have won stages in the tour de France and one who has even held the yellow jersey, one Jaan Kirsipuu. Each of these riders will bring a full professional team to assist them on their quest to win the Ras. The Castlebar CC/WEMC team will line up against these riders, representing the Mayo County.

Competing against this level of competition will take its toll on the riders and for all five riders to complete the race and get to the finish in Skerries would be an amazing achievement.

Stage details
Stage 1, May 17th, Kilcullen – Wexford, 125 kilometres
Stage 2, May 18th, Wexford – Cobh, 178 kilometres
Stage 3, May 19th, Cobh – Cahirciveen, 189 kilometres
Stage 4, May 20th, Cahirciveen – Killorglin, 178 kilometres
Stage 5, May 21st, Killorglin – Scariff, 155 kilometres
Stage 6, May 22nd, Scariff – Castlebar, 159 kilometres Stage Finish in Castlebar. Between 2.15 & 4.00pm Main Street.
Stage 7, May 23rd, Castlebar – Clara, 150 kilometres
Stage 8, May 24th, Clara – Skerries, 155 kilometres

Kevin Dunleavy, the team manager assembled a squad in Oct 2008 and after a meeting that month a tough training schedule began in Nov. Each rider committed to training up to six days a week, either on the road or on specialised indoor trainers. These are designed to allow riders to train through the dark winter nights. Each Sunday the squad would meet in Castlebar for a gruelling six hour endurance session, which would bring the riders as far afield as Limerick and Clare.

This will be the first all Castlebar CC team to represent the Mayo County. This team comprises of five Castlebar CC members, all resident in the county of Mayo, the first time this has been achieved and is testament to the hard work and dedication of their team manager, John Brennan.
Team members, David Brennan, Patrick Clarke, Chris Coyle, Paul Dunne and Chris Troy are all looking forward to the Ras challenge and are hopeful of putting in good performances as Chris Coyle explains 'all the hard work is now done, it's all about digging deep and competing at 110%, we are racing against some of the best and that should lift us as a team'.

Western Edge Medical Communications Ltd
Western Edge Medical Communications Ltd (WEMC) provide specialist services to the pharmaceutical industry, assisting their global marketing departments to form successful strategies to promote a diverse range of products.
Managing Director, Chris Coyle is also a team member and is extremely proud to be representing the Mayo county and his company in this prestigious event.
An active lifestyle can contribute greatly to good health and WEMC feel sponsoring a team that will compete at such a high level physically complements their role in providing services that are often utilised by the healthcare industry.
WEMC are also involved in discussions with an American professional cycling team (Team typel), who will compete against Lance Armstrong here in Ireland in September. Their primary role is to create awareness of diabetes, both its care and management. As one of WEMC's core areas of expertise is diabetes, they would assist with activities planned around the Tour of Ireland in September.
WEMC are proud to sponsor the FBD Ras team 2009 and see this as a great link to the Mayo community, aiming to inspire further growth and participation in sporting events across the county.