Photo: Barry Sutton Irishcyclingphotos.com.
L to R: Paul Lonergan (Manager) Greg Swinand, Ryan Sherlock, Sam Bennett (Hon. Member of Carrick Wheelers), John O’Shea, Michael Lucey and Martin Mizgajski.
Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers will once again be entering a team in Ireland’s biggest bike race ‘The An Post Rás’, an eight-day cycling race around the island of Ireland. This year’s team will be aiming for a strong showing in the County Team Competition, a contest reserved solely for the amateur teams of this now professional race, as well as targeting the celebrated First County Rider Award on both individual stages and overall general classification.
The team, who is sponsored by local fruit and vegetable company Iverk Produce, compromises of five riders and three support staff, will begin this gruelling race amongst a field of 170riders over half of which are full-time professionals.
The nucleus of the team is made up of Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers riders John O’Shea, Martin Mizgajski and Michael Lucey, with Ryan Sherlock and Greg Swinand being drafted in to strengthen the squad for this international event.
John O’Shea, a Piltown man, has enjoyed a successful cycling career over the years coming from the junior (U18) ranks where he was National Time Trial Champion two years in succession. John made many international appearances at junior, and in the following years senior level, before going on to become a fully-fledged professional. John then took a break from the sport before returning at a serious level this year with a string of impressive results in big races.
Next up is also a resident of South Kilkenny as Martin Mizgajski of Mullinavat makes his Rás debut. Martin joined the club this year and under the guidance of Carrick Wheelers very own Olympic Cycling Manager has enjoyed good results in top domestic races. Mizgajski will be hoping to put in a good showing in the savage stages that visit Donegal, amongst other counties in the north-west of the island.
The third Carrick Wheelers man in the line-up is Munster fast man Michael Lucey. Lucey is a native of the Kingdom and is a sprint specialist. He is unlucky not to have a win to his credit for 2012, having finished in the runner-up spot on two occasions already this year. Lucey will be looking to put his finishing speed to good use should any of the stages end in a bunch sprint, as he is well-capable of achieving a good result, maybe even capturing a First County Rider Award if such a stage finish was to occur.
Ryan Sherlock has been a ‘guest’ rider with Carrick Wheelers on a couple of occasions this year, as he rode Rás Mumhan and the Tour of Ulster with the Carrick-on-Suir based club. Sherlock comes in again for the An Post Rás, but he couldn’t really be described as an outsider by any means. Sherlock achieved impressive results in both events while riding for the famous club, as he very nearly won Rás Mumhan, losing the Yellow Jersey only on the final stage as a result of some misfortune, and winning the final stage of the Tour of Ulster in the Iverk Produce colours. He will again be a man for the First County Rider Award, especially on the more mountainous stages, with an outright stage win not being beyond his capabilities.
The final member of the squad is the well-liked Greg Swinand. ‘Greg the Yank’ as he is typically known in Ireland, is a native of the U.S.A. but now a resident in the Rep. of Ireland for many years. Swinand also boasts an impressive CV, with wins such as the Des Hanlon Classic and the National Veterans Championships prominent among his palmáres.
The team is managed by the experienced Paul Lonergan, with a support crew of Theo English (Masseur) and Tommy McGowan (Mechanic). The Tipperary Rás Team Car has been kindly sponsored by Auto Power, Clonmel Road, Carrick-on-Suir.
With the event being covered nightly on TV3 let’s get behind the Iverk Produce Tipperary Team for this international and professional event that is – The An Post Rás!
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