“I’d have thrown my head up at this months ago, only it’s the Rás” How to save a bike race: Rás Tailteann organiser on keeping Ireland’s biggest race alive, ‘difficult second album syndrome’, and why some races just mean more cycling
*Press play to listen to the interview, or scroll on for a bonus feature on the Rás and the fight to keep it alive
> “It’s like the world championship for Irish riders”: Iconic Rás Tailteann stage race makes triumphant return In January, race director Gerard Campbell, the man charged last year with resuscitating the Rás, claimed that he was only “90 percent sure” that the 2023 edition would even go ahead. And last month Campbell argued that the event’s financial position – currently reliant on short-term sponsorship deals – is “unsustainable”.
“Every day is bringing a new issue, a new problem, but it’s no different from any other year really. It’s just logistical stuff, and problems that crop up on a daily basis. But we’re getting there.”Campbell with race winner Daire Feeley after the final stage of the 2022 Rás in Blackrock After heading to Dundalk to watch the finish of the following year’s opening stage, he was well and truly bitten by the cycling bug, and started racing with a group of friends.
The Rás – the very name of which deliberately links it to Ireland’s medieval Tailteann Games, a kind of Gaelic Olympics, the revival of which became a cultural focal point for Irish nationalists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century – in its early days fostered the all-island, inter-county competition and communal and national pride which remains a key feature of Gaelic games such as football and hurling, the country’s national sports.
As well as its broader political and societal implications, the Rás also stood as a marker of the internal conflict within Irish cycling itself, which by the 1950s was divided into three different governing bodies and embroiled in a bitter power struggle based on Ireland’s political divisions.
“I’ll give you one example. The first Rás I went to, 1978, there was a stage that year from Galway city to Clifden. That particular day there were fishermen lost at sea off the coast of Roundstone, Co Galway. The race was asked to pass through Roundstone with a little bit of dignity, no noise, no blowing horns. And it did, and when we got to Clifden that night, the news had spread that the fishermen had been found safe, which was great.
Under Campbell’s stewardship, the race staged a successful return last June, albeit with a more homespun, almost parochial feel – four out of the five stages were won by Irish riders, while yellow jersey winner Daire Feeley was the first man from Ireland to take the GC since Stephen Gallagher in 2008, and the first one to do so representing a county since Armagh’s Tommy Evans back in 1996.
Reflecting on what it meant to orchestrate the successful return of a race that means so much to him, Campbell said: “If a WorldTour race came to Ireland tomorrow – and I wouldn’t be asked, don’t get me wrong, I don’t hold that high a status – and someone asked me to be the race director, I would have absolutely zilch interest in taking on that job.
But the organiser insists that the piecemeal, short-term nature of the race’s current funding structure is “unsustainable”, and that lessons have already been learned from last year’s comeback edition, including the need to adopt a longer-term perspective, beyond just the event coming up quickly on the horizon.
“This year has been a bit, like they say in the music industry, ‘difficult second album syndrome’. We got something for nothing off someone last year, maybe they won’t give it to us for nothing this year,” he says.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Zara Tindall's mini-me daughter Mia, 9, takes care of her handbag at the racesPrincess Anne's daughter Zara Tindall enjoyed a day at the Cheltenham racecourse with her sweet eldest daughter Mia, nine, who helped her out by carrying her handbag
Weiterlesen »
SUPER GT reveals discussions to bring back overseas racesSUPER GT is in discussions with a number of promoters across Asia about reviving overseas races, according to GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh, but the costs of shipping are proving a major sticking point in talks.
Weiterlesen »
What is Microvascular Endothelial Dysfunction?Microvascular endothelial dysfunction is an early or inductive event that occurs in the development of cardiovascular diseases and associated organ damage.
Weiterlesen »
F1 drivers back move to standalone sprintsLeading F1 drivers have backed a move for sprint races to become standalone contests and not have any bearing on the grand prix. It's a system currently used in MotoGP. Story:
Weiterlesen »
Mercedes reveal aggressive upgrade plan with both factories at ‘fast pace’Toto Wolff says Mercedes will be 'consistently' bringing new parts to the car over the coming races, with a busy time ahead in the calendar.
Weiterlesen »
F1 drivers back move to standalone sprints ahead of BakuFormula 1 drivers are supporting the move to make sprint races standalone events as they believe it will have a positive impact on the on-track action. F1
Weiterlesen »