Lee Harvey Ras Diary 2022

Stage 1 Dublin - Horse and Jockey 10th June

Good Evening everyone the guys at the club and Academy have asked me to write a diary each evening during the duration of the Ras so they can publish it here on the web site to just basically keep you all up to date on my progress throughout the five days of the race, this is all new to me so sorry if its short but hopefully as the days go on it might become a bit more detailed however on the other hand it may become a little more sparse as tiredness and fatigue sets in.

After Travelling down to Dublin for the race depart the buzz around the start area was unbelievable, so with my pockets fully loaded and months of preparation under my belt it was time to finally become a man of the Ras for the Down/Newry Wheelers team.

As the flag dropped the the pace was ridiculously fast from the first kilometre, but the stage started with 10km climb straight out of the neutral zone, the speed never really settled down all day and inside the huge bunch it was hectic having to stay constantly alert, the main features of todays stage were two climbs a Category 3 and a Category 2 and a then a hectic 40K run into the finish at Horse and Jockey. In the end it came down to a reduced bunch sprint and I gave all I could to help Conor in the final run in with him finishing just outside the top 20. The stage was won by Matthew Teggart and I was more than happy to finish on the same time as him after 3 hours of racing at and average speed of 28mph.

After my Warm down it was back to the Digs for a well earned massage and Dinner. Then it was time to put the feet up, write this little diary for yourselves and check out tomorrows stage route which takes us further south to Castleisland. Check in again with me tomorrow for all the details of how I got on in stage 2.

Thanks.......