Local New York rider Norbert O’Reilly (CRCA/Sanchez-Metro) is heading back to his Irish roots to give himself one last and final test before he hits the big 40. In recent years he has been better known for his wit rather than his race results, but he’s going to do the 8 day UCI 2.2 ranked FBD Insurance Ras, along with some of the best amateurs in the World and 6 Continental Professional Teams.

Norbert has agreed to write an exclusive daily report for NYVelocity.com as he tours around the tranquil Irish countryside at high speed, with a record number of 200 riders. After one edition of the Ras, one of the English competitors was asked what he thought of the beautiful scenery. He said it looks very much like a cyclists backside. Norbert doesn’t expect to be enjoying any better of a view.

We caught up with ‘Nobby’ and interviewed him on the way up to the Battenkill-Roubaix race in Upstate New York, which he duly won, and this is what he had to say.

NYVC: What got you into cycling?

NO’R: I got into racing through friends, I used to tour with them and then some of them started racing. I thought if they can race, so can I, I knew I could beat them.

NYVC: What was your first race?

NO’R: I was 15 years old. I had a plan for my racing career; my first target was to finish in the bunch within my first 10 races. That first race was an open under 16-school boy race. I drilled it with 1 mile to go and won! However I got DQ’d, I’d given a 2 arm salute, and even though I was alone I was DQ’d.

NYVC: What happened next?

NO’R: I was dragged away from the race organizer, after some very choice words were used.

NYVC: How did it go from there?

NO’R: I won my first seven races, which were mostly club races.

Outsprinting Dmitri Wilkins in March.

NYVC: What’ happened in your 8th race?

NO’R: I probably threw a tantrum mid-race. Either I placed or threw a tantrum and packed the race in my first year of racing.

NYVC: Have your tactics changed since those early days?

NO’R: Significantly, but I don’t win so much, but I do keep hands on the handlebars.

NYVC: How many times have you raced the Ras?

NO’R: A few times, back in the 80’s. I’d say that it was back in the mid to late 80’s.

NYVC: How was your form back then?

NO’R: I had no real ambitions to really do well, so never got in great shape. I was on 88′ Seoul Olympic squad, but I didn’t make the final selection, I raced the Ras that year, but was mid pack, somewhat unmotivated. I didn’t really struggle to finish, but I had no real ambition to mix it up.

NYVC: How do you think the Ras has changed since then?

NO’R: The standard of field is much higher, it attracts a high caliber of rider. It seems to have become more prestigious and has a lot more international recognition.

NYVC: What made u decide to re-race it?

NO’R: I’ve always had it in the back of my head to redo it before I hit 40. Last summer I was told that I was going to be laid off from work, I knew I was going to adopt a child at the end of the year and I was healthy (editors note: Norbert has had some serious knee problems, for which he had surgery in 2003). As these all lined up, so I decided the time had come to go back.

NYVC: What are you expecting from the Ras?

NO’R: Hopefully to finish!

NYVC: What do you think is most that you can expect?

NO’R: To be up there in one the stages to help one of my teammates win a stage.

NYVC: What are you dreading most about the race?

NO’R: Pain! The line outs, fighting to hold my place in the bunch, riding flat out in the gutter.

Practicing his ‘suffer face’ for the Ras. Snot optional.

NYVC: How has the training this winter gone?

NO’R: As well as I could have hoped.

NYVC: What kind of mileage have you been doing recently?

NO’R: 350-400 miles a week for the last month.

NYVC: How does that compare to the last time you competed in the Ras?

NO’R: Less, around Olympic squad time I was doing about 500-600 a week.

NYVC: How did you get a place in the Ras, as it is an invite only event?

NO’R: I called an Irish ex-Olympic and Club mate of mine, who now lives in Seattle, to see if he would be up for it and also to see if he knew of any other ex-pat riders in the States who would be capable and wanting to do it. His answer was “No way!” He thought I was crazy, however he wrote back 2 weeks later cursing me out saying that all he had thought about since the original email was doing the Ras and now he was onboard. He got his teammates in Seattle interested, and both he and I contacted the race organizer, Dermot Dignam about getting the Seattle based team a place in the race, and to have me as a guest rider.

NYVC: What do you expect the team may be capable of?

NO’R: Stages wins, there’s 5 guys on squad: Mike Walsh is Cat 1 and is Washington State ITT Champ; Ken Williams is a multiple Masters World Champ on the track, and world record 1,000 in the 35-39 age group, he was also a national Crit Champ; Casey Chamberlin, currently on the National Under23 development squad. So there is definitely some talent on my team.

NYVC: What are your current racing credentials?

NO’R: I’m a New York City Cat 4 racer, so I’ll feel very at home cleaning the team’s bikes! I’d love to be their domestique going back to the team car for drinks, but the team would probably go thirsty, as I may never make it back to the pack.

Much too dashing to be fetching drinks, no?

NYVC: What do you know about the race route?

NO’R: It starts and finishes in Dublin and goes anti-clockwise around the country for 8 days. It’s about 100 miles every day, and there are 23 categorized climbs.

NYVC: Of all the stages, which stage most scares you and why?

NO’R: Stage 3 and 4, because there long over 100 miles and they have climbs throughout the stage, with the hardest climbs towards the end. The second last day has 7 climbs 4 of them are Cat 1’s. I hope I don’t lose too much time that day, so that I can start the crit on the last day, and finish.

NYVC: At which point in the race do you feel you need to reach, to start feeling confident in finishing?

NO’R: If I get through stage 3, I think I’ll make it. You get into a sort of rhythm as the days go by, it doesn’t get easier you just get used to the grind. I used to get stronger each day during stage races, I hope that still happens to me.

NYVC: Well, it all sounds rather painful and that you have a lot of hard work ahead of you, NYVelocity.com wishes you all the best, and we all eagerly await your race reports.