Rás Tailteann is promoted under     Cycling Ireland     and     UCI     rules  
Home 
 
 Route Details
 
 Press Releases
 2024
 2023
 2022
 2021
 2020
 2019
 2018
 2017
 2016
 2015
 2014
 2013
 2012
 2011
 2010
 2009
 2008
 2007
 2006
 2005
 
 Results
 
 Picture Gallery
 
 Race Manual 2024
 
 Race Manual 2023
 
 Race Manual 2022
 
 Race Manual 2021
 
 Race Manual 2020
 
 Race Manual 2019
 
 Race Manual 2018
 
 Race Manual 2017
 
 Race Admin
 
 Rás Over The Years
 
 Rás Stories
 
 Kreiz Breizh Élites


Visits:


Sponsored by:

 

President Cycles
Rás Archives

 

 

Promising Irish National Team Announced For Rás Tailteann
By Rás Admin
May 15, 2018, 21:03


James Curry
With just over a week left to the start of the Rás Tailteann, the Irish national team for the race has been unveiled.

 

Robert Jon McCarthy, Darnell Moore, Marc Potts, Jake Gray and James Curry will don green in the UCI-ranked international event, working together to try to secure the best possible result for Ireland.

 

McCarthy is a strong sprinter who won the Australian junior national championship ahead of Caleb Ewan in 2012. Two years later, he won the opening stage of the Rás, but the following year he lost motivation and took a long break from cycling in 2015.

 

He returned to the sport in 2017 and also reverted to Irish nationality, having raced for Australia for several years. McCarthy has shown good form since his return, although it too him time to get back up to full speed. He finished sixth, seventh and eighth on stages in last year’s Rás. This year he was second in the prologue of the  Istarsko Proljece - Istrian Spring Trophy in March and was fifth earlier this month on a stage of the prestigious Tour de Yorkshire.

 

Moore won the Shay Elliott Memorial last year and became national hill climb champion, then this January won the Irish cyclocross championships.

 

Marc Potts
Potts finished seventh in last year’s national road race championships. He was also fourth in the scratch race at the European track championships, and fifth in the same event in the track World Cup in Poland. Last month he helped Mark Downey to fourth in the Commonwealth Games road race, and placed a solid 28th.

 

Former Irish junior road race champion Gray was sixth overall in this year’s Victus Tour of Ulster, while Curry

dominated last month’s Mid-Ulster GP.

 

National performance coach Neill Delahaye describes the team as a mixture of youth and experience, while also acknowledging that McCarthy, the most experienced, is still just 24 years of age. “He is capable of stage wins and a strong overall performance,” he says. “This will also be his first cap for Ireland, after years of racing for Australia.

 

“Some of the younger guys don’t yet have experience in the Rás but do in other races. We probably won’t start off with a protected rider, as such. There are some riders who we expect to do very well on the terrain the race offers, and we have some fast finishers.

 

Darnell Moore
“With Marc Potts, we have someone who is seeking Olympic qualification on the track and this will be an important block of racing for him to build his condition. He also has a significant engine, which will be very useful at the end of hard stages.

 

“Neil Martin will manage the team and he will deliver the strategy before the race. We are going to be on the hunt for stage wins and, as the race unfolds, we are going to be mindful of the GC.”

 

Rás Tailteann race director Eimear Dignam has already welcomed international teams from the USA, Belgium, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Wales. She is looking forward to seeing how the Irish national team fares alongside those squads.

 

“The team looks very promising and will be keen to leave its mark,” she says. “Robert Jon McCarthy has already taken a stage and has the ability to do so again; the other riders will also play a big part in shaping the race, and in chasing success for the Irish contingent in the Rás.”

 

Jake Gray
This year’s Rás Tailteann totals eight days and 1168.7 kilometres in length, and is ranked as a 2.2 event on the UCI’s international calendar. It will feature four gruelling category one climbs plus 30 other categorized climbs, as well as stage finishes in Athlone, Tipperary, Listowel, Glengarriff, Mitchelstown, Carlow, Naas and Skerries. It will run from this Sunday, May 20, to May 27.

 

Previously known as the An Post Rás, the event is searching for a new title sponsor. The race recently announced an initiative with cycling clothing manufacturer Spin 11, whereby a commemorative cycling kit is being produced and will help secure the future of the race.

 

The jersey and gillet feature the names of the Rás champions dating back to the first event in 1953. Proceeds will contribute to the running of the event.

 

For more details and to order, go to the www.rasireland.ie website.

 

 

 

Rás Tailteann 2018:

 

Stage 1, Sunday May 20: Drogheda to Athlone, 136 kms:

Stage 2, Monday May 21: Athlone to Tipperary, 148.7 kms:

Stage 3, Tuesday May 22: Tipperary to Listowel, 140.4 kms:

Stage 4, Wednesday May 23: Listowel to Glengarriff, 153 kms:

Stage 5, Thursday May 24: Glengarriff to Mitchelstown, 150.2 kms:

Stage 6, Friday May 25: Mitchelstown to Carlow, 154.6 kms:

Stage 7, Saturday May 26: Carlow to Naas, 141.2 kms:

Stage 8, Sunday May 27: Naas to Skerries, 144.6 kms:

 

Total: 1180.5 kms

 

 



2018
Latest Headlines
Bugter Grabs Final Overall Victory Ghys Wins Dramatic Last Stage Of Ras Tailteann
Varley Takes Superb Solo Vctory In Naas
McKenna Grabs First Rás Tailteann Stage Win In Carlow
German Sprinter Carstensen Speeds To Victory In Mitchelstown
Van Dalen Grabs Rás Tailteann Glory in Glengarrif
Bugter Blasts Home First in Listowel, Winning Stage 3
McCarthy Marks Successful Comeback with second Rás Win
Swiss Rider Thiery Seizes Rás Tailteann Lead In Athlone
Rás Tailteann Battle Begins On Sunday With Dynamic Mix Of Riders And Teams
Promising Irish National Team Announced For Rás Tailteann

 

Last Updated: Feb 23rd, 2024 - 15:58:26

Website maintained by:
Dragonfly Web Media