Rás Tailteann
Irish international cycling stage race
title: "Rás Tailteann" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cycle-races-in-ireland", "recurring-sporting-events-established-in-1953", "uci-europe-tour-races", "1953-establishments-in-ireland", "spring-(season)-in-the-republic-of-ireland"] description: "Irish international cycling stage race" topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rás_Tailteann" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Irish international cycling stage race ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox cycling race"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Rás Tailteann |
| image | Rás Tailteann logo.jpg |
| date | Late May |
| region | Ireland |
| nickname | The Rás |
| discipline | Road |
| competition | UCI Europe Tour (2005–2018) |
| National calendar (2022–) | |
| type | Stage race |
| organiser | Cairde Rás Tailteann |
| director | Gerard Campbell |
| first | |
| number | 68 (as of 2023) |
| firstwinner | Colm Christle |
| mostwins | Sé O'Hanlon (4 wins) |
| mostrecent | Dom Jackson |
| :: |
| name = Rás Tailteann | current_event = | image = Rás Tailteann logo.jpg | date = Late May | region = Ireland | english = | localnames = | nickname = The Rás | discipline = Road | competition = UCI Europe Tour (2005–2018) National calendar (2022–) | type = Stage race | organiser = Cairde Rás Tailteann | director = Gerard Campbell | first = | number = 68 (as of 2023) | firstwinner = Colm Christle | mostwins = Sé O'Hanlon (4 wins) | mostrecent = Dom Jackson
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Zbigniew_Głowaty,_Wyścig_Rás_Tailteann,_Irlandia_rok_1963.jpg" caption="[[Zbigniew Głowaty]], pictured after winning the 1963 Rás"] ::
Rás Tailteann (; "Tailteann Race"), often shortened to the Rás, is an annual international cycling stage race, held in Ireland. Traditionally held in May, the race returned after a hiatus in 2022 as a five-day event held in June. By naming the race Rás Tailteann the original organisers, members of the National Cycling Association (NCA), were associating the cycle race with the Tailteann Games, a Gaelic festival in early medieval Ireland.
The event was founded by Joe Christle in 1953 and was organised under the rules of the National Cycling Association (NCA). At that time competitive cycling in Ireland was deeply divided between three cycling organisations, the NCA, Cumann Rothaiochta na hÉireann (CRÉ) and the Northern Ireland Cycling Federation (NICF). The Rás Tailteann was the biggest race that the NCA organised each year.
As a result of a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) motion, the NCA was banned from international races and all teams affiliated with the UCI were banned from competing in races organised by the NCA. Therefore, only teams that were not affiliated with the UCI or who were willing to take the chance of serving a suspension for competing in the Rás Tailteann competed in the Rás Tailteann. During this time the NCA cyclists achieved prominence in the Rás with Gene Mangan, Sé O'Hanlon and Paddy Flanagan being several legends of the race. Mangan won only one Rás but featured in the race throughout the 1960s and early-1970s winning a total of 12 stages while O'Hanlon won the race four times and won 24 stages. Flanagan won the Rás three times and had 11 stage wins.
The NCA and the CRÉ together with NICF began unification talks in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As a result, a CRÉ team which included Pat McQuaid, Kieron McQuaid, Peter Morton and Peter Doyle was able to enter the race in 1974. Doyle won the race and the McQuaids won two stages each. The first Rás open to the two associations CRÉ and the NICF was in 1979 and enabled Stephen Roche to compete the event as part of the Ireland team. Roche won the event.
The race developed into a much sought after event by professional and amateur teams from many parts of the world. As part of the elite international calendar it was eligible to award qualifying points that are required for participation in Olympic Games and the UCI Road World Championships.
The first edition was held in 1953 as a two-day event but quickly developed into a week-long event. It ran every year, uninterrupted, until 2018. Following Cumann Rás Tailteann's failure to find a new principal sponsor for the race, it was announced in February 2019 that there would be no Rás that year.
The race was a UCI 2.2 event.
The race returned in 2022.
History
The official name of the race has been changed many times over the years, usually named after sponsors. An Post were the last title sponsors, although this sponsorship ended after the 2017 event.
Race names
- 1953 to 1967: Rás Tailteann
- 1968 to 1972: *You Are Better Off Saving Rás Tailteann *
- 1973: Tayto Rás Tailteann
- 1974 to 1976: Discover Ireland Rás Tailteann
- 1977 to 1980: *The Health Race Rás Tailteann *
- 1981 to 1982: Tirolia Rás Tailteann
- 1983: Dairy Rás Tailteann
- 1984 to 2004: FBD Milk Rás
- 2005 to 2010: FBD Insurance Rás
- 2011 to 2017: An Post Rás
- 2018 to date: Rás Tailteann
Past winners
::data[format=table]
| No. | Year | GC Winner | Nationality | Team | Points class | KOM | U23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1953 | Colm Christle | James' Gate C.C. | ||||
| 2 | 1954 | Joe O'Brien | National C.C. | ||||
| 3 | 1955 | Gene Mangan | Kerry | ||||
| 4 | 1956 | Paudie Fitzgerald | Kerry | ||||
| 5 | 1957 | Frank Ward | Dublin | ||||
| 6 | 1958 | Mick Murphy | Kerry | ||||
| 7 | 1959 | Ben McKenna | Meath | ||||
| 8 | 1960 | Paddy Flanagan | Kildare | ||||
| 9 | 1961 | Tom Finn | Dublin Team | Seán Dillon IRL | |||
| 10 | 1962 | Sé O'Hanlon | Dublin | ||||
| 11 | 1963 | Zbigniew Głowaty | Poland | ||||
| 12 | 1964 | Paddy Flanagan (2) | Kildare | ||||
| 13 | 1965 | Sé O'Hanlon (2) | Dublin | ||||
| 14 | 1966 | Sé O'Hanlon (3) | Dublin | ||||
| 15 | 1967 | Sé O'Hanlon (4) | Dublin | ||||
| 16 | 1968 | Milan Hrazdíra | Czechoslovakia | ||||
| 17 | 1969 | Brian Connaughton | Meath | ||||
| 18 | 1970 | Aleksandr Gusyatnikov | U.S.S.R. | ||||
| 19 | 1971 | Colm Nulty | Meath | ||||
| 20 | 1972 | John Mangan | Kerry | ||||
| 21 | 1973 | Mike O'Donaghue | Carlow | ||||
| 22 | 1974 | Peter Doyle | I.C.F. | ||||
| 23 | 1975 | Paddy Flanagan (3) | Kildare | ||||
| 24 | 1976 | Fons Steuten | Netherlands | ||||
| 25 | 1977 | Yuri Lavrushkin | U.S.S.R. | ||||
| 26 | 1978 | Séamus Kennedy | Kerry | ||||
| 27 | 1979 | Stephen Roche | Ireland | ||||
| 28 | 1980 | Billy Kerr | Ireland | ||||
| 29 | 1981 | Jamie McGahan | Scotland | ||||
| 30 | 1982 | Dermot Gilleran | Ireland | ||||
| 31 | 1983 | Philip Cassidy | Ireland | ||||
| 32 | 1984 | Stephen Delaney | Dublin | ||||
| 33 | 1985 | Nikolay Kosyakov | |||||
| 34 | 1986 | Stephen Spratt | Ireland | ||||
| 35 | 1987 | Paul McCormack | Longford | ||||
| 36 | 1988 | Paul McCormack (2) | Ireland | ||||
| 37 | 1989 | Dainis Ozols | |||||
| 38 | 1990 | Ian Chivers | Ireland | ||||
| 39 | 1991 | Kevin Kimmage | Meath | ||||
| 40 | 1992 | Stephen Spratt (2) | Dublin | ||||
| 41 | 1993 | Éamonn Byrne | Dublin Wheelers | ||||
| 42 | 1994 | Declan Lonergan | Ireland | ||||
| 43 | 1995 | Paul McQuaid | Ireland | ||||
| 44 | 1996 | Tommy Evans | Armagh | ||||
| 45 | 1997 | Andrew Roche | Kerry | ||||
| 46 | 1998 | Ciarán Power | Team Ireland | ||||
| 47 | 1999 | Philip Cassidy (2) | Team Ireland | ||||
| 48 | 2000 | Julian Winn | Wales team | David McCann IRL | David McCann IRL | ||
| 49 | 2001 | Paul Manning | Great Britain team | David KoppGER | Nicholas White RSA | ||
| 50 | 2002 | Ciarán Power (2) | Team Ireland-Stena Line | Chris Newton GBR | Julian Winn GBR | ||
| 51 | 2003 | Chris Newton | Great Britain team | Jonas Holmkvist SWE | Maxim Iglinsky KAZ | ||
| 52 | 2004 | David McCann | Ireland-Thornton's Recycling Team | Malcolm Elliott GBR | Tobias Lergard SWE | ||
| 53 | 2005 | Chris Newton (2) | Recycling.co.uk | Malcolm Elliott GBR | Mark Lovatt GBR | ||
| 54 | 2006 | Kristian House | Recycling.co.uk | Morten Hegreberg NOR | Ciarán Power IRL | ||
| 55 | 2007 | Tony Martin | Thüringer Energie Team | Dominique Rollin CAN | Ricardo Van der Velde NED | ||
| 56 | 2008 | Stephen Gallagher | An Post–Sean Kelly | Dean Downing GBR | Kit Gilham GBR | ||
| 57 | 2009 | ||||||
| 58 | 2010 | Alexander Wetterhall | Team Sprocket Pro | John Degenkolb GER | Mark Cassidy IRL | Connor McConvey IRL | |
| 59 | 2011 | Gediminas Bagdonas | An Post–Sean Kelly | Shane Archbold NZL | Oleksandr Sheydyk UKR | Aaron Gate NZL | |
| 60 | 2012 | Nicolas Baldo | Atlas Personal–Jakroo | Gediminas Bagdonas LTU | David Clarke GBR | Richard Handley GBR | |
| 61 | 2013 | Marcin Białobłocki | Owain Doull GBR | Martin Hunal CZE | Simon Yates GBR | ||
| 62 | 2014 | Clemens Fankhauser | Patrick Bevin NZL | Markus Eibegger AUT | Alex Peters GBR | ||
| 63 | 2015 | Lukas Pöstlberger | Aaron Gate New Zealand | Aidis Kruopis Lithuania | Ryan Mullen IRL | ||
| 64 | 2016 | Clemens Fankhauser (2) | Aaron Gate New Zealand | Nikodemus Holler GER | Jai Hindley AUS | ||
| 65 | 2017 | James Gullen | Daan Meijers NED | Przemysław Kasperkiewicz POL | Michael O'Loughlin IRL | ||
| 66 | 2018 | Luuc Bugter | Luuc Bugter NED | Lukas Rüegg SUI | Robbe Ghys BEL | ||
| 67 | 2022 | Daire Feeley | All Human–VeloRevolution | Rory Townsend IRL | Dean Harvey IRL | Louis Sutton GBR | |
| 68 | 2023 | Dillon Corkery | Team Ireland (CC Étupes) | Matthew Fox AUS | Conor McGoldrick GBR | Aaron Wade IRL | |
| 69 | 2024 | Dom Jackson | Foran CT | Tim Shoreman GBR | Dean Harvey IRL | Liam O'Brien IRL | |
| 70 | 2025 | George Kimber | CC Isle of Man (Spirit Racing Team) | Odhran Doogan IRL | Adam Lewis GBR | Jamie Meehan IRL | |
| :: |
Bibliography
- {{cite book | last = Daly | first = Tom | title = The Rás – The Story of Ireland's Unique Bike Race | publisher = The Collins Press | date = 2003 | isbn = 1-903464-37-4
- {{cite book | last = Daly | first = Tom | title = The Rás – The Story of Ireland's Unique Bike Race – paperback edition | publisher = The Collins Press | date = 2012 | isbn = 978-1-84889-148-7
- {{cite book | last = Traynor | first = Jim | title = The Rás – A Day by Day Diary of Ireland's Great Bike Race | year = 2008 | publisher = The Collins Press | isbn = 978-1-905451-71-5
- {{cite AV media | last = Riordan | first = Christy | title = A Special tribute to Mick Murphy: Winner of 1958 Rás Tailteann | publisher = C.R. DVD & Video production | date = 2009
References
References
- [http://www.independent.ie/sport/death-of-former-cycling-supremo-joe-christle-447034.html/news/art_4467.shtml "Death of former cycling supremo Joe Christle"] ''Irish Independent'' Accessed date: 30 May 2009
- (15 February 2019). "No UCI-ranked Ras Tailteann to take place in 2019".
- (21 March 2022). "Rás Tailteann 2022 Route Details".
- "An Post Takes over Title Sponsorship of Rás".
- "1961 Rás Tailteann results". fbdinsurances.com.
- (25 May 2015). "Lukas Postlberger finally strikesit lucky in Ras". Irish Examiner.
- (2022-06-15). "Men of the Rás 2022: Stage 5 results and final classifications".
- "Full & Final Results & Photos: Stage 5 Rás Tailteann 2023".
- "Results & Photos : Stage 5 Rás Tailteann 2024".
- [https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=441&y=2025&l=1 First Cycling – 2025 Results] (Accessed 26/8/25)
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