The Irish riders to watch at Rás Tailteann
With Rás Tailteann set to get underway in Tullamore, Co Offaly, today and a really hard stage to come as early as tomorrow, into Sneem, Co Kerry, the scene is set for a great battle. Only last weekend riders like Sam Bennett, Lara Gillespie and young Conor Murphy - as well as downhill rider Ronan Dunne - combined to make for a great weekend for Irish cycling.
But over the next five days, it's domestic riders, and those on the first step of the ladder in European pro racing, who will be looking to make their mark at Rás Tailteann.
In this piece stickybottle picks out 14 Irish riders we believe can make a big impact over the next five stages. Several of these Irish riders can win the race overall while others can make a big breakthrough with a stage win.
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Ronan O'Connor Cycling Leinster
The 20-year-old is this season riding for Continental team Global 6 United, having previously raced for Team Colpack Ballan. He has been racing abroad in several stage races this year, which should prove ideal preparation for Rás Tailteann. Just last week he rode Tour of Hellas (2.1) in Greece, where he was on the attack and 3rd in the young rider classification. He is definitely a rider who favours hilly terrain and would have preferred more climbs - especially big ones - on this Rás. However, he will have his chance on stage 2.
Liam O'Brien Team Ireland
Still a first-year U23 rider, O'Brien was very unlucky not to win the Junior Tour of Ireland last year; winning stage 1 and holding yellow all the way only to crash in the final of the last stage. Since then he has been riding for Lidl-Trek Future Racing and has been called up to the Lidl Trek World Tour team a couple of times, including at Tour of the Alps. In his most race race - Flèche du Sud (2.2) - he was 3rd overall and won the young rider classification. O'Brien is part of a very strong national team this year and if stage 2 in particular, into Sneem, split the field and he was right up there, that might prove the makings of a very strong ride for him this week. He could even be a contender for the final yellow jersey. However, stilled aged just 19 years, expecting him to win is a bit much, though counting him into the mix it is a mark of how rapidly he's emerging.
Cormac McGeough Canel's-Java
A US-based Irish rider, Mcgeough, was 2nd in the Rás last year and also represented Ireland at the Worlds in 2023, when he claimed wins in three UCI ranked stage races. Those were Tour de Beauce in Canada, Vuelta a Ecuador and Vuelta a Guatemala. While he has won two national-level races in the US this year, his form to this point in the season is perhaps not as good as it was last summer. However, Mcgeough makes the return to Ireland with experience of the Rás; experience that involved being right in contention to claim overall victory. And this year he has every right to come back and believe he can win a stage or the overall.
Conn McDunphy Skyline Cadence
One of the best riders in the country for several years now, McDunphy has been unlucky with crashes on the Rás but has shown he is capable of winning the biggest races in Ireland. He is also one of only a small number of men competing on the domestic scene that has the bravery and the legs to take on big races at their hardest points. He's had plenty of international racing this year - often proving very aggressive - and has just completed trips to the US and Norway where he was at the front while racing in UCI-ranked events. Though he has won races at home like the Shay Elliott and the Irish TT title, he's due a massive win that would confirm his status as a top rider in perpetuity. He goes into Rás Tailteann as a genuine contender for yellow. (Photo by Brendan Slattery)
Daire Feeley All human-VeloRevolution
Feeley needs no introduction having won almost everything worth winning in Ireland in recent seasons. He has been Ireland's leading domestic rider for several years, winning the Rás two years ago and crashing out last season. Always a very ambitious rider - and always willing and able to race - he has claimed seven wins this season and will definitely be out to win the Rás again or, at least, take a stage win. He will be hampered by being heavily marked - by both the Irish and international riders - by virtue of his status as a former winner. But that rarely, if ever, stops him when he pins on numbers and this week is unlikely to be any different.
Dillon Corkery Team Ireland
Last year's winner, Corkery has since stepped up to Continental level with French team St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93. He has been exposed to a much higher level racing than ever in recent months. He has 30 race days in the legs, including competing against World Tour teams. And that exposure to harder racing - where he has often ridden very strongly - means he will be a harder man to beat this week than 12 months ago. However, he'll be perhaps the most marked man in the field. It is very hard to win the Rás once, but doing it in consecutive years is almost impossible. Still, few would bet against him. (Photo by Nathalie Teyssier)
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George Peden Team PB Performance
Peden, who is still only 24-years-old, is perhaps the most underrated top rider in the country. The way he rode at the Des Hanlon Memorial - where he put Daire Feeley under serious pressure on the final climb - marks Peden out as a contender this year in the Rás. He has just one win so far this year - the PJ Logan Cup - which is not a good return for the calibre rider he has become. But he can climb and if he gets in a breakaway he can drive, and drive hard, and then still be one of the last men standing. He was 13th in the Rás last year, showing he was there or thereabouts. His abilities far exceed his results and there would be no better time to balance that ledger than this week.
Dean Harvey Team Ireland
Without meaning any disrespect to any of the other riders featured here - or anyone else in the race - Harvey would be the pick of many people in the Irish road racing community to win overall this year. Like Corkery last season, claiming the final yellow jersey in this Rás might prove strategically important. It may bring Harvey to the next level and help him advance up the ranks in European pro cycling. If he were to win, he would perhaps get more in return for that victory than the other top Irish rider, as he is already a Trinity Racing rider and reaching for the next wrung on the ladder. He has ridden very strongly this year, though has been confined a little by team duties when racing abroad. That shouldn't be a problem on the Rás as he and Corkery are the two obvious picks to win the race outright for Team Ireland. He was one of the dominant forces in Rás Mumhan this year. Not only is he capable of winning the Rás, such a victory would be part of a seamless next step in his development. (Photo by Sean Rowe)
Gareth O'Neill Challenge CC
O'Neill is a very strong rider who has won a lot of races, including Tour of the Mournes and the Seamus Kennedy Memorial this year. Last season he took five wins and three in 2022, when he also finished 2nd in the A1 Cycling Ireland rankings. While a prolific winner, and a very consistent rider who is constantly in the results, what is missing from his palmares is a really big victory and a stage win this week would fix that. He has been racing at the level of a Rás stage winner for several years and if he gets the rub of the green this week, he has the legs to take his chance.
Odhran Doogan Team Ireland
Two years ago, as a first-year U23, Doogan took a stage win at Rás Mumhan and placed 5th and 2nd on stages of Rás Tailteann. He rode the Rás on the national team last year, when team duties took over a little. While few things are certain on the Rás - an event raced on passion - it would be very unusual if some of the stages this year did not come down to a sprint. And that's where Doogan can pop up and get a win. He is now a very experienced campaigner - at home and abroad - and though still aged just 20 years, he can win a stage this year.
Ewan Warren Brocar Rali Ale
Warren has been based in Spain for the last couple of years and has been competing in harder and longer races than many of his rivals for the next five days. He was 2nd overall on Rás Mumhan last year and that result alone says he can have a big say at Rás Tailteann 2024. With a year of top quality racing under his belt - though punctuated by a broken leg in 2023 - since last year's Rás, he is coming back a stronger and more experienced rider. The 20-year-old is definitely due a run in an Irish jersey and a stage win, or big GC result, at Rás Tailteann would complete his case for national team selection. (Photo by Caroline Kerley)
Mark Dowling All human-VeloRevolution
Now aged 37 years, Dowling won the Shay Elliott Memorial the weekend before last; the first time he had won that race. He also claimed victory in the season-opening Mick Lally Memorial. Like young O'Connor, Dowling would prefer a hillier Rás route. But the race will still be very hard, with quality and experienced riders rising to the top; a cohort Dowling should find himself in. His best chance of a result could come on stage 2. And having won a race like the Shay Elliott for the first time this year, there is no reason why he couldn't take a first stage win on Rás Tailteann in coming days.
Jason Kenny UCD Cycling Club
A quality rider, always full of racing, Kenny won the Brian O'Loughlin Memorial in Co Mayo on Sunday. He escaped from the breakaway with Feeley and beat him in the two-up sprint for victory, his first in the Cycling Ireland National Road Series. He is among a number of quality riders in the UCD CC stable - Conor Murnane another Rás 2024 ride also in that group - who could take a Rás stage win. Their former team mate, Eoin Morton, showed the way with a brilliant stage win back in 2016. That's a long time ago now. And Kenny might just be the man to reach out and take another win, especially after such a confidence-boosting performance last Sunday. (Photo by Caroline Kerley)
Liam Crowley Team Ireland
Crowley - a UCD CC rider selected for Ireland on this Rás - has had a fantastic early season and his inclusion in the national team is absolutely deserved. Indeed, if he keeps racing the way he has, he can expect more green jerseys by the time the season is over. He is a member of a very strong Irish team. And while each of them is capable of a stage win, they won't all get their chance. They must ride as a team to win overall - as they did last year - which will be the main objective. And as a newcomer to the national set-up, Crowley's personal ambitions may need to take a back seat to his team obligations. That is especially the case as the race progresses. And that means his best chance for himself might come on the opening day. Riding on the Irish team will be a new experience, and simply performing his duties on that team would be a success. But, given his form this year, if a breakaway makes it all the way, especially on stage 1, he may well feature in a significant way.
