The county riders on next month's Rás Tailteann will be racing for time in more ways than one. Festina watches is set to support the race again this year and, as part of its backing, the first county rider each day will be presented with one of its timepieces as a prize.
It's a nice bonus for those riders who will be in the mix, with the blue county rider's jersey also up for grabs on each of the five days of racing. In other news, more foreign teams have been confirmed for the rapidly approaching 2023 edition of Ireland's biggest men's stage race.
Cycling Sheffield, Isle of Man and Foran Race Team - the latter now a regular feature in the Irish peloton, winning big races - are all confirmed starters next month.
Advertisement
Cycling Sheffield team principal, Dave Coulson, said while his team had lined up a great programme of races this year, it regarded Rás Tailteann as one of the highlights.
"The level of organisation is very high, and there’s always fantastic engagement from the public as the race moves from town to town," he said. Coulson added the team would build towards the Rás by riding the British Cycling National U23 Series, as well as a number of UCI races in the UK and Europe followed by the Lincoln GP.
Related News
Conor Davies, manager of Isle of Man CC, said his riders really enjoyed last year's Rás, taking a number of top 10 stage placings. "We are hoping to build on that success this year,” he said. Isle of Man are bringing back two of their top performers in 2023 – Corrin Leeming and Mark Horsthuis - as well as three new additions; Jamie Fletcher, Ralph Holden and Irishman Marcus Christie.
Foran Race Team, which was set up in 2019, is supported by Foran Construction in south London and has ridden a number of races in Ireland in recent years. It recently took stage wins, with Thomas Springbett and Dom Jackson, at Rás Mumhan; both riders winning with very impressive solo efforts.
Tom Quaid, one of the team's managers, said: “Our team is very excited to return to the 2023 running of An Rás Tailteann. We are returning with some members of last year’s team, and have added some new additions to ensure we are well positioned to compete for stage wins and add our names to the incredible history of this race”.
Meanwhile, David Buckley from Festina Ireland said his company was “delighted to be associated with the Rás Tailteann again and its long history as Ireland’s renowned international stage race."
Race director Ger Campbell, of the Cáirde Rás Tailteann group, said he was very happy to have Festina back on board, adding its watches had proven a very popular daily prize with the riders.
“Cáirde Rás Tailteann are grateful that a well-known brand such as Festina has continued to acknowledge one of the most important elements of the race and in doing so acknowledge the efforts of our domestic county riders each day,” Campbell said.
