Rás Tailteann has been penciled in by the UCI in its usual mid May slot for next year, according to the calendar published next year online.
The race has been allocated its usual
eight-day slot and is set to get underway on May 17th, concluding on the 24th
of the month.
However, while the event is in the world
cycling calendar as usual, it was also allocated a slot this year and did not
take place.
It means the allocation of dates for
next year is not a guarantee that the event, Ireland’s premier cycling race, will
go ahead in 2020, though its return is hoped for and badly needed.
FBD Insurance backed the race for
decades until An Post, Ireland’s national postal service, assumed the title
sponsorship in 2011.
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The 2017 edition was An Post’s final
year supporting the Rás. And while the event went ahead last year, over the
usual eight days in May, it did so without a title sponsor.
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Continuing last year was only possible
because a reserve fund had been set aside down the years.
However, because that was spent on the
2018 edition, Rás Tailteann needed a new backer for this year’s event.
After a protracted search, during which
Irish and international companies were approached, still no sponsor has been found.
As a result, the race did not take place
this year. It was the first time since the event was established in the 1950s
that it was not staged.
The search for a sponsor has continued through
this year and it will become clear soon if the event will go ahead in 2020.
Rás Tailteann in the UCI road race schedule for May of next year
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