The organisers of Rás Tailteann have today officially launched this year's edition and unveiled full details of the race route. After a four-year absence - due to a lack of sponsorship and the pandemic - the event returns with five stages, rather than the usual eight.
It has also dropped its UCI 2.2 ranking and will instead be run as an elite race. However, there will still be some foreign teams to challenge the best riders in Ireland who are due to take to the start line in Dublin on June 15th.
Stage 1: Dublin - Horse and Jockey (140km)
After assembly in Tallaght (TBC) the start proper will be from Jobstown on the N81 and will ramp up straight away up and over the embankment and make its way through Blessington for the first Hot Spot sprint of the day. Then the riders will make their way to Dunlavin and Athy for another Hot Spot. The first climb of the race comes at 73.3km, the Glosna Cat 3 KOM before dropping into Castlecomer. The riders will then attack the 4km Cat 2 climb out of Castlecomer at 89.1km which will be a sting in the tail on what may ultimately be on paper at least, a day for the sprinters. The race continues through Ballyragget, Freshford and Urlingford for what will be another fiercely contested Hot Spot, the third one of the day. These 3 hotspots of course could be decisive in who pulls on the first yellow jersey of the 2022 Rás. With a fast and flat run in to the finish in the well-known village of Horse and Jockey. This setting, with its almost continental styled, wide boulevard, bound to produce a spectacle of sprinting to equal any, if the sprinters get their way.
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Stage 2: Horse and Jockey - Castleisland (154km)
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After a neutralised section of approx. 9.3km which will take the race through Thurles. It’s on to Dundrum, Tipperary Town, Kilmallock, Charleville and the Cat 3 climb at Freemount starting at 94.5km. Continuing through Newmarket and Ballydesmond, the race will then enter Castleisland where the riders will start a 10km finishing loop. This loop will take in the infamous Cat 2 climb of Crags Cave. This KOM climb is sure to have a severe effect on the riders' legs and will offer a springboard for stage victory into Castleisland for the strongmen. It is also likely where the overall contenders for the 2022 title will show their form in the hunt for the yellow jersey and king of the mountain's classifications. While it may be too early to be the day that will indicate decisively any potential winner. The approach to Castleisland and roads of Kerry with the climb up and over Crags Cave will for sure at the end of the day make it clear who will not make the cut.
Stage 3: Newcastle West - Lisdoonvarna (172km)
The longest stage of the race at over 170km. After a short transfer from Kerry to Limerick. The early part of the stage will begin with mostly fast flat roads through Croagh and Adare, traversing county Limerick via Crecora, Ballyneety, Caherconlish gliding through Newport and continuing on its way to Birdhill crossing over the mighty Shannon River. The riders will then head out towards Ennis, across into the beautifully rugged Clare countryside. At 140km the riders will take on the hard wide-open roads of the beautiful karst landscape of the Burren, with the first Cat 3 at 150 km where it begins to get technical. Similar to the previous day, the riders will tackle the Cat 2 ascent of the Corkscrew KOH, just 10km from the finish. With over 150km of racing in their legs at that stage. This climb will again play a big part in the race for the coveted yellow jersey and always makes for an exciting finish into the legendary town of Lisdoonvarna. The spiritual home of the Rás in County Clare.
Stage 4: Lisdoonvarna - Kilbeggan (154km)
A mostly flat stage which will take the riders from Clare all the way to the midlands town of Kilbeggan in Westmeath. This is the first time in the long history of the Rás that Kilbeggan will host a stage end. The first 40km will take the riders across narrow roads through the Burren and on to Gort, Loughrea and Athlone. On paper, its a day for the sprinters but the Rás has a habit of throwing up the unexpected on stages like this. Without any major climbs to focus the riders, its a day that non climbers could capitalise on any hint of complacency. It could be a day to throw a spanner in the works in the hunt for yellow on the penultimate stage.
Stage 5: Kinnegad - Blackrock (135km)
For the final stage the race transfers to Kinnegad for the start heading east to “the Wee County” of County Louth and to the seaside village of Blackrock. The race travels through Trim and Navan and onto Slane where they will face the Cat 3 climb in Slane at 54km and into Co Louth for another Cat 3 climb in Collon at 63km. From there the riders will pass through Ardee and Castlebellingham in the direction of Dundalk making their way to the beautiful seaside village of Blackrock where the riders will arrive after 96km of racing. They will then go on to take in 4 laps of a technical finishing circuit of just under 10km in length. This will be a stage for spectators, where they will get to witness multiple times, the exciting final hours racing of the 2022 edition of An Rás Tailteann. Back in 2018 Luc Bugter seized the opportunity in dramatic fashion on the final lap in Skerries to take the final yellow jersey in the very last moments of the race, in what was an unprecedentedly close and exciting finish. The 2022 event could go down to the wire in a similar fashion.
