2024 Rais Tailteann to start in Offaly with two towns on offical route
Ireland's answer to the Tour de France will kick off in Tullamore before cyclists travel through Birr en route to Limerick
The 2024 edition of the Rás Tailteann will kick off in Tullamore on Wednesday, May 22, at the beginning of its four-day trip around the country. The 69th edition of the race will end on Sunday, May 26.
This year, the event will kick off from Tullamore and pass through Birr on its way to a first-stage finish in Kilmallock. This will be the first-ever Rás Tailteann stage to finish in the County Limerick town.
The 2024 edition will also have finishes in Sneem, County Kerry on the famous ‘Ring of Kerry’, Cahir, County Tipperary which will see the first finish there since 1967 and Kildare Town, County Kildare with the fifth and final stage of the 2024 Rás Tailteann finishing in Bective, County Meath where the race will take in three laps of a 14.1KM spectator-friendly finishing circuit.
784.8KM of Irish roads awaits this year's entrants with a total of eighteen categorised climbs over the five stages, including two x category one climbs on stages two and four.
Ahead of the route launch, Race Director Ger Campbell said: “We are delighted to be able to reveal details of the Rás Tailtean 2024 route. This year's route is more difficult than the previous two editions, with a welcome return to cycling strongholds such as ‘The Rebel’ and ‘The Kingdom’ counties. There are a series of very tricky climbs along the way southwards and back up the country towards our ultimate finish in Bective on Sunday, May 26th, for what promises to be an extra special day. I would like to thank all the stage start and stage finish towns along with all the stage co-ordinators for their extremely helpful input and dedication to the 2024 route.
Entry details will be released very soon and there is already huge interest from teams here at home and abroad. We will also be releasing details of our sponsors and funding partners in due course.