First stage of this year's Ras Tailteann to finish in Offaly

THE route for the 2023 edition of Ras Tailteann has been announced and the first stage of the five day race will conclude in Birr.

The race will again be a five-day taking place from Wednesday May 17th to Sunday May 21st. In general terms, this year’s edition features a tougher route than 2022 with lots of battlegrounds over the five stages.

The race will begin in Navan and head off on the 154.8km trip to Birr.

Rás Táilteann 2023 will assemble and depart from Navan on May 17th. Both Rás Táilteann and the local Navan Road Club celebrate 70 years of existence in 2023. As such, the race organisers have decided to commence the event in Navan in recognition of the role that local riders have played in the supporting the race since its inception in 1953.
After a ceremonial start in the town, the race will travel mostly on flat roads taking in two cat 3 climbs within the first 90km. The final part of the stage gets much tougher as the race crests the cat 1 Wolf Trap mountain climb 20km from the finish. A fast run-in to Birr via Kinnitty concludes the stage. Not a day when the race can be won but a day that could put riders out of contention from the off.

Stage 2 will take the riders from Birr to Ennis and is similar length to the first stage at 154.5km. It features a tough day in the saddle as the race departs from Birr and makes its way along the rolling roads of North Tipperary, skirting Lough Derg and taking in the cat 3 climb in Portroe before crossing the Shannon into Killaloe. The final 50km of the stage could be very telling with 3 back-to-back cat 3 climbs and the cat 2 Maghera Mast climb all featuring. A relatively flat final 25km into the finish at Barefield awaits on the outskirts of Ennis town.

Stage 3 will see the riders head from Ennis to Castlebar, day four starts in Charlestown and heads to Monaghan and the final stage will take the riders from Monaghan to Blackrock, Co. Louth, where four laps of a 11.1km circuit will conclude the race.