The 70th edition of the Rás Tailteann, Ireland’s premier men’s international stage race, will take place from May 21st to May 25th, 2025.  Rás Tailteann has long been a cornerstone of Irish cycling, attracting elite and professional riders from across the country and internationally, with a global reputation for fast-paced and unpredictable racing over challenging terrain.  ‘The Rás’  has unearthed and been a key stepping stone event for many of the worlds very best World Tour cyclists including the likes of Mark Cavendish (GB), Tony Martin (Germany) , John Degenkolb (Germany), Simon Yates (GB), Jai Hindley (Aus), Owen Doull (GB), and Ireland’s own Stephen Roche, Sam Bennet and Eddie Dunbar, to name a few.

Whilst the 70^th edition of the event will be a significant milestone for the race itself, it will also be a historic landmark for Banbridge Cycling Club who will enter a team for the very first time in its 80 years and marking a new chapter in the club’s history.

Banbridge CC has a rich history of club members participating, and indeed winning, in the event. Tommy Evans was the overall winner in 1996, but other members including Seamus Downey and Matthew Teggart have also won multiple stages and wore the yellow race leader’s jersey.  Numerous other Banbridge CC members have also participated in the Rás as part of the Ulster and Irish national teams, including Roger Aiken who won a stage in 2005 and finished 2^nd overall in 2008.

The Banbridge CC team for the 2025 Rás Tailteann will be made up exclusively by current Banbridge CC members, many of whom have progressed from youth members of the club to seasoned international competitors.  The team, and it’s composition of Banbridge CC members, goes some way to demonstrate the continued progress and growth of the racing participation and development within the club in recent years and provides our riders with an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best teams and cyclists from Ireland and beyond.  Much more detail on the team’s rider line-up and support crew will be announced in the next week or so!

The 2025 Rás Tailteann will start in the cycling stronghold of Drogheda, Co Louth for stage 1 on Wednesday, May 21st heading westwards to finish in Boyle, Co Roscommon.
A transfer to Charlestown for the start of stage 2 where the riders will take on the infamous Windy Gap and Maumtrasna climbs in the longest of the 2025 Rás Tailteann stages.
Another transfer to Co Mayo for the start of stage 3, where Cong will welcome the Rás Tailteann. After setting off from Cong, the riders will take in breathtaking scenery along the Wild Atlantic Way before they face the fast finish towards Miltown Malbay in County Clare. The penultimate stage, stage 4, will kick off from Ennis, Co Clare and take on 2 x category three climb’s before crossing the category one Wolftrap climb with less than 15KM remaining – will there be enough time to regroup before the finish in Mountrath, Co Laois?

As has become tradition on the race, the final stage of Rás Tailteann 2025 will host a circuit finish, offering an excellent opportunity for spectators to cheer the riders home and be witness to the final nail biting kilometres as the fight for overall victory concludes. The final stage on Sunday 25^th May will kick off in Kildare Town heading across the plains of ‘The Lilywhite County’ before entering Co Meath where again, the winner of Rás Tailteann will be crowned in Bective.

The 2025 edition of the race is again five stages and will take on over 760KM along the roads of The Emerald Isle, including 13 categorised climbs.  It promises to be a tough but exciting week.

The club extends its gratitude to its sponsors and supporters who are enabling this historic endeavour and we look forward to showcasing them in the coming weeks.