Irish Independent  To Sponsor KOM Jersey  

This year, the event will kick off from Tullamore, County Offaly in Ireland’s Midlands, where the first stage finish will be 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.

The official Irish Independent logo

  

Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our third sponsor of the 2024 event: The Irish Independent. This is the major newspaper and online publication’s first year involved with the event.

The Irish Independent and Sunday Independent are synonymous with Ireland’s story. They have been at the heart of the country’s history for more than 110 years and are the best-selling newspapers in Ireland in the daily and Sunday markets, respectively. Mediahaus now own the Irish Independent. Established in 2014, Mediahuis is one of the biggest publishers in the Benelux countries and is behind a wide range of cross-media brands. It is a dynamic and forward-looking media company which has expanded rapidly in recent years. Famous news brands owned by Mediahuis include NRC and De Telegraaf in The Netherlands; De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium; Luxemburger Wort and Télécran in Luxembourg. Mediahuis brands publish and broadcast in multiple European languages, including English, Dutch, French, Luxembourgish, Portuguese, German, Frisian and Irish (Seachtain is published weekly in the Irish Independent).

Speaking on their sponsorship of Rás Tailteann 2024, Arlene Regan, Marketing Manager, Mediahuis Ireland said: ‘’Our commitment extends beyond the jersey. Through our “Written All Over Ireland” campaign, we’ll engage with communities, capture stories, and celebrate the indomitable spirit of Irish cycling. From Tullamore to Kilmallock, Sneem to Cahir, and Kildare Town to Bective, we’ll be there as communities, participants, and spectators write their story.’’

Ger Campbell, Race Director, thanked Mediahaus and The Irish Independent for their support of the race, “It is absolutely fantastic to see our commercial partners growing year on year, and we are delighted to welcome The Irish Independent as the sponsors of this year's KOH jersey. The Irish Independent has always been extremely supportive of the race through their publications, and we are incredibly thankful to them for their vote of confidence in the efforts of Cairde Rás Tailteann”.

The KOH jersey will not follow the traditional polka-dot design in 2024. Instead, The Irish Independent, working with world-renowned designer Mark Porter, has designed a completely unique jersey for the classification. With 18 classified climbs in this year's edition, the competition is bound to be fierce to wear the special Irish Independent KOH jersey.

The Irish Independent KOH jersey

Visiting Team 5 – Team Good Guys Racing NYC – USA

Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our fifth visiting team for the 2024 event: Team Good Guys Racing NYC, who returns after making their debut in 2022. 

Good Guys Racing NYC p/b Strategio will be travelling over to the Rás for a third consecutive year. Speaking to team manager Tony Daly, he remarked, “The dream would be to go one step better in 2024 with Cormac McGeough securing overall 2nd place in 2023. However, that will be a big ask as the team this year will feature some of the younger squad members.”

Mr Daly explained the preparations for the event, “The team are off the back of a great training camp in North Carolina where there are roads similar to Ireland. This will be the first year Good Guys Racing are competing as a domestic elite team in America's most prestigious stage race, Redlands California, in mid-April. The 5-day race should help the riders gain some valuable experience and set them up for what looks like a very tough Rás Tailteann route.”

Cormac Daly will again lead the team. "It is such a privilege to bring our team to Ireland to compete in The Rás Tailteann again this year. I am especially excited as Stage 2 will take in many of my training routes on The Iveragh Peninsula and Stage 3 starts in my hometown of Kenmare. We will be putting in a huge effort before May to be as competitive as possible with our young squad."

Welcoming Good Guys Racing NYC back to the event, Race Director Ger Campbell said, “We are delighted to see our friends in Good Guys Racing NYC return in 2024. Cormac McGeough came so close to having his name on the George Plant trophy last year after his impressive fourth-place finish on stage one. Good Guys Racing NYC has a relatively new squad coming to Ireland this year, and we cannot wait to see what they have to offer!”

Good Guys Racing NYC at their recent training camp in North Carolina

 

Visiting Team 6 – Ride Revolution Coaching – United Kingdom

Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our sixth visiting team of the 2024 event: Ride Revolution Coaching, who will make their debut in the race in the 2024 edition.

Ride Revolution Coaching is one of England's premier coaching brands, offering high-level coaching to all types of riders, both racers and non-racers. In 2023, they launched a race team of the same name, aiming to provide an environment for their coached riders of all levels, ages and disciplines to race within. Sitting at the top of this is their elite team, which competes in all of the UK's major races. In their first season, they secured over 100 race wins and 300 podiums across all events, with the Elite team finishing as the season's second-highest ranked team, including securing the highest-ranked rider with Clay Davies.

Speaking to team manager Jake Hales about the squad for the Rás, he said “Our Rás team will consist of a mixture of youth and experience, with the team owner and head coach of Ride Revolution, myself, taking a spot in the team as road captain. I will be joined by four of the following: Clay Davies, fellow elite rider Dan McDermott, time trialist Adam Robertson and youth in the form of Cameron Still and Matthew Wilson, both aged 20. This lineup already has 4 wins among them in the first month of the season.”

Speaking on their debut in the event, Ger Campbell, Race Director of Rás Tailteann, said, “I am delighted to welcome Ride Revolution Coaching to Rás Tailteann in 2024. Some of their riders have already been prolific in Irish races, including Jake Hales's runner-up spot in both the 2016 edition of the Suir Valley and Tour of The North. Ride Revolution Coaching is bound to bring high-quality racing to the roads of Ireland.”

A Ride Revolution Coaching rider takes the win in a race earlier in the 2024 season”