Latest news with #DaireFeeley
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
George Kimber takes 2025 Rás Tailteann title after nail-biting final day
George Kimber endured a nerve-racking final day of racing to win the Rás Tailteann on Sunday, finishing safely in the main bunch in Bective after a day of dangerous attacks. Compatriot Josh Charlton took the 142.8km final stage, going solo from a big breakaway and holding off a hard-chasing peloton. Isle of Man Cycling Club rider Kimber came under pressure just 10km into the 142.8km stage from Kildare Town, with the 2022 Rás winner Daire Feeley (Clare: Burren CC) going clear with Dean Harvey (Team Ireland) and becoming virtual race leader. Holding a gap of over a minute for much of the stage, those two were joined by a dozen others before the first of four 12km finishing laps. Charlton attacked on the penultimate lap and went solo, while Odhran Doogan (Cycling Ulster) bridged across to the chasers inside the last 12km. READ MORE He had started the day third overall, just 22 seconds back and put Kimber under further pressure, but a furious chase saw all bar Charlton hauled back before the end. 'It feels amazing,' final yellow jersey Kimber told The Irish Times. 'It's unreal. I don't know how I pulled it off at the end there. I thought the race was gone, but I just stuck in there and it came back.' Josh Charlton (Team GB) wins the final stage of the Rás Tailteann. Photograph: Lorraine O'Sullivan Former individual pursuit record holder Charlton used his track racing speed to win by 58 seconds. Irish riders John Buller (Down: Banbridge CC Specsavers) and Odhran Doogan (Cycling Ulster) were to the fore in the bunch sprint, taking second and third on the stage. Team Ireland rider Jamie Meehan had hoped to overcome his overnight deficit of five seconds but while he jumped away on the final lap, he was unable to hold off a hard-chasing Kimber. 'The tactic today was to try and find six seconds,' he said. It was a really hard day, but we tried. We got away in the last lap with about three quarters of a lap to go, and gave it everything. It's a bit of a flat circuit for a 57 kilo man and he was able to come across.' He took second overall, while previous race leader Doogan was third. Meehan was the best under-23 and Doogan the best county rider. The latter said after stage one that he didn't envisage being in the running for the overall victory, but finished far closer than he had anticipated. 'I'm very happy,' he said. 'Coming in, I don't think my expectations were as high as what I've achieved. I was obviously disappointed to lose yellow yesterday, but I went out swinging today and gave it everything.' It was an exciting end to the 70th edition of the race, and one which gave Meehan, Doogan and others important boosts in confidence and experience.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Odhrán Doogan retains yellow jersey as Tim Shoreman wins Rás Tailteann third stage
Odhrán Doogan successfully defended his yellow jersey on a tense, tough third stage of the Rás Tailteann on Friday, retaining his three-second advantage over closest rival Matteo Cigala. The Cycling Ulster rider came under repeated attack and had a nervous time when a powerful 15-man break went clear just over 20km into the stage to Miltown Malbay. The move spelt danger, containing riders such as the 2022 Rás winner Daire Feeley (Burren CC), last year's runner-up Conn McDunphy (Team Skyline) and George Kimber (Cycling Club Isle of Man), who was for a long time the race leader on the road when the group maintained a gap of around one minute. However Doogan and others finally returned to the front after about 100km of hard chasing, making the junction to the last remaining breakaway rider Dean Harvey (Team Ireland) approximately 40km from the finish. READ MORE Stage one winner Tim Shoreman (UK: Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) was fastest in the final sprint, beating Cigala (Carlow: Dan Morrissey Pissei), Sebastian Brenes (Mexico: Canel's Java) and Matthew Teggart (Banbridge CC Specsavers), the first Irish rider home. Doogan finished the stage in 10th. 'I was definitely nervous,' Doogan said after finishing the stage in 10th, referring to the moment he learned who was out front. 'But I knew the guys up the road had a big, hard day ahead of them. I knew I just couldn't let them get a big gap. So me and my team were able to control it.' Indeed, after the junction was made Doogan was strong enough to attack with approximately 11km to go, but this was reeled in, as was a solo move by George Peden (Team PB Performance), who was briefly race leader on the road. McDunphy is next best of the Irish in fifth overall, and although he crashed inside the final kilometre, he was given the same time as the bunch as per UCI rules. 'Coming into the line I fancied my chances for the sprint,' said McDunphy. 'To be honest, maybe not to beat Shoreman but I reckon I could have gone top five there, but a bit of a gearing issue caused me to hit the deck.' He also fell close to the finish on the opening day and while he has been able to continue, his sleep has been affected by the extensive skin grazes he has on his back. However, he pledged to keep trying. Saturday's penultimate stage from Ennis offers an opportunity for aggressive riders, with the category one Wolftrap climb summiting just 14km from the finish line in Mountrath. So too Sunday's concluder from Kildare town to Bective, with McDunphy, Feeley and others all pledging to continue their attacks. Doogan and the Cycling Ulster team will keep fighting. He said on Wednesday that he didn't expect to contend for the general classification, but still finds himself still in a yellow jersey which he hadn't anticipated. 'I changed my ambitions. I'm going to try to keep it for as long as I can,' he said.
Irish Independent
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Daire Feeley's Rás Tailteann diary: Winning the race didn't earn me a big-time pro contract, but it changed my life
My name is Daire Feeley and tomorrow I line up in Drogheda for my sixth Rás Tailteann, Ireland's biggest international bike race, a race that has played a big part in my life, directly and indirectly, over the past few years.
Irish Independent
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
First stage of world-renowned Rás Tailteann to finish in County Roscommon town
The 70th edition of the famous cycling race will see competitors begin with a 150-kilometre-plus trek from Drogheda, Co Louth, to Boyle on the first day of the race. The peloton is expected to arrive in Boyle between 2.30pm and 3.00pm, depending on racing speeds, with the finish line located outside An Craoibhín Bar in the heart of the town centre. Spectators are encouraged to line the streets early for the event. The best viewing points will be along the approach roads into Boyle and at the finish line at An Craoibhín. Boyle has a proud connection to the Rás through Daire Feeley, who famously won the overall title in 2022. This marks the first time since 1994 that the Rás will finish a stage in Boyle. Rás Tailteann Race Director Ger Campbell said: 'Boyle has such strong sporting traditions and a real passion for cycling. We can't wait to showcase the energy and excitement the Rás brings to every town it visits.' Local stage end organiser Noel Feeley said it is 'a huge privilege to welcome such a prestigious event to Boyle'. 'The whole community has pulled together to prepare a real celebration, and we're encouraging everyone to come out, enjoy the day, and make it one to remember,' he said. Co-organiser Carmel Regan said the town is 'ready to roll out the red carpet for the riders and visitors'. 'We hope everyone will come and experience the magic of a Rás finish in our town,' she added. The first stage of the 70th Rás Tailteann will arrive in Boyle on Wednesday, May 21. Sunny weather with temperatures of up to 20 degrees have been promised for the town. Stage two of the event will start in Charlestown Co Mayo, before riders take on the infamous Windy Gap and Maumtrasna climbs in the longest of the 2025 Rás Tailteann stages. Another transfer to Co Mayo will see the third stage of the race begin in Cong, where the riders will take in breathtaking scenery along the Wild Atlantic Way before they face the fast finish towards Miltown Malbay in Co Clare. The penultimate stage will kick off from Ennis, Co Clare and finish in Mountrath, Co Laois. The final stage of Rás Tailteann 2025 will begin in Kildare town before entering Co Meath where the winner of Rás Tailteann will be crowned in Bective. The 2025 edition of the race will again involve five stages and stretches over 760 kilometres, including 13 categorised climbs
