Rás Tailteann is an annual 8 day international cycling stage race, held in Ireland in May. Around Ireland, the race is referred to as The Rás. By naming the race Rás Tailteann the original organisers, members of the National Cycling Association (NCA), were associating the cycle race with the Tailteann Games

Tailteann Games

The Tailteann Games were an ancient sporting event held in Ireland in honour of the goddess Tailtiu. They ran from 632 BC to 1169-1171 AD when they died out after the Norman invasion....

 an ancient Celtic sporting event in Ireland.

The event was founded by Joe Christle in 1953 and was organised under the rules of the Republican-influenced organisation - the National Cycling Association(NCA). At that time competitive cycling in Ireland was deeply divided between three cycling organisations, the NCA, Cumann Rothaiochta na hEireann (CRE) and the Northern Ireland Cycling Federation (NICF) due to the issue of nationalism and the division of Ireland into Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 and the Republic

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. The NCA wished for a United Ireland

United Ireland

A united Ireland is the term used to refer to the idea of a sovereign state which covers all of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. The island of Ireland includes the territory of two independent sovereign states: the Republic of Ireland, which covers 26 counties of the island, and the...

 and refused to recognise Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 or to confine their jurisdiction to the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. The Rás Tailteann was the biggest race that the NCA organised each year.

As a result of a Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....

 (UCI) motion, the NCA was banned from international races and all teams affiliated with the UCI were banned from competing in races organised by the NCA. Therefore only teams that were not affiliated with the UCI or who were willing to take the chance of serving a suspension for competing in the Rás Tailteann competed in the Rás Tailteann. During this time the NCA cyclists achieved prominence in the Rás with Gene Mangan, Sé O'Hanlon

Sé O'Hanlon

Séamus "Sé" O'Hanlon also known as Shay O'Hanlon is a former Irish amateur road racing cyclist. He was a top amateur in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, winning the Rás Tailteann stage race in 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967...

 and Paddy Flanagan

Paddy Flanagan

Paddy Flanagan was one of the top Irish cyclists of the 1960s and 1970s. He came to prominence in the Rás Tailtean. He rode his first in the Rás Tailtean in 1958 and came 11th. The following year he came second. He won in 1960 and again in 1964, the first to win twice...

 being several legends of the race. Mangan won only one Rás but featured in the race throughout the 60's and early 70's winning a total of 12 stages while O'Hanlon won the race four times and won 24 stages. Flanagan won the Rás three times and had 11 stage wins.

The NCA and the CRE together with NICF began unification talks in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As a result, a CRE team which included Pat McQuaid

Pat McQuaid

Patrick "Pat" McQuaid is a former Irish professional road racing cyclist and current president of the Union Cycliste Internationale .-Background:...

, Kieron McQuaid and Peter Doyle was able to enter the race in 1974. Doyle won the race and the McQuaids won two stages each. The first Rás open to the two associations CRE and the NICF was in 1979 and enabled Stephen Roche

Stephen Roche

Stephen Roche is a retired professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming only the second cyclist to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia stage races, plus the World road race championship...

 to compete the event as part of the Ireland team. Roche won the event.

The race has developed into a much sought after event by professional and amateur teams from many parts of the world.
As part of the elite international calendar it is eligible to award qualifying points that are required for participation in Olympic Games and World Cycling Championships.

The first edition was held in 1953 as a two day event but quickly developed into a week-long event. It has run every year since uninterrupted.

The most recent edition (2010) was won by Swedens Alexander Wetterhall from Team Sprocket Pro.

The official name of the race has been changed many times over the years, usually named after sponsors. An Post are the current title sponsors for three years starting with the 2011 edition, which will run from May 22 to May 29.
The race is a UCI 2.2 event.

Past winners

No.	Year	GC Winner	Nationality	Team	Points class	KOM	U23
1	1953	Colm Christle		Gate C.C.
2	1954	Joe O'Brien		National C.C.
3	1955	Gene Mangan		Kerry
4	1956	Paudie Fitzgerald		Kerry
5	1957	Frank Ward		Dublin
6	1958	Mick Murphy		Kerry
7	1959	Ben McKenna		Meath
8	1960	Paddy Flanagan Paddy Flanagan Paddy Flanagan was one of the top Irish cyclists of the 1960s and 1970s. He came to prominence in the Rás Tailtean. He rode his first in the Rás Tailtean in 1958 and came 11th. The following year he came second. He won in 1960 and again in 1964, the first to win twice...		Kildare
9	1961	Tom Finn		Dublin Team		S.Dillon
10	1962	Sé O'Hanlon Sé O'Hanlon Séamus "Sé" O'Hanlon also known as Shay O'Hanlon is a former Irish amateur road racing cyclist. He was a top amateur in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, winning the Rás Tailteann stage race in 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967...		Dublin
11	1963	Zbigniew Glowaty
12	1964	Paddy Flanagan Paddy Flanagan Paddy Flanagan was one of the top Irish cyclists of the 1960s and 1970s. He came to prominence in the Rás Tailtean. He rode his first in the Rás Tailtean in 1958 and came 11th. The following year he came second. He won in 1960 and again in 1964, the first to win twice...  (2)		Kildare
13	1965	Sé O'Hanlon Sé O'Hanlon Séamus "Sé" O'Hanlon also known as Shay O'Hanlon is a former Irish amateur road racing cyclist. He was a top amateur in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, winning the Rás Tailteann stage race in 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967...  (2)		Dublin
14	1966	Sé O'Hanlon Sé O'Hanlon Séamus "Sé" O'Hanlon also known as Shay O'Hanlon is a former Irish amateur road racing cyclist. He was a top amateur in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, winning the Rás Tailteann stage race in 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967...  (3)		Dublin
15	1967	Sé O'Hanlon Sé O'Hanlon Séamus "Sé" O'Hanlon also known as Shay O'Hanlon is a former Irish amateur road racing cyclist. He was a top amateur in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, winning the Rás Tailteann stage race in 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967...  (4)		Dublin
16	1968	Milan Hrezdira
17	1969	Brian Connaughton		Meath
18	1970	Alexander Gysiantnikov
19	1971	Colm Nulty		Meath
20	1972	John Mangan		Kerry
21	1973	Mike O'Donaghue Mike O'Donaghue Mike O'Donaghue is a former Irish Amateur road racing cyclist. O'Donaghue lived in Carlow and riding for the Carlow Team, he was one of the top amateurs in Ireland during the 1970s. His greatest win was the 1973 Rás Tailteann.-References:...		Carlow
22	1974	Peter Doyle		I.C.F.
23	1975	Paddy Flanagan Paddy Flanagan Paddy Flanagan was one of the top Irish cyclists of the 1960s and 1970s. He came to prominence in the Rás Tailtean. He rode his first in the Rás Tailtean in 1958 and came 11th. The following year he came second. He won in 1960 and again in 1964, the first to win twice...  (3)		Kildare
24	1976	Fons Steuten
25	1977	Yuri Lavrushkin
26	1978	Seamus Kennedy		Kerry
27	1979	Stephen Roche Stephen Roche Stephen Roche is a retired professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming only the second cyclist to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia stage races, plus the World road race championship...		Ireland
28	1980	Billy Kerr		Ireland
29	1981	Jamie McGahan		Scotland
30	1982	Dermot Gilleran		Ireland
31	1983	Philip Cassidy		Ireland
32	1984	Stephen Delaney		Ireland
33	1985	Nicola Kosiakov
34	1986	Stephen Spratt		Ireland
35	1987	Paul McCormack		Longford
36	1988	Paul McCormack (2)		Ireland
37	1989	Dainis Ozoles
38	1990	Ian Chivers		Ireland
39	1991	Kevin Kimmage		Meath
40	1992	Stephen Spratt (2)		Dublin
41	1993	Eamonn Byrne		Dublin Wheelers Dublin Wheelers Dublin Wheelers is a cycling club based in Dublin, Ireland. The club was established in 1933 by a group of six friends on a weekend away cycling in Rostrevor...
42	1994	Declan Lonergan		Ireland
43	1995	Paul McQuaid Paul McQuaid Paul McQuaid is an Irish cyclist who has represented Ireland in several global competitions.-The McQuaid family and cycling:McQuaid comes from a road bicycle racing family, his father Jim and uncles being top cyclists. His brothers Kieron and Pat as well as his cousin John McQuaid represented...		Ireland
44	1996	Tommy Evans		Armagh
45	1997	Andrew Roche		Kerry
46	1998	Ciarán Power Ciarán Power Ciarán Power a.k.a powershower is a former professional cyclist. He is a member of the Irish Pezula Racing Team. Power turned professional in 2000 with Linda McCartney Racing Team and rode the 2000 Giro d'Italia, gaining 2 top ten stage finishes. He was the first Irish cyclist in a major tour...		Team Ireland
47	1999	Philip Cassidy (2)		Team Ireland
48	2000	Julian Winn Julian Winn Julian Winn from Abergavenny, Wales is a former Welsh competitive cyclist who now manages the UCI Continental cycling team Endura Racing. He represented Wales in the 1998 Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur and at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester...		Wales team	David McCann David McCann David McCann is an Irish professional road bicycle racer. He used to cycle for the Taiwan-based UCI Continental team Giant Asia Racing.McCann was the Irish national road race champion in 2000, 2001 and 2006...	David McCann David McCann David McCann is an Irish professional road bicycle racer. He used to cycle for the Taiwan-based UCI Continental team Giant Asia Racing.McCann was the Irish national road race champion in 2000, 2001 and 2006...
49	2001	Paul Manning Paul Manning (cyclist) Paul Christian Manning MBE is a former English professional track and road bicycle racer who rode for the UCI Professional Continental team Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner in 2007 and 2008...		Great Britain team	David Kopp David Kopp (cyclist) David Kopp is a German road racing cyclist. Kopp speciality is sprinting and the cobbled classics of Belgium.Kopp started his pro career with Team Telekom in 2001 before moving to smaller German teams for 2004 and 2005. In 2006, he returned to top level cycling with Gerolsteiner for years before...	Nicholas White
50	2002	Ciaran Power Ciarán Power Ciarán Power a.k.a powershower is a former professional cyclist. He is a member of the Irish Pezula Racing Team. Power turned professional in 2000 with Linda McCartney Racing Team and rode the 2000 Giro d'Italia, gaining 2 top ten stage finishes. He was the first Irish cyclist in a major tour...  (2)		Team Ireland-Stena Line	Chris Newton Chris Newton Christopher Malcolm Newton is a successful road and track racing cyclist. Newton is a multiple world champion and Olympian.-Biography:Newton is an alumnus of the University of Teesside in Middlesbrough...	Julian Winn
51	2003	Chris Newton Chris Newton Christopher Malcolm Newton is a successful road and track racing cyclist. Newton is a multiple world champion and Olympian.-Biography:Newton is an alumnus of the University of Teesside in Middlesbrough...		Great Britain team	Jonas Holmkvist	Maxim Iglinskiv
52	2004	David McCann David McCann David McCann is an Irish professional road bicycle racer. He used to cycle for the Taiwan-based UCI Continental team Giant Asia Racing.McCann was the Irish national road race champion in 2000, 2001 and 2006...		Ireland-Thornton's Recycling Team	Malcolm Elliott Malcolm Elliott Malcolm Elliott is an English professional cyclist, whose professional career has lasted from 1984 to 1997 when he retired and from 2003 up to the present day when he made his comeback in British domestic racing....	Tobias Lergard
53	2005	Chris Newton Chris Newton Christopher Malcolm Newton is a successful road and track racing cyclist. Newton is a multiple world champion and Olympian.-Biography:Newton is an alumnus of the University of Teesside in Middlesbrough...  (2)		Recycling.co.uk	Malcolm Elliott Malcolm Elliott Malcolm Elliott is an English professional cyclist, whose professional career has lasted from 1984 to 1997 when he retired and from 2003 up to the present day when he made his comeback in British domestic racing....	Mark Lovatt Mark Lovatt Mark Lovatt is a British road racing cyclist who represented the United Kingdom at the 2001 UCI Road World Championships and England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games....
54	2006	Kristian House Kristian House Kristian House is a British racing cyclist who rides for the Rapha Condor team. He was the 2009 British Road Race Champion. He has raced in Europe and Australia. He rode for Great Britain in UCI World Cup track events...		Recycling.co.uk	Morten Hegreberg	Ciarán Power Ciarán Power Ciarán Power a.k.a powershower is a former professional cyclist. He is a member of the Irish Pezula Racing Team. Power turned professional in 2000 with Linda McCartney Racing Team and rode the 2000 Giro d'Italia, gaining 2 top ten stage finishes. He was the first Irish cyclist in a major tour...
55	2007	Tony Martin Tony Martin (cyclist) Tony Martin is a German professional road bicycle racer riding for the UCI ProTeam . Martin is known as a time trial specialist: in 2011, he won a time trial stage in the Tour de France and in the Vuelta a España, and became world champion...		Thüringer Energie Team	Dominique Rollin Dominique Rollin Dominique Rollin, is a professional cyclist, riding for UCI Professional Continental team .Born in Boucherville, Canada, he began his professional career in 2001 with the team Sympatico High Speed-Jet Fuel Coffee and again the following year, 2002 with Sympatico Edition Haute Vitese...	Ricardo Van der Velde
56	2008	Stephen Gallagher Stephen Gallagher (cyclist) Stephen Gallagher is an Irish professional cyclist, who is currently riding for the British continental cycling team...		An Post–Sean Kelly	Dean Downing Dean Downing Dean "Deano" Downing is an English bicycle racer, specialising in road cycling who rides for Rapha Condor-Sharp. He rode for the DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed team in 2006 and is the older brother of the former British champion, Russell Downing...	Kit Gilham
57	2009 2009 Rás Tailteann The 2009 Rás Tailteann was the 57th edition of the Rás Tailteann cycle race. The race took place over 8 days between 17–24 May 2009. The race was sponsored by FBD Insurance.-General classification:-Jersey progress:-External links:*...	Simon Richardson Simon Richardson (cyclist) Simon Richardson is an elite racing cyclist from Bristol who rides for the team.He started as a cross-country mountain biker and won the 2005 British under 23 Championship He became a professional racing cyclist in 2007 and won the overall title in the 2009 FBD Insurance Rás stage race whilst...		Rapha Condor recycling.co.uk	Niko Eeckhout Niko Eeckhout Niko Eeckhout is a professional road racing cyclist from Belgium. He was the 2005-2006 UCI Europe Tour series champion, and currently rides for the Team.- Career :...	David O'Loughlin David O'Loughlin David O'Loughlin is a professional cyclist with the Asian based Giant Kenda team for 2011. O'Loughlin rode for Ireland at World Championships and has won the national road championship three times...	Mark McNally
58	2010 2010 Rás Tailteann The 2010 FBD Insurance Rás Tailteann is the 58th edition of the Rás Tailteann cycle race. The race takes place over 8 days between 23–30 May 2010. The race is sponsored by FBD Insurance.-Stage 1:...	Alexander Wetterhall		Team Sprocket Pro	John Degenkolb John Degenkolb John Degenkolb is a German professional road bicycle racer riding for the UCI ProTeam . In 2010 he won his first stage race, the Thüringen Rundfahrt and finished second in the under 23 race at the Road World Championship...	Mark Cassidy Mark Cassidy (cyclist) Mark Cassidy is an Irish professional cyclist who rides for the An Post–Sean Kelly team.-Palmares:2011 - An Post–Sean Kelly Team*10th, Irish National Road Race Championship *40th overall, An Post Rás **15th, Stage 2...	Connor McConvey
59	2011	Gediminas Bagdonas Gediminas Bagdonas Gediminas Bagdonas is a professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for the Team.- Major achievements :2007...		An Post-Sean Kelly	Shane Archbold Shane Archbold Shane William Archbold is a New Zealand professional racing cyclist.-Career highlights:20042005Shane William Archbold is a New Zealand professional racing cyclist.-Career highlights:2004...	Oleksandr Sheydyk	Aaron Gate

External links

• An Rás Tailteann official homepage