Meath cyclists to compete in Race Around Ireland

Cyclists from many parts of Ireland and the world are expected to take part in the eighth Race Around Ireland which gets underway from Trim on Sunday 28th August.

The race is organised by Race Around Ireland in association with Navan Road Club. 

The race is scheduled to finish at the Steam Threshing Museum, Moynalty on Wednesday, 31st August. The cyclists from Meath will be competing alongside riders from a host of countries including England, Scotland, Monaco, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and America.

The Meath teams taking part in the race include The Flatliners (Feargal Murray, Brendan Harte, Philip Gargan, Mark Tighe), the Moynalty Cycling Club (Ken Moloney, Declan Smith, Conor Shaffrey, Pat Reilly) and Team Quattro (Niall Doggett, Lorcan McKenna, Stephen Sweeney, John Murray).

Other Meath riders will include Irish Ultra cyclists Pat Doocey and Siobhan Payne. The father and son combination of Ambrose and Blair Clinton will compete in the two-person category.

The Race Around Ireland is an Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) World Cup event and is the second highest ranked race of its kind in the world. The race is also a qualifying event for the arduous Race Across America.

“Racers will be taken around Ireland on a 2,150km journey, on some of the toughest terrains, but some of the most beautiful landscapes to be seen,” explained race organiser and Meathman Alan Heary.

“This year we have some amazing international solo ultra-cyclists including Isabella Pulver who won Race Across America in 2016 and former World Cup champion Valerio Zamboni who is competing in the event for his fifth time. The race will once again see Ciaran O’Reilly take on this mammoth challenge having completed it in 2013,” said Heary.

“There will be live GPS tracking of the racers, which will allow family, friends and supporters to follow their riders and be able to cheer them on from the side-lines.”