Navan Road Club to celebrate 70th anniversary by hosting start of Ras

Final stage of famous race to travel through Meath

Navan Road Club will celebrate their 70th anniversary this year by hosting the opening stage of the prestigious Ras Tailteann, which is also celebrating its 70th year when the race gets underway on Wednesday 17th May.

The five-day race will continue until Sunday 21st May where it will return and travel through Meath taking in Drumconrath and Meath Hill before finishing in the beautiful seaside village of Blackrock in Louth.

To celebrate Navan RC's anniversary the race organisers have decided to commence the event in Navan in recognition of the role that local riders have played in the supporting the race since its inception in 1953.

After a ceremonial start in the town, the race will travel mostly on flat roads taking in two cat 3 climbs within the first 90km.

The final part of the stage gets much tougher as the race crests the cat 1 Wolf Trap mountain climb 20km from the finish. A fast run-in to Birr via Kinnity concludes the stage.

Not a day when the race can be won but a day that could put riders out of contention from the off.

After stage starts in Birr, Ennis and Charlestown the final stage on Sunday 21st May will have a ceremonial start in the centre of Monaghan town, before the riders will make their way through the towns of Ballybay, Shercock, Kingscourt, Drumconrath, Ardee, and Castlebellingham before passing onto a slightly tweaked and extended finishing circuit in Blackrock. The riders will complete four laps of an 11.1km circuit before they become men of the Rás 2023.

Stage 5 also features one cat 3 climb at Meath Hill en route to Blackrock. After last years thrilling finale, more of the same is promised in the beautiful Co Louth seaside town this time around.

Rás Tailteann is an annual international cycling stage race traditionally held in May, the race returned after a hiatus in 2022 as five-day event held in June, but this year will return to its traditional May date.

The first edition was held in 1953 as a two-day event but quickly developed into a week-long event. It ran every year, uninterrupted, until 2018. Following Cumann Rás Tailteann's failure to find a new principal sponsor for the race, it was announced in February 2019 that there would be no Rás that year.

Meath riders have enjoyed more than their fair share of success in the race with Stamullen/Julianstown's Ben McKenna winning in 1959 before Brian Connaughton, who rode with White Cross, Navan RC and Dunboyne CC, claimed the spoils for the Royals again in 1969.

Two years later, in 1971 St Patrick's CC's Colm Nulty won for Meath, while Dunboyne's Philip Cassidy also proved victorious in 1983 and Kevin Kimmage represented Meath Avonmore when he won in 1991.

Philip Cassidy proved victorious once again in 1999 and while the crown has gone outside the country more often than not in the last 11 years with only one Irish winner in that time, there is hope of a strong Irish showing at this year's race.