Rás na mBan returns this September, as Ireland’s premier women’s stage race takes place from Wednesday the 3rd to Sunday the 7th of September.
The race, based in and around Kilkenny, will again see an Irish national team entered.
This year’s Rás na mBan will see a debut in green for Abi Conway. The Westport-Covey Wheelers rider has made a splash on the domestic front, taking podiums in the 2024 and 2025 U23 road race national championship, as well as taking the overall win in her first stage race at the Newry 3 Day in 2024.
The youngest member of the five-strong team will be Aliyah Rafferty. The 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival athlete took both the Junior Time Trial and Road Race national championships already this summer, and already has a Rás na mBan under her belt, having ridden for Ireland in last year’s edition.
2025 national criterium champion Aine Doherty is back in green following a block of racing in the United States. The Dan Morrissey rider is also a returning member of last year’s team, and has become well used to riding for Ireland, having ridden in green at both road and cyclo-cross world championships, as well as riding at the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2022.
2024 Olympic track team member Erin Creighton is back in an Ireland kit for this year’s Rás na mBan. Although Creighton’s focus has been on the track in recent years, she is no stranger to representing Ireland on the road, having ridden for Ireland at World Championships in 2021, and at Rás na mBan in 2023.
Esther Wong rounds out the Irish team for this year’s edition. This will be Wong’s first Rás na mBan, but far from her first appearance in green – having represented Ireland now in cyclo-cross, on the road and on the track.
The route for this year’s Rás na mBan is available here.
