Launching FBD Insurance’s sponsorship of the 2024 Rás Tailteann was (L-R) Colm Rigley - Cairde Rás Tailteann, Tomás Ó Midheach – CEO, FBD Insurance, Emer O’Byrne - National Head of Branch Strategy & Sales Performance, FBD Insurance and Séamus Domegan – Cairde Rás Tailteann - Photo by Lorraine O’Sullivan

The 2024 edition of the Rás Tailteann will take place from Wednesday, May 22nd to Sunday, May 26th. This is the 69th edition of the race.

This year, the event will kick off from Tullamore, County Offaly in Ireland’s Midlands, where the first stage finish will be in Kilmallock. This will be the first-ever Rás Tailteann stage to finish in the County Limerick town. The 2024 edition will also have finishes in Sneem, County Kerry on the famous ‘Ring of Kerry’, Cahir, County Tipperary which will see the first finish there since 1967 and Kildare Town, County Kildare with the fifth and final stage of the 2024 Rás Tailteann finishing in Bective, County Meath where the race will take in three laps of a 14.1KM spectator-friendly finishing circuit. 784.8KM of Irish roads awaits this year's entrants with a total of eighteen categorised climbs over the five stages, including two x category one climbs on stages two and four.

Sponsor 7 – FBD Insurance – Stage Winner Jersey

Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce that FBD Insurance will again sponsor the stage winner jersey in Rás Tailteann 2024.

FBD Insurance has a rich history with the Rás Tailteann and this is the third consecutive year that they have sponsored the stage winner jersey. Established in the 1960s by farmers for farmers, FBD has built on those roots in agriculture to become a leading general insurer serving the needs of its agricultural, small business and consumer customers throughout Ireland. With a network of 34 local sales offices FBD are proud to be the largest Irish owned insurer and offer a wide range of protection products to suit customer needs including car, home, van, business and farm insurance.

Speaking about FBD Insurance’s support of Rás Tailteann 2024, Race Director Ger Campbell said, “We are incredibly thankful to FBD Insurance for their continued support of our event through their sponsorship of the stage winner jersey. FBD Insurance has a long history with the event and, indeed, the sport in general, and we are over the moon to have the insurance giant as a commercial partner again this year”.

CEO of FBD Insurance Tomás Ó Midheach added “FBD Insurance is once again delighted to partner with An Rás Tailteann in 2024. This event is a staple in the Irish sporting calendar, bringing great colour and excitement to towns and villages across the country. Our renewed involvement in such a prestigious event is a further demonstration of our commitment to local communities across Ireland”.  




Visiting Team 9 – Brocar Rali Alé – Spain

Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our ninth visiting team for the 2024 event: Brocar Rali Alé, who return in 2024 after making their debut in the 2022 event but did not feature in the 2023 race.

Brocar Rali Alé is one of the largest international teams from Spain and works with some of the best U23 talents to develop into world-class riders. The team is made up of multiple nationalities, including Irish man Ewan Warren Scanlon, who raced ‘The Rás’ last year as part of The Irish National Team but struggled after a crash on stage 3. His season was cut short after a crash in July last year, suffering a broken leg and sitting out the rest of the season. However, Ewan says, “This means I’ve come back very motivated to perform strongly this year. ‘The Rás’ is a major goal for this season.”

Ewan Warren will be joined by fellow Irish man Eoin Kelly who is a new signing for Brocar Rali Alé in 2024. He also took part in the last two Rásanna, so has great experience with the race. He is looking to use the “experience and strength gained from racing in Spain” to improve again this year. The team, then racing under ‘Brocar-Ale’, took the runner-up spot in 2022, with Louis Sutton finishing 51 seconds behind winner Daire Feeley. This result was enough to win the young rider jersey for Sutton. After their strong debut in 2022, Brocar Rali Alé definitely looks like a team to watch.

Ger Campbell welcomed Brocar Rali Alé back to the event, “We are delighted to have team Brocar Rali Alé at the 2024 Rás Tailteann. They have been one of the strongest teams to come out of Spain and have always had a close relationship with Irish riders and this race. We have no doubt they will bring serious strength, like they did in 2022!”.

Team Manager Sebastian Trillini said, “We are really excited to take on the Rás Tailteann 2024. Our squad has lots of experience at the top level, and we can’t wait to see what the Irish roads have to offer!”

Team Brocar Rali Alé at the start of an event earlier this season - Photo by Jose V. Peidro

Visiting Team 10 – Cycling Club Isle of Man – Isle of Man

Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our tenth visiting team of the 2024 event: Cycling Club Isle of Man, who return for their third consecutive year.

Cycling Club Isle of Man has a long history with the event and are well accustomed to the Irish terrain. Similar roads and racing types allow for ample preparation for the event. CC Isle of Man has had some very strong performances, including two riders in the top ten of the final stage into Blackrock during the 2022 event.

Speaking ahead of the event, Team Manager Conor Davies said, “This year’s ‘Rás’ looks to be considerably tougher than last year, so we look forward to getting stuck into some hard racing and hope for some good weather!”.

Welcoming CC Isle of Man for 2024, Race Director Ger Campbell said, “We are thrilled to have CC Isle of Man join us again this year. They have always been fantastic supporters of our race and, indeed, of all Irish cycling events. We have no doubt they will showcase their experience again this year”.

Cycling Club Isle of Man before the start of a race earlier this season - Photo by Sadhbh O’Shea

Visiting Team 11 – Team PB Performance – UK

Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our eleventh visiting team of the 2024 event: Team PB Performance, who returns after making their debut in last year's event.

Speaking about the team, Team Manager Paul Bennett said, “Team PB Performance is an elite development team managed by PB Performance Coaching with the support of private sponsors, #sharingourvision, who share their passion for rider development. Such passion has seen riders progress to UCI Continental level. We are also supported by some fabulous partners/sponsors: Kalas Sportswear, OTE, Pura Velo, Rotor UK, QR Massage, Pedal Power (Loughborough), Core Body Temperature, MI Supplies, & Freeman Energy.”

PB Performance returns to the race this year with George Peden and Jacques Coates, who were part of the 2023 team and 3 new riders. George Peden has had a strong start to the 2024 season with multiple podiums, including 2nd in the first round of the national series at the Des Hanlon Memorial. This comes after his bronze medal in the 2023 ITT national championships behind Ryan Mullen and Ben Healy.

Paul Bennett added, “We are excited to return to this prestigious race in 2024. With some luck on our side, we hope for a strong performance on GC and trying to pick up some stage results along the way.”

Ger Campbell welcomed Team PB Performance to the event by saying, “Team PB Performance had a super debut in the Rás Tailteann in 2023 with George Peden just a second off a top-ten finish. Their strong results so far in 2024 make them a definite favourite for results!”.

George Peden of Team PB Performance in action - Photo by Sean Rowe