Five Riders Named in National Team for Upcoming Rás na mBan
Cycling Ireland is pleased to announce a team of five riders to represent the national team at the upcoming Rás na mBan.
Emer Heverin adds a senior national team debut to a massive first junior year. After taking the Senior Criterium National Championship in Dublin in May and the Junior Road Race and TT National Championships in June, Heverin claimed her first European Championship title at the Junior/U23 Track Championships in Cottbus, Germany in July.
Heverin will not be the only rider making their senior road debut at Ireland’s premiere women’s stage race, as Greta Lawless pulls on the green jersey on the road for the first time. Having represented Ireland in off-road disciplines at junior and U23 level, the current XC National Champion rode for Ireland on the road at the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2023, and most recently put in a strong performance at the European MTB Championships last week.
Emma Jeffers and Esther Wong come into the race off the back of recent Commonwealth Games appearances for Northern Ireland where the pair both competed on track. While both Wong and Jeffers have become ever-present for Ireland on the track in recent years, the pair have both also ridden for the national team on the road, including an appearance at last year’s European Road Championships. Jeffers, reigning two-time U23 National Champion is a former Rás na mBan stage winner herself, taking Stage 3 in 2023.
Aoife O’Brien rounds out the selection for this year’s race. Another rider regularly featuring in both road and track national team selections, O’Brien has had a fantastic run of results recently, taking seven top-10 results in her last eight races, including four second place finishes.
High Performance Director Iain Dyer welcomed the announcement of the young yet experienced team; “We’re pleased to be able to bring together a such a good group of young riders to represent Ireland at Rás na mBan. It’s also notable that we have riders coming to us via different disciplines and yet still very much feeling like an ‘in-house team’ thanks to the work in HP Pathways and our squads. Rás na mBan is always a landmark event on our calendar and we’re very much looking forward to see what we can do.”
This will be the 20th edtion of Rás na mBan, running from September 2nd to 6th featuring six stages. The final day of racing will see riders take on a TT at Kilkenny Castle in the morning before the Kilkenny City Criterium to finish.
More information on the event is available here.