The Jerseys
Rás na mBan battles are fought over five days for a number of different classifications and prizes, each with its own level of importance.
Six distinctive jerseys from Pactimo are visible in the bunch during the race.
Rás na mBan Overall Classification
The overall leader’s jersey is the top prize in Rás na mBan.
The overall race leader’s jersey is awarded to the leading cyclists at the conclusion of each stage. It is easily picked out in the fast moving bunch of cyclists each day as the leader on lowest accumulated time for the race to that point.
The Rás na mBan magenta winner’s jersey is awarded at the conclusion of the sixth and final stage is the most coveted accolade in Irish women’s cycling.
The 2023 overall race winner was Manon de Boer (NWVG-Uplus) of the Netherlands.
Cycling Ireland Points Jersey
The Cycling Ireland Points jersey is awarded to the rider who shows the most consistency in stage finishes by accumulating the most points on offer for each stage.
Often the preserve of the sprinters, or the strong all rounder with a strong finishing kick, the Points jersey was won in 2021 by US rider Kaia Schmid from Team Lux who won two of the six stages.
Past winners include Olympic silver medal winner Josie Knight, British road race and time trial national champion Alice Barnes, her sister Hannah Barnes and Ireland’s world championship rider, Cork’s Fiona Meade.
Wicklow 200 Queen of the Mountains
The Wicklow 200 Queen of the Mountains jersey is presented each day to the rider who has accumulated the most points in the Queen of the Mountains competition. A number of hills in various road stages have been selected as counting hills in the competition and have been categorised according to difficulty.
The competition is sponsored, as it has been for many years, by the Irish Veteran Cyclists Association which supports cycling at all levels and promotes the Wicklow 200, one of Ireland’s most famous and most challenging challenge cycling events.
Former winners of the jersey include Manon de Boer, Kate Richardson, Anna Shackley and 2016 World Road Race Champion Amalie Dideriksen of Denmark.
Kilkenny County Council Best Irish Rider Jersey
The Best Irish Rider Jersey is the main goal of Ireland’s club riders as they compete with top international riders throughout Rás na mBan. The Kilkenny County Council sponsored jersey is presented to the first placed Irish-based club rider on the previous stage.
At the end of the event a separate prize list is awarded to the best placed local riders in the overall classification which was won in 2021 and 2023 by Wexford star Linda Kelly.
Sport Ireland Best Young Rider Jersey
Awarded for the first time in 2014, the white Best Young Rider jersey was worn each day by the highest placed rider under the age of 23 at the start of the year.
Riders such as Britain’s Hannah Barnes, 2016 world road race champion Amalie Dideriksen of Denmark and Britain’s Molly Weaver have won the jersey in the past. Emma Norsgaard Jorgensen announced her arrival on the international stage by taking the Best Young Rider jersey in 2015.
Previous winners include Josie Knight, Anna Shackley, Kate Richardson and Renée Van Hout.
Just-Print.ie Stage Winner Jersey
The distinctive Just-Print.ie Stages jersey is presented after each stage to the rider who has taken victory on the day.
The jersey proved a very popular addition to the awards list for the event in 2013 with Hannah Barnes taking no less than three Stages jerseys back to Northampton while Tayler Wiles took two stage wins on her way to overall success in 2014.
The jersey was awarded to five different riders in 2021 including Team USA world championship medallists Kaia Schmid and Makayla Macpherson who won the final two stages in front of Kilkenny Castle.
In 2022, Scotland’s Kate Richardson managed to win the stage jersey three times on her way to winning the overall General Classification.
In 2023, Ireland’s own Mia Griffin took home two stage winner jerseys.
