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Rás na mBan returned to Kilkenny for another year with two new stages. An all new time trial around the walls of Kilkenny Castle and a final stage city centre circuit race were among the highlights of this year’s race.

Returning after a year of lockdown, Rás na mBan resumed with a challenging new mountain stage finish and an all-new opening stage with a circuit finish in Callan, County Kilkenny.

Ireland’s top international stage race for women again included four road race stages of varying length and difficulty, a time trial and a circuit race which for a fourth consecutive year centred around the beautiful city of Kilkenny. This year’s route made its first ever visit to County Laois with the Stage 3 summit finish at the ‘The Cut’ in the Slieve Bloom Mountains.

The Stage 3 hilltop finish on Mount Leinster  was a highlight of this year’s race giving the many bike fans on the Nine Stones the opportunity to watch the riders do battle over a challenging climb. The city centre criterium around Kilkenny Castle once again featured this year and was a fantastic chance to see the racers up close.

Nineteen different nationalities of riders lined up for this year’s An Post sponsored race. Riders from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Dubai, Iran, Jordan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the Isle of Man and of course Ireland competed in Ireland’s premier women’s stage race. For the second successive year the race was based in County Kilkenny in Ireland’s Ancient East.

This is the first year that Rás na mBan was held in County Kilkenny. Twenty five teams and 125 riders were on the entry list for the 11th edition of Ireland’s premier stage race. Last year’s runner-up Eileen Roe returned with the hope of going one better this year.

This year’s race was the last to be based in County Clare before moving to Kilkenny. The 10th edition of Rás na mBan featured the popular Wild Atlantic Way stage along the Clare coast and a challenging ‘Beast of the East’ Stage 3 on tough, rolling roads.

Tayler Wiles was the runaway winner in this year’s edition of Rás na mBan. Once again based in County Clare, the race included the ‘Beast of the Burren’ stage along the Wild Atlantic Way won by Ireland’s own Olivia Dillon.

A total of 105 riders from ten nations entered this year’s edition of An Post Rás na mBan. The race featured three current and two recent elite national champions and took place on the roads of County Clare – one of Ireland’s most scenic counties. Britain’s Hannah Barnes and Ireland’s own Olivia Dillon fought it out for the top prize.

The 2012 An Post Rás na mBan race ran the expanded 5 day, 6 stage format for the second time following overwhelmingly positive feedback from the previous year. Danish and British riders featured heavily in this year’s edition racing around some of the most challenging and beautiful scenery around the Ring of Kerry.