Irish rider Mia Griffin stormed to victory in Callan, County Kilkenny this evening, repeating the feat she achieved on the same stage last year.
The Kilkenny native, recently returned from competing on the track at the Paris Olympics, powered clear in the bunch sprint, crossing the line ahead of teammates Robyn Clay and Caoimhe O’Brien in second and third.
One hundred riders from fourteen countries assembled at the Hoban Hotel in Kilkenny City for the 74 kilometre long opening stage, with one categorised climb preceding two finishing circuits around the town of Callan.
DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK’s dominance on the stage was indicated early on, with Lucy Lee summiting the category three Curragawn ascent ahead of returning overall champion Manon de Boer of NWVG-Uplus, with the British rider taking the lead of the IVCA Wicklow 200 Queen of the Mountains classification heading into stage two.
A series of attacks and counter attacks followed the climb, with Frankie Hall, another of the DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK riders, eventually breaking clear of the main bunch. They were quickly joined by Team Aalborg Sparekassen’s Frederikke Aafeldt and Team Dan Morrisey’s Katy Hill.
The trio worked well together, swiftly establishing a gap of almost a minute on the bunch as the race entered the final 25 kilometres, and the first of two finishing circuits.
Behind in the peloton, the sprinters’ teams eventually got organised and started to close in on the three leaders, finally closing the gap with a mere three kilometres to go.
With the breakaway reeled in, Hall’s teammates immediately hit the front of the peloton, setting a ferocious pace to take control at the head of the bunch for the closing kilometres.
Griffin led into the final corner and opened up the sprint from the front, with no other rider able to match her power in the closing metres. British rider Clay followed behind, with Mullingar’s O’Brien closing out the podium on a dominant day for DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK.
Along with securing the overall leader’s magenta jersey, Griffin’s victory also secured her the lead at the head of the Cycling Ireland Points and Kilkenny County Council Best Irish Rider classifications, with Clay topping the Sport Ireland Best Young Rider standings.
Ras na mBan - Stage 1 Results
Kilkenny - Callan (04/09/2024)
1. Mia GRIFFIN Das Hutchinson Brother UK 1h50'31"
2. Robyn CLAY* Das Hutchinson Brother UK +4"
3. Caoimhe O'BRIEN* Das Hutchinson Brother UK +6"
4. Frankie HALL Das Hutchinson Brother UK +7"
5. Katy HILL Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei +8"
6. Mari PORTON* Tofauti Everyone Active +10"
7. Aoife O'BRIEN* Ireland st
8. Iris MULDER* WV De Jonge Renner/Team DJR - MINIGIGS st
9. Marine LENEHAN Dan Morrissey Primor by Pissei st
10. Lotty DAWSON* Brother UK/OnForm st
* = YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION
Tomorrow sees the riders head into County Laois for a 104 kilometre stage from Portlaoise to Mountrath, featuring the fearsome climb of The Cut in the Slieve Bloom mountains.
2024 Rás na mBan - Stage One Preview
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The 18th edition of Rás na mBan kicks off from the Hoban Hotel in Kilkenny this afternoon at 16:41 with the best bike riders from Ireland and abroad soaking in the pre-race atmosphere as they prepare to tackle the five-day epic.
Riders will roll out of the race HQ at the Hoban Hotel, for a short 1.5km neutralised section, before the flags are waved and the racing takes off on the Waterford Road towards Danesfort from 16:45 onwards.
From there, the route will travel through Stoneyford, Knocktopher, and Kilmaganny. As the riders race towards Callan, the climb at Curragawn 30 km into the race at approximately 17:20 will get the Queen of the Mountains competition underway, before racing towards Windgap and arriving into Callan at 17:45 for just over two loops on a shorter circuit.
Last year there was a large bunch sprint finish to keep the crowd on their toes until the final moments. With a race speed of 40.04km/h Mia Griffin led 66 riders across the line to take the opening stage win.
This year will see added excitement as the riders cross the finish line for the first time on the closing circuit, with Intermediate Sprint bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds awarded to the first three riders across the line. Time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds will be awarded to the first three riders respectively at the stage finish.
Skies are blue at the moment at race HQ, although we've seen plenty of grey this morning already. Current conditions suggest small showers on parts of the route ahead of the race start. Riders can expect a tailwind towards Knocktopher before facing towards the wind for a more challenging ride up the first QOH and onto the closing circuit.