By Sean Moriarty

The newly revived Ras Tailteann – Ireland’s biggest cycle race – will not return to Killarney this year.

Organisers of the five-day event have announced a provisional route for the 2022 race. It will move from its traditional mid-May date to June 15 to 19.

Ireland’s most important cycle race will visit Kerry with Castleisland set to host a stage finish on June 16 and a stage start the following day.

It is over four years since the race last ran. The 2018 edition featured a stage start in Listowel and that stage passed through Killarney and Moll’s Gap on its way to Glengarriff.

Organisational difficulties forced the cancellation of the 2019 race and the pandemic forced it off the road for the last two years.

The new race for 2022 will not include Killarney.

“Over the next weeks the committee will be reassessing the individual elements of the route, accommodation, and safety measures, considering the enforced postponements during the last two years, triggered by the onset of COVID-19,” an event spokesperson said.
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This is necessary to ensure that there have not been and will not be any major obstacles or planned changes along the physical route, that could influence the safe running of the event.”