Slieve Blooms shine as Rás Tailteann cyclists hit the peaks of Laois and Offaly

Conor McGoldrick of the UK Richardsons Trek Team is first over the Wolf Trap climb and goes on to take the stage win and race leaders yellow jersey Pic : Lorraine O'Sullivan

placeholder image — Conor McGoldrick of the UK Richardsons Trek Team is first over the Wolf Trap climb and goes on to take the stage win and race leaders yellow jersey Pic : Lorraine O'Sullivan

The Laois Offaly Slieve Blooms was the literal high point of the first stage of the Rás Tailteann which ended in Birr on Tuesday.

Conor McGoldrick of the UK: Trek Richardson team won the FBD Insurance sponsored stage 1 in an effort that also put him into the Bective Stud supported race leader’s yellow jersey at the end of first day of the 2023 edition on May 17.

Stage 1 of Rás Tailteann 2023 saw the riders faced with a 154.8k journey from Navan to Birr which featured a category 1 King of the Hills climb in the Slieve Blooms within the last 25km of racing.

A group of 24 riders went clear at the front of the race building an advantage of 60 seconds almost immediately. The group continued to work well together and extended their gap to over 3 minutes as the race approached the highly anticipated category 1 ascent of Wolf Trap in the Slieve Bloom mountains.

Conor McGoldrick of UK: Trek Richardson passed over the crest of the KoH solo holding an advantage of 35 seconds on two chasers (Dan Gardener and Joseph Laverick) with 15km of racing remaining. McGoldrick was reeled in with less than 5km to go but was able to snatch victory from his comrades with a strong kick into the finish in Birr.

International cycling returns to the Slieve Blooms in the autumn when Rás na mBan visits the Laois Offaly mountains in September.