Daire Feeley desperate to defend his Rás crown

Defending Rás Tailteann champion Daire Feeley is ready to "leave everything on the road" in his bid to retain the crown he won in 2022.

The Roscommon native became the first Irishman to win the Rás Tailteann since 2008 when he took last year's edition of the famous race and he is eagerly anticipating the start line in Navan.

The five-day event will traverse the country and includes finishes in Birr, Ennis, Castlebar and Monaghan before drawing to a close in Blackrock, Co Louth.

Race organisers had signalled their intent to ramp up the difficulty after last year’s event and there are some big climbs on every stage.

For Feeley, a tough race is the minimum he expects from the Rás and he believes that it’s an event that can help to launch cycling careers onto the big stage, where future stars of the cycling world prove their mettle.

"If we look back a number of years ago and even right up to this day, the international attraction that the Rás receives in the world of cycling is massive," he told RTÉ Sport.

"A lot of cycling grades have gone through the Rás in their earlier years of their career, a lot of people who have had success in the Rás have gone on to bigger heights in the sport in terms of success.

"We've seen that with the likes of Tony Martin, we've seen it with Sam Bennett, Eddie Dunbar, a lot of Irish riders and a lot of foreign riders, British riders, riders who won the Tour de France.

"They have all gone through the Ras at some point and it may not have been the most successful race for them because of the difficulty the race poses at times.

"Being a man of the Rás is always a massive achievement, just getting through the race. But I suppose looking at the race from a results point of view, it is a massive thing to get