Mia Griffin becomes first Irish Rás na mBan champion since 2013

Local rider Mia Griffin successfully defended her lead at the top of the Rás na mBan General Classification in Kilkenny City this afternoon, becoming the first Irish rider to win the race since Olivia Dillon in 2013.

The Kilkenny native, recently returned from competing on the track in a first Olympic Games in Paris, finished safely in the bunch behind stage winner and teammate Lucy Lee to secure the overall victory.

Stage 5 time trial winner Noor Dekker of JEGG-DJR Academy finished second on the Stage 6 criterium, ahead of Canadian Anabelle Thomas (Primeau Vélo Groupe Abadie) in third.

Dekker's result elevated her to second overall, just six seconds down on Griffin after over 11 hours of racing. Fellow Dutch rider and 2023 champion Manon de Boer rounded out the podium in third place at 11 seconds.

The hectic final stage circuit race took place around a 2.1 kilometre lap, starting and finishing outside Kilkenny Castle and consisting of just over an hour’s racing. A seemingly endless stream of attacks and counter-attacks ensued, with Team Ireland particularly active in front of one of the largest crowds of spectators ever seen at Rás na mBan.

Áine Doherty was the first of the Irish team to launch a move, followed separately by strong attacks from Aliyah Rafferty and Lucy Benezet-Minns, who managed to stay away solo for several laps.

Benezet-Minns’s venture out front allowed her to take the three bonus seconds at the Intermediate Sprint, with sisters Caoimhe O’Brien (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK) and Aoife O’Brien (Team Ireland) continuing the week-long theme of placing in sprints to take the remaining two and one bonus seconds available.

Just when it all looked set for a sprint finish, the trio of Lee, Dekker and Thomas broke clear