Kilcock’s McDunphy hoping to go one step better in 2025 Rás Tailteann

Kilcock man, Conn McDunphy will be back in the line-up for the 2025 Rás Tailteann, hoping to go one step better on his runner-up finish in last year’s competition.

The five-day stage race, which starts in Drogheda today, will see McDunphy compete as part of a five-man team representing Team Skyline, with compatriots, Cian Keogh, Ronan O’Connor, Paul Kennedy, and British rider, Adam Lewis making up the rest of the squad.

McDunphy made a serious push for Rás Tailteann crown in 2024, winning Stage Two on his way to a second-place finish overall behind Britain’s Dom Jackson.

That year marked the tightest ever finish in the history of the competition, with Jackson, McDunphy and Liam O’Brien all completing the event on the same time, meaning accumulated stage placings became the decisive factor in determining podium spots.

That experience is sure to serve the 28-year-old McDunphy well as he heads into this season’s event, also buoyed by some more very impressive results in recent months.

Now in his second season with Team Skyline, McDunphy has already competed in Dubai, Greece and the United States so far this year, finishing up second to defending champion, Keegan Swenson in last month’s Growler Road Race, which earned him a tidy sum of $15,000.

An honorary member of Lucan CRC, the Kildare man has also competed on home soil in 2025, winning the Rás Mhaigh Eo in March, and he will certainly be hoping to carry that form into this week’s Rás.

“I’m pretty happy where my legs are at” McDunphy told The Kildare Nationalist.

“The course for the Rás is very different this year. There's a little bit less climbing and the weather is a bit better, so that might lend itself to more group finishes, which wouldn't be up my alley, but we’ll see how the week goes.

“Last year was the closest ever Rás. I finished on the same time as the winner and I'm going better this year, so I don't see why I can't go better on the results.

“But bike racing is not just about legs. You need that bit of luck as well. Everything needs to go right. We've controlled all the controllables and now we just have to see how we go.

“It's a bit of an unpredictable race, so you're just going to have to go in, making sure you've got all your ducks in a row.

“You’ve done the training and you just have to hope everything goes for the best, because anything can happen in bike race. You can crash, you can puncture, you can have a bad day and, as much as possible, you have to be cool, calm and collected.

“You can't be in every move. You have to use your bullets wisely, because there probably aren't that many at this level, which is quite high. So if you’re going to attack, if you’re going to do something, you need to make it count.

“We’ve got a really strong team, so we'll go into it with no dedicated leader. We'll see how the first and second days go, and then we’ll have a better idea as to who we're working for and what the plan is” he said.

This year marks the 70th edition of the Rás Tailteann which will cover some 760km and include 13 categorised climbs, taking riders from Co Louth to Boyle in Co. Roscommon on the opening day.

Stage Two starts in Charlestown, with Stage Three running from Cong in Co. Mayo though to Miltown Malbay in County Clare.

The penultimate stage will start from Ennis, Co. Clare and finish in Mountrath, Co Laois, with the final day of competition igniting in Kildare Town and ending in Bective, Co. Meath.

McDunphy is excited to be part of the five-man team representing Team Skyline, whose full squad totals 14 riders, the majority of whom are American, with four Irish competitors, a Romanian and Canadian completing their line-up.

And the Kilcock man believes the Skyline group lining out in his year’s Rás has the potential to make a serious push for the title, with the 45-year-old Kennedy having won last year’s UCI Gran Fondo World Time Trial Championships and Ronan O’Connor landing this month’s Shay Elliott Classic.

While the 2025 Rás Tailteann will be the sole focus for McDunphy this week, the Kildare man is sure to have other big targets later in the year, including the Maryland Cycling Classic and possibly a number of races in China.

That would make for an exciting schedule for the Team Skyline riders, whom McDunphy believes are benefiting from a growing bond.

“The team is pretty much unchanged” said McDunphy. “There’s two or three new riders from last year, so it just feels like a group of mates traveling around the world, racing.

“It’s great because if things are not ideal, or it's hard or whatever, you’re still racing with your friends and that's quite nice” he said.