Mullingar Grand Prix included in the Cycling Ireland Road National Series
The Mullingar Grand Prix in July has been included in the Cycling Ireland Road National Series, which gets underway later this month.
The series, which is Ireland's premier domestic road racing competition, will take place across seven rounds throughout the spring and summer and will feature racing in all four provinces, with the Lakeside Wheelers hosting the Mullingar Grand Prix on July 16.
Following a successful 2022 National Series, this year’s series will include two separate races each round – a men’s and women’s race featuring both junior and senior riders.
The first round is in Cork, with Blarney Cycling Club hosting the event, on the local challenging roads to the north west of Blarney on March 26.
Over the following rounds, riders will take in some of the country’s most challenging and beautiful terrain with rounds hosted in Carlow, Kerry, Meath, Down, Westmeath and Mayo.
The Mullingar Grand Prix is one of three new events in this year's series, along with this Sundy's Donal Crowley Memorial (round one) in Cork and the John Drumm Cup (round five).
In 2022, Matthew Teggart was crowned senior men’s overall winner while Gabriele Glodenyte took home the senior women’s overall crown in a successful Road National Series featuring five rounds throughout the country.
Ahead of the 2023 National Series, Teggart said:
“It was an honour and I was delighted to win the overall National Series last year, it’s quite a prestigious achievement and one that I definitely cherished. In my opinion, the series is very important for the Irish domestic season.”
“It’s a big draw for a lot of semi-professional or aspiring professional riders like myself who also race abroad to come home and test yourself against the very best in the country. It’s something I’ll definitely be looking at (racing in) if I’m home during the year. I think the domestic racing scene is getting stronger every year and the National Series will no doubt be a hotly contested event this year”
Glodenyte said: “The 2022 National Series was a fantastic set of races across different parts of Ireland. What I enjoy most is that you get to see different towns and meet new people. The level of competition amongst the women’s races is high, so you can quickly learn what are the right and wrong moves to make in a race. I would highly recommend them to women who are interested in racing and want to improve their skills.”
2023 Cycling Ireland Road National Series
Round 1 – Donal Crowley Memorial - Sunday, March 26 - Blarney Cycling Club
Round 2 – Des Hanlon Memorial - Sunday, April 2 - Carlow RCC
Round 3 – Brian O’Loughlin Memorial - Sunday, April 23 - Cunga CC
Round 4 – Sean Nolan Meath Grand Prix - Sunday, June 4 - Navan Road Club
Round 5 – John Drumm Cup - Sunday, June 11- Currow CC
Round 6 – Mullingar Grand Prix - Sunday, July 16 - Lakeside Wheelers
Round 7 – Alan Towell Memorial - Saturday, August 19 - Banbridge CC