Busy upcoming schedule of races for Irish riders as the season builds towards the World Championships.
Tour of Romania – Mixed Day for Irish APS Trio
Three Irish riders started Stage 1 of the Tour of Romania (2.2) today with APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery.
Ronan O’Connor and Matthew Walls both finished safely in the first group on the 162 km stage from Chișinău to Ungheni. Walls spent time up the road and will be hoping to build on his recent strong showing at the Philedelphia Classic.
Cian Keogh was one of a large number of DNFs on the opening stage. Stage 2 tomorrow takes the race into Romania, with the five-day event finishing on Sunday in Bucharest.
Vuelta a España – ITT beckons
Eddie Dunbar, Pinarello Q36.5, and Darren Rafferty, EF Education-EasyPost, continue at the Vuelta a España. Both will likely be conserving energy on Stage 18’s time trial ahead of further attacking opportunities later in the week.
Rafferty in particular is expected to take it easy after a big shift at the front of the peloton with his teammates.
Ben Healy Targets Canadian Classics
Rafferty’s EF teammate Ben Healy heads to Canada for the WorldTour one-day races:
- 11 September – Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
- 13 September – Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
Healy will no doubt use these races with an eye turned firmly on the UCI Road World Championships later this month.
Bennett & Mullen to Northern France
Sam Bennett, Pinarello Q36.5, and Ryan Mullen, NSN Cycling Team, will both line up at the GP de Fourmies / La Voix du Nord on the 13th of September.
Mullen‘s final preparation before heading to Canada for the World Championships individual time trial on the 20th of September.
Next Generation on the Continent
Two rising riders continue their European campaigns.
Conor Murphy, Decathlon CMA CGM Development Team, races:
- 12 September – Arno Wallaard Memorial
- 13 September – GP Rik Van Looy
David Gaffney starts the Gran Premio città di Peccioli – Coppa Sabatini on 10 September. This will be his third outing since making his WorldTour debut with Team Jayco AlUla at the GP Industria & Artigianato (1.Pro) on 6 September.
He was also in action today at the Giro della Toscana – Memorial Alfredo Martini (1.1).
Strong Showing from Meehan
Fellow Irishman Jamie Meehan, Cofidis, who has enjoyed a superb season, put in a massive shift for teammate Benjamin Thomas at the same Giro della Toscana – Memorial Alfredo Martini (1.1) today.
Meehan finished 34th in the group behind the day’s 10-man break. He continues to impress and now heads to the World Championships in Canada.
Finally 2026 Irish National Road Race bronze medalist Finn Crockett, VolkerWessels Cycling Team, will also take the start in Meerkerk at the Arno Wallaard Memorial on 12 September.
Irish interest remains strong across multiple levels with riders in stage-races, classics, and final preparations for the World Championships in Montreal.
Women’s schedule
Irish National Women’s Road Race and ITT Champion Lara Gillespie, UAE Team L’IMAD, will be looking to go one step better than in 2025 with two wins from two this weekend.
Along with Caoimhe O’Brien, EF Education-Oatly, Mia Griffin, Team Picnic PostNL, and Fiona Mangan, Mayenne Monbana My Pie, she is listed to start both of the two key northern French one-day races this weekend: the hilly ~130 km 1.1 A Travers les Hauts de France on 12 September, which Gillespie won in 2025, and the punchy ~126 km 1.Pro La Choralis Fourmies Féminine on 13 September.
Finally, with Dillon Corkery, Picnic PostNL, race schedule likely to be announced soon, plenty of end-of-season action to look forward to for Irish fans!
