Ireland’s leading pros are spread across Europe and Asia this fortnight, with Eddie Dunbar making a welcome return along with Ben Healy, Jamie Meehan, Dillon Corkery, Finn Crockett, Lara Gillespie, and Marine Lenehan racing Il Lombardia, the Tour of Guangxi, the Japan Cup, the Eneco Tour, the Tour of Chongming Island.
Eddie Dunbar Returns from Injury for Il Lombardia
Eddie Dunbar, Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, returns from a collarbone fracture he suffered on Stage 20 of the 2026 Vuelta a España to line out at the final Monument of the season, Il Lombardia, on Saturday 10 October.
The Corkman won Stage 19 of the Vuelta just 24 hours before his crash, claiming his third career Grand Tour stage victory. Delighted to see him back where he’ll support Tom Pidcock.
The 120th edition of the ‘Race of the Falling Leaves‘ (Classica delle foglie morte) runs 239 km from Bergamo to Como with around 4,600 metres of climbing.
Ben Healy Targets Il Lombardia and Japan Cup
Ben Healy, EF Education-EasyPost, continues his excellent late-season form into the final Monument of the year. After a strong ride at the World Championships Road Race in Montreal and a superb sixth place at Giro dell’Emilia last weekend, the Irishman will line up at Il Lombardia with podium ambitions on Saturday 10 October.
Healy is then scheduled to head to Japan for the Utsunomiya Japan Cup Road Race on Sunday 18th October, the final event of a strong year-end campaign.
Jamie Meehan Looks to Mountainous Stages in Guangxi
What an exceptional season Jamie Meehan has enjoyed with Cofidis. The Donegal rider will look to build on his recent superb performance at the World Championships road race in Montreal when he starts the Tour of Guangxi (2.UWT).
The six-stage WorldTour race runs from 13th to 18th October and features several mountainous days. Meehan will target the climbing stages in southern China as he looks to finish his breakthrough year on a high.
Dillon Corkery Goes East Again After Langkawi
Dillon Corkery, Team Picnic PostNL, heads east again after a hard-working week at the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi. The Corkman was at the service of his team throughout the race who were rewarded with a podium on the final stage after the squad lost its GC contender earlier in the week to injury.
Corkery has said he will try to stay on the eastern time zone to help avoid jet lag ahead of the Tour of Guangxi, which starts on 13th October. No doubt he will again work for his teammates, but there should be opportunities on some of the flatter stages.
Finn Crockett Closes Season at Eneco Tour
Finally, Finn Crockett has said he will race the Eneco Tour (formerly Tour of Holland) from 13th to 18th October. It could be his final race for VolkerWessels Cycling Team after his recent signing for BEAT powered by Saxo for 2027.
The Irish National Road Race bronze medallist will eye the flatter sprinter stages as he looks to build on his solid performance at the 2026 Grand Prix Cerami.
Irish women set for China
Ireland also has strong representation at the upcoming Tour of Chongming Island (UCI Women’s WorldTour, 9th to 11th October 2026).
Lara Gillespie, UAE Team L’IMAD, is listed for the three-stage flat race on Chongming Island near Shanghai, which serves as one of the final WorldTour events of the season and is built around bunch sprints.
The 25-year-old Wicklow rider has had solid results of late with two top tens 2nd & 5th in the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women (2.WWT) followed by a podium at A Travers les Hauts de France (1.1), is also preparing for the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai immediately afterwards (14th to 18th October).
Alongside her, Marine Lenehan, Lidl-Trek, makes her appearance on the startlist. The Lidl-Trek rider has enjoyed a remarkable late start to professional cycling after a background in hurdles and rapid success in gran fondos and gravel.
She joined Lidl-Trek as a full WorldTour rider for 2026 – 2027 following a strong stagiaire period in 2025 and solid 2026 national championship results (Bronze ITT and 6th Road Race).
Plenty of Irish interest to follow across Italy, China, Japan and the Netherlands over the coming fortnight.
Go n-éirí go geal leo.
