Route for Kerry Group Rás Mumhan 2014 announced
Kerry Group Rás Mumhan, Ireland’s premier domestic stage race is pleased to release details of the stages for the 2014 episode of the race. Stage 1,2 & 4 are the same as last years edition of the race with a new route for Stage 2 on Saturday which starts and finishes in Kenmare as it did last year.The race is once again unapologetically long and hard. The general race plan includes a demanding opening stage, followed by a long hard day two in the mountains .
The classic South Kerry stage retains its place as the race centrepiece on day three, followed by a flat stage on the final day with includes ten laps of a circuit around Killorglin town.
The classic South Kerry stage retains its place as the race centrepiece on day three, followed by a flat stage on the final day with includes ten laps of a circuit around Killorglin town.
Kerry Group Rás Mumhan 2014 stages in detail:
Stage 1: This stage is a very nice introduction to Kerry Group Rás Mumhan with its mixture of drags and narrow winding roads. This stage starts in Killorglin at 3:30pm. The race begins with a trip to Killarney on a good wide flat road that allow any pent up energy to be released. Just after Killarney the race takes a right turn to Kilcummin and, then, on narrow roads with lots of dead drags towards Gneeveguilla. At the Quarry Cross the race turns left and proceeds to the biggest categorised climb of the day at Knocknaboul. It is then back to Castleisland via Scartaglin. From Castleisland the race proceeds to Currans, Ballyfinane, Firies and Milltown before the finish in Killorglin. Total stage distance is 105km approx which makes this a nice gentle warm-up for the remainder of the weekend.
Follow the link to see the route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/345346045/
Stage 2: This is a completely new stage. Saturday is the day for the climbers and this new stage will not disappoint them. The stage will start and finish in Kenmare with racing underway at midday. The stage takes us down to Lauragh, then over the Healy Pass to Adrigole. Here we turn left for Glengarriff and onwards to Ballylickey. Turn left at Ballylickey for Kealkill and on to the Pass of Ceim an Fiach. Shortly after Ballingeary is the drag up to Reenaree. Here the race will take a left turn and via some twisting narrow roads to Ballyvourney/Ballymakeera. We then head over the County Bounds into Kerry to Poulgorm Bridge. Turn left here for Kilgarvan and continuing to the finish at Kenmare. With six categorised climbs including the Cat 1 Healy Pass there is nothing easy about this stage. Total stage distance is approximately 144km.
Follow the link to see the route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/308912593/
Stage 3: This is the annual return visit to the classic series of loops in South Kerry once described by Philip Cassidy as “the finest road racing stage in Ireland”. The stage starts and finishes in Waterville with racing underway at midday. The route goes directly to Ballinskelligs and continues to The Glen. At Anagar Bridge the race turns right and carries on through Cahersiveen and passes Mick Murphy’s home to Raheens Cross. From here a right turn descends to Dromid and then on towards Waterville. At the New Chapel Cross turn right and head towards Cahersiveen again. At the Creamery Cross turn left for Valentia. Once across the bridge turn right for Chapeltown. At the Eponymous Chapel turn left for a one mile climb and then follow the high road around the island back to the bridge. Proceed once more to Anagar Bridge and turn right to The Glen and Ballinskelligs. Continue to Aughatubrid and join the N70. Turn right and continue to Waterville and the finish. Almost half of this route runs within a mile of the sea so wind and weather conditions play a big role in determining the difficulty of this stage. There are six categorised climbs on the stage but none compare with the monsters of the previous day. Total stage length is approximately 142km.
Follow the link to see the route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/343423467/
Stage 4: The final day calls for a flat stage - the Killorglin, Beaufort, Killorglin loop. This stage uses this loop three times before moving to the smaller town circuit for ten laps. The laps of the finishing circuit make up about one third of the total stage length. The finishing circuit makes for a very spectator-friendly piece of racing and always attracts a big crowd to Killorglin. While the climb up the hill in Killorglin is categorised on each occasion except the last, it is unlikely to have a serious affect on the mountains jersey given that the two previous days are much more likely to decide who will wear that jersey at the finish. The total stage length is approximately 117km.
Follow the link to see the Killorglin, Beaufort, Killorglin loop: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/343428491/
Follow the link to see the Killorglin town circuit: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/343429223/