Portlaoise hosts the start on Wednesday morning of what should be a ferocious battle between a dozen overseas teams plus a large number of Irish riders in the Rás Tailteann.The 2026 staging begins with a 161.6km race to Kilmallock in Co Limerick. Among those lining out is Irishman Daire Feeley (Burren CC), winner in 2022, as well as 2024 champion Dom Jackson of Foran CT (UK).The Irish team will feature Conor Murphy, who powered to a superb silver medal in last year’s European Junior Championship time trial. Murphy is 19 but, remarkably, is not the youngest on the team. Selectors have taken the unusual step of including two second-year junior riders: Hugh Óg Mulhearne and Fionn Killeen.The talented duo are both just 17, with Jack Conroy (21) and Liam Crowley (24) completing the quintet. Former world track champion Martyn Irvine will manage the team, having guided Dillon Corkery to success as part of the national squad three years ago.Irvine said on Tuesday evening that his priority is to focus on executing the best possible race rather than placing undue emphasis on winning it.That’s a reflection, in part, on the youth of the squad, but it also provides an insight into the chaotic nature of the event. The Rás is notoriously hard to control and as the Irish team is largely inexperienced in the event, the learning curve will be steep.Irvine’s guidance will help, of course, but the riders will also have to figure much out in the days ahead.“There is always a race within a race,” said Irvine. “If it’s not the overall race, it’s the points jersey. If it’s not the points jersey, there is the king of the mountains, there’s hot-spot sprints, there are counties and clubs wanting to beat each other along the road. That is what keeps it aggressive.”Former world track champion Martyn Irvine manages the Irish team. Photograph: Guy Swarbrick/Inpho He is mindful of keeping the pressure off Murphy, who clearly is very talented but who has spent a lot of time competing abroad rather than learning the more unpredictable nature of Irish stage races.“Although he has got the pedigree there already, and he has got the motor to do well, he will be learning a lot too. There are no mad expectations on him,” he said.“I think he is that sort of guy that if he gets in the right move, he could get a good bit out of the race too. But he has a steep learning curve too.”The other Irish hopes include two who are in the garb of the American APS Pro Cycling team. Conn McDunphy has long appeared a potential Rás winner, having finished second overall in 2024 and taking a stage the same year. He will be joined by fellow Irishman Matthew Walls, winner of both the Junior Tour of Ireland and the junior Volta a Portugal in 2025. Walls is 18 and his talent is clear for all to see.This year’s race is longer and tougher than last year’s, totalling 792.5km and featuring 21 climbs.The most gruelling test comes on stage four from Carlow Town, with no fewer than eight climbs rearing up en route to the finish in Baltinglass. These include the category-one leg-breakers of Glenmalure and Wicklow Gap, as well as two category-two ascents.Stage two is the longest stage and is, naturally, another very difficult day. It features six climbs along the 192.7km between Rathmore in Kerry and Banteer in Cork. The category-two ascents of Caha Pass Tunnel Road and Cougane Gap will be particularly draining.The other three stages are Wednesday’s opener to Kilmallock, the 155.6km third stage between Mitchelstown and Enniscorthy, as well as the mostly-flat concluding stage on Sunday from Carlow Town to Dunboyne in Co Meath.Rás Tailteann 2026Stage 1, Wednesday: Portlaoise to Kilmallock, Co Limerick, 161.6kmStage 2, Thursday: Rathmore, Co Kerry to Banteer, Co Cork, 192.7kmStage 3, Friday: Mitchelstown, Co Cork to Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, 155.6kmStage 4, Saturday: Carlow Town to Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, 141.6km Stage 5, Sunday: Carlow Town to Dunboyne, Co Meath, 141kmTotal distance: 792.5km