Race Around Ireland
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2018) |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | End of Summer |
| Region | Ireland |
| History | |
| First edition | 2009 |
| First winner |  Joe Barr (IRE) |
| Most recent |  Nicole Reist (CHE) |
Race Around Ireland is a non-stop bicycle race which traces a route around the coastline of Ireland. The event was first run in 2009 and is a qualifying event for Race Across America, the most famous race in the world of ultra marathon cycling.[1]
The route varies only a little from year to year and has, since its inception, begun and finished in County Meath. In 2017 the finishing riders completed a 2,212 km route which included approximately 22,000m of total climbing.
The event is open to solo riders as well as teams of two, four and eight competitors riding in relay. Riders decide their own rest and nutrition strategy and the winning solo riders will typically spend up to 22 hours a day in the saddle.
Riders are entitled to a support vehicle and riders must complete the course within a specified time as a finisher. The time limit in 2017 for solo men was 132 hours and for women 144 hours.
Winners
[edit]The fastest winning solo ride in Race Around Ireland history was recorded by Christoph Strasser in 2013. The Austrian rider completed the 2,209.1 km route in 93 hours, 16 minutes at an average speed of 23.69kmh.[2][3]
Nicole Reist of Switzerland made history in 2017 by becoming the first woman to lead home all the solo finishers.[4][5]
| Year | Rider | Country | Time | Av. Speed | Start Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Joe Barr | Ireland | 108h 12m | 19.70 km/h | 15 September 2009 |
| 2010 | Bernd Paul | Germany | 113h 12m | 19.09 km/h | 12 September 2010 |
| 2011 | Valerio Zamboni | Monaco | 131h 36m | 16.51 km/h | 11 September 2011 |
| 2012 | Bernd Paul | Germany | 106h 14m | 20.63 km/h | 9 September 2012 |
| 2013 | Christoph Strasser | Austria | 93h 16m | 23.69 km/h | |
| 2014 | Edvald Fuchs | Austria | 101h 11m | 21.86 km/h | |
| 2015 | Bernard Steinberger | Germany | 98h 22m | 22.32 km/h | |
| 2016 Archived 2017-05-19 at the Wayback Machine | Guido Löhr | Germany | 106h 50m | 20.63 km/h | |
| 2017 | Nicole Reist | Switzerland | 125h 45m | 19.71 km/h | |
| 2018 | Joe Barr | Ireland | 104h 3m | 20.74 km/h | 26 August 2018 |
| 2019 | Pierre Bischoff | Germany | 101h 55m | 21.19 km/h |
References
[edit]- ^ "Qualifying Races". www.raceacrossamerica.org.
- ^ "The 2,150km Race Around Ireland in numbers; 12 stats that sum up this beast - Sticky Bottle - Sticky Bottle". www.stickybottle.com. 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Race Around Ireland: 2013 – Results (Distance: 2,209.1 km)" (PDF). Race Around Ireland.
- ^ "Nicole Reist wins 2,150km Race Around Ireland - Sticky Bottle". www.stickybottle.com. September 2017.
- ^ "Reist becomes first woman to win Race Around Ireland - CyclingTips".