Bray Wheelers Festival of Racing

The Bray Wheelers Festival of Racing takes place on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September, with five races across what will be one of the biggest racing weekends the club has organised. The countries top male and female riders will descend on Wicklow.

To make it happen, we need volunteers — and plenty of them!

We know giving up your time is a big ask, so we want to be as clear as possible about the commitment involved. 

Saturday 19th September

There are two races:

12:00 – Pauline Walsh MemorialWomen W1/W2/W3 – 52km

15:00 – Cycleways GP KermesseMen C1/C2/C3 – 73km

We will use the same marshalling team for both Saturday races, so marshals should plan to be available from approximately 11:30am until 5:30pm.

There will be a break between the two races, and we’ll make sure everyone knows their position and arrangements in advance and lunch will be provided for everyone. 

Sunday 20th September

Sunday features three races from the Old Beehive at Coolbeg:

10:00 – McGinty Autumn Classic – C1 – 128km10:05 – MJ Duncan Classic – C2 – 80km10:05 – Christy McManus Memorial – C3 – 64km

Sunday marshals should plan to be available from approximately 9:30am until 2:00pm.

These finish times include some contingency, and naturally we will release marshals as soon as it is safe to do so. 

Prizes for Our 2026 Marshals

Good news. We also want to recognise everyone who gives their time to marshal our races throughout the season.

Everyone who has marshalled for Bray Wheelers during 2026 in the Shay Elliott, Gravel Extravaganza and the Cyclocross event in 2025, will be entered into a special draw with 34 prizes:

10 × €50 vouchers24 × pairs of Oakley sunglasses (yes Oakley sunglasses)

And if you haven’t marshalled yet this year, marshalling at the Festival of Racing will get you into the draw. Only just over 35% of the club have been available to marshall so hopefully people are holding back for this event!

Staging five races over two days simply isn’t possible without the support of our members. Whether you can help us on Saturday, Sunday, or ideally both, we’d really appreciate your support.

Please reply and let us know if you can marshal on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. We would appreciate replies over the next 10 days to allow us to prepare properly.

Thanks everyone — with a good team of volunteers behind us, we can make this a fantastic weekend for Bray Wheelers and Irish cycling.

To read more about the event visit www.braywheelers.ie/festival-of-racing-2026/

Sign up to volunteer here https://forms.gle/cBKuGSjfpRZes2699

Paul O’Neill - Chairman