Rás Tailteann stage 4 - Padraig Moran

Ever since this year's Ras Tailteann route was announced in early 2026, the prospect of racing up the Wicklow mountains and famous Shay Elliot climb was too good an opportunity to miss, despite the fact I had only stepped back on the indoor bike on 1^st of January 2026. This was as a result of an unfortunate accident in September 2025 where I broke my ankle and required two surgeries before Christmas to correct my ankle placement. As someone who was always been active in life, it was a quite tough time mentally to be out of action for so long. However, I had been given the all clear to return to cycling in the new year and was confident that If I took the correct approach with rehab and training, my muscle memory would return and there was every chance I could get back to racing competitively at the Ras again. 

The return to training in 2026 also coincided with the opportunity to join the Orwell Wheeler's and the strong racing team which the club was building. It was a privilege to become a member of such a renowned club like Orwell who has deep roots in Irish racing, and this gave me extra motivation for the year ahead. As my training and rehab progressed, the prospect of returning to racing in March become a reality and I jumped into my first race of the year at the Donal Crowley memorial national series race in Cork where I finished 9th, which was a positive sign for things to come. My next significant outing was at Ras Mumhan where the brutal weather and intense bunch racing proved a struggle for me, and I knew from this there was more work to be done to be ready for the Ras. However, our team performed really strongly with Evan and Liam holding the yellow jersey at different stages showing we were becoming a force to be reckoned with!

After Mumhan I knuckled down and could see the form building with another top 10 finish at the Alan Towell memorial race and strong showings at the Kanturk 3 day race. I had high hopes for GC as well as stage 2 and 4 in the Ras Tailteann, however as outlined by Luke on stage 1 all of our our team was caught behind a big crash. As a result, I ended up losing nearly 20mins before the race even started, which killed any GC hopes for me. However, after a positive front group finish on stage 2, I showed the form was there for my main goal in the Wicklow mountains on stage 4. 

On the eve of Stage 4, it was announced that the famous Shay Elliot climb was to be removed from the route due to roadworks on the climb. This was disappointing news for me as I knew this climb had the potential to wittle down the peloton to pure climbers and strongest riders on the day and I felt my form was indicating I could make the cut here. However, we knew it was to be a hard day anyway and it was just a matter of playing your cards right in the key moments. Stage 4 started with a bang as the breakaway looked to form early and bag some KOH points on the early category 2 and 3 climbs before the steeper categorised climbs later in the stage. I decided to hang around the front of the peloton and bide my time until the key moves from riders eyeing stage wins were made. The pace was relentless over the first few climbs as we caught the breakaway almost immediately. Another break formed on a descent into Arklow which I was caught out by and frustrated to miss as some big-name riders got away. I could sense my legs were really good and an opportunity came to slip away on a category 2 climb near Ballinaclash with one of the strongest riders in the race, Rowan Baker from the Isle of Man. The two of us worked hard and we came within a few hundred metres of catching the leading break at Rathdrum, however I misread a sharp bend and had to jam on the breaks to avoid the ditch, which resulted in me losing all momentum. After this I lost Baker and found myself in the dreaded chasse-patate position on my own before the key category 1 Wickow gap climb. As I had already made a big effort to get across, I made the decision to wait up for the peloton and reset, instead of burning matches in the hope of bridging across to the break before the Wicklow gap. As I knew the main favorites for the day were still in the peloton, It was likely that the key moves would be made from here and so not all would be lost. 

As we approached the Wicklow gap, the peloton was eerily calm as everyone steadied themself for a big effort. However, this didn't last long as Danylo Riw from Foran and Conn McDunphy from APS launched aggressive attacks at the bottom of the climb to drop almost everybody. I didn't have the legs in the moment to go but chased hard to get as close as I could. The climb itself was quite brutal with constant stop start attacks with riders trying to bridge across to the leaders. I was suffering from my earlier efforts but dug deep to make it across the top of the Wicklow Gap in the chase group. The support from Orwell Wheelers clubmates on the climb was unreal and something I was extremely grateful for (although I was suffering too much to show my appreciation). I managed to catch the majority of the original breakaway on the climb along with the some of the favourites for the day who had dropped back from the attacks at the base of the climb. Our chase group flew down the descent, and we got up to speeds of 92km/h at one point, however as soon as we hit the main road into Baltinglass the momentum stalled and riders started attacking and looking at each other. This resulted in the third main bunch catching us on the run into Baltinglass which created a massive bunch sprint finish that ended up being quite sketchy as there was a lot of fighting for position on a narrow run in to the finish. As a result, the potential for a top 10 stage finish quickly became out of reach as the bigger sprinters seized the opportunity.  I eventually finished 38^th which was disappointing and probably not a fair reflection of my performance on the day.

However, upon reflection I felt I learned some important lessons around decision making in races which I can take going forward and hopefully turn into results for the team.