Race Around Ireland


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.
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

The fastest winning solo ride in Race Around Ireland history was recorded by Christoph Strasser in 2013. The Austrian rider completed the 2,209.1km route in 93 hours, 16 minutes at an average speed of 23.69kmh.
Nicole Reist of Switzerland made history in 2017 by becoming the first woman to lead home all the solo finishers.
YearRiderCountryTimeAv. SpeedStart Date
Joe BarrIreland108h 12m19.70 km/h15 September 2009
Bernd PaulGermany113h 12m19.09 km/h12 September 2010
Valerio ZamboniMonaco131h 36m16.51 km/h11 September 2011
Bernd PaulGermany106h 14m20.63 km/h9 September 2012
Christoph StrasserAustria93h 16m23.69 km/h
Edvald FuchsAustria101h 11m21.86 km/h
Bernard SteinbergerGermany98h 22m22.32 km/h
Guido LöhrGermany106h 50m20.63 km/h
Nicole ReistSwitzerland125h 45m19.71 km/h
2018TBDTBDTBDTBD km/h26 August 2018