Tour De Beara

The “Beara 160k” is regarded as one of the “Most Challenging Sportives” on the Irish cycling calendar. With over 2,500m of climbing this will challenge the most hardened of cyclists!

The route starts out from Glengarriff with a climb over the Caha Pass, through a series of beautiful hand hewn rock tunnels across the border into the Kingdom of Kerry.

Following an easy descent to Kenmare, riders turn left onto the R571 in the direction of the Beara Peninsula along the shoreline of the Kenmare Bay. Riders continue into Lauragh before climbing the Healy Pass for the first time, crossing back over into the Rebel County of Cork. The descent from the Healy Pass requires care and attention with many sharp and hairpin corners to negotiate. A welcome food/refreshment stop awaits riders at the bottom of the first Healy pass descent.

The route continues on the R572 through the fishing port of Castletownbere and on to the village of Allihies, before climbing the significant rocky mountain pass between Allihies and Urhan known locally as “Reentrisk” or translated meaning “The Cods Head”.

The second foodstop on this challenging route is laid out in Eyeries, where riders prepare for the final leg of their journey back to HQ in Glengarriff. Continuing along the R571 through the village of Ardgroom and rolling into Lauragh, riders are guided to take a right turn onto the R574 to climb the Healy Pass for the second time, armed with the full knowledge of what lays ahead. The Healy Pass descent again needs care and attention before turning left at the bottom and back onto the R572 rolling back into Glengarriff.