Niamh Murphy has signed for Draft Racing, the 20-year-old securing a team for 2026 after spending several months unattached following her departure from Smurfit Westrock at the end of last season.
Murphy spent two seasons at UCI Continental level — first with Doltcini O’Shea in 2024, then with Smurfit Westrock in 2025 — before finding herself without a team at the start of 2026. A promising junior career that included a podium at the junior Ronde van Vlaanderen and strong finishes at Gent-Wevelgem and the GP Ceratizit had shaped early expectations; the Continental pathway followed, but continuity proved elusive.
Racing unattached this season, she finished 17th in the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic in March before agreeing the move to Draft Racing.
“I’m super grateful to be given the opportunity to race for Draft,” Murphy said. “It will be nice to be back racing with former teammate Lucy Harris, and the other girls on the squad. The vibes are high, and I can’t wait to get racing in the team colours.”
She joins a squad that has grown quietly since its formation as Mud Dock Racing and rebranded ahead of this season. Harris — who won the CiCLE Classic with Smurfit Westrock last March before departing at the end of the year — arrived as the team’s headline signing for 2026, bringing National Road Series experience and credibility to a project built on sustainability and a manageable racing environment rather than headline ambition.
The team’s full squad includes: Lucy Harris, Niamh Murphy, Ruby Carleton, Emily Jones, Isabel Wallace, Belinda Humpries, Kayleigh Parker, Ellie Hunter and Hayley Lenton.
