What appeared to be an early-season loss for the South West has quickly become a revival story, as the Royal Navy Cup is reinstated on the same date and with the same format after riders moved to save the event.
The Royal Navy Cup will not take place in 2026 after the South West Road Race Working Group confirmed it has been unable to secure an organiser, halting the young National B event ahead of what would have been its third edition.
The East Lothian race will once again provide the opening reference point of the year, as riders line up for the first rounds of both the Alba and Scotia Series on 28 March.
The 71st edition of Rás Tailteann will return to the Wicklow Mountains for the first time in eight years as organisers unveil a five-stage, 785km route for 2026, a parcours that blends tradition, technical finishes and the kind of terrain that has shaped careers for more than seven decades.