Date: Sunday 6 October 2013
Event: Ulster Cyclo-cross Round 1
Location: Lurgan Park
Host club: Apollo CT
The first round of the 2013 Ulster Cyclo-cross series took place on Sunday 6 October at Lurgan Park. The weather was overcast with a strong breeze but it was warm and the park, magnificent in autumn colours, was busy with walkers as well as cyclists. The crew from Apollo CT and the local park staff were on site from 7 am laying out the course which covered a wide expanse of the park. The conditions were good, despite having rain for four days up to Thursday, the dry, warm weather on Friday and Saturday had left the course running well. Sign on opened at 9:30 and it wasn’t long before the first participants arrived to sign on. At 10:30 the first of the races took place with the Under 6s fun race which was one lap around the tennis courts with parents running behind. At 10:45 the Under 8s race set off. New for 2013 was the introduction of a short skill section for the Under 8s, 10s and 12s which was a dismount area where the young riders had to jump off their bikes, push the bikes through the obstacles and then remount their bikes to carry on. This proved a great success and showcased the great skills of the youth.
At 11:45 the Under 14s, 16s and mountain bike support races for men and women took place. The Under 14s had 4 laps of the main course to complete with the other racers having to do 5 laps. There were two sections on the course which were marked for the cyclo-cross riders only and were then avoided by these racers. Around 1:15 the main cyclo-cross race took place with the start line near the double pit area. There was a big gathering of riders for the A’ race including many of the top names in Ulster cross racing. Behind them was another large gathering of riders, the B’ race men and the women’s race. For 2013 the women started at the same time as the men to provide them with greater levels of competition. The cross-riders were given 8 laps to complete with a 2 minute gap between the A and B races.
Full results here
(REST TO FOLLOW)
Photos
Bronagh Kirk – here
Eric Blayney (FlickR) – here and here
Toby Watson (Facebook) – here and here
David McVeigh (FlickR) – here
Sean Stephen (Dropbox) – here
Ronan Campbell (FlickR) – here
Commissaire: Martin Grimley
Report by Martin Grimley
