Date: Sunday 17 November 2013
Event: Ulster Cyclo-cross Round 6
Location: Ormeau Park, Belfast
Host club: Xmtb McConvey Cycles
Up until 8am on Sunday 17 November 2013, Ormeau Park was a dry and fast flowing cyclo-cross course. By 9am, as the host club Xmtb McConvey Cycles were still setting up, the rain came on. The dry course soon became a very different course, with surface mud, deep mud, exposed roots and expanding water features. This was Round 6 of the Ulster Cyclo-cross series and only the second wet race (Windmill Park in Dungannon was the other one). Pre-registrations were high but with the turn in the weather it was difficult to predict how many would turn up, but they did, with approximately 240 taking part, just over 100 in the youth categories.
Sign on and time keeping had been moved to the gravel pitch close to the Ozone car park. The start/finish line was along the edge of the football pitch and headed up into the trees around the usual section of the park that Xmtb would use for their spring MTB series. Course designer Mark Harvey had developed new sections of trail with some tricky sections that the riders had to dismount and run up. Racing got underway around 10:30 with the Under 6s fun race. With the new challenging course conditions the predicted lap times did not match the actual lap times. Riders were passing the start/finish area looking more and more covered in mud. The mud took its toll on the bikes too with rear hangers and chains breaking, 11 DNFs in the A’ race alone. The pit crews were working hard during the A’ race to keep the riders moving. Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC) was back to winning ways making this round win number 5 out of the 5 he has entered. Matthew Adair (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) was lying in second place until 2 laps to go when he suffered a mechanical. Glenn Kinning (East Antrim) was relishing the conditions riding strongly for second place ahead of Ray O’Shaughnessey (Cuchulainn CC). There was a very close finish between Sean O’Tauhail and Graham Boyd for 4th place with Sean taking it. Barry Kellett (Dromara CC) finished an impressive 6th with supervet John Bogues (Phoenix CC) 7th and junior rider James Curry (Banbridge CC) 8th. The club wish to thank Belfast City Council for the use of the park and for the changing facilities in the Ozone. The hot showers were very welcome.
Cyclo-cross A’ race
1. Roger Aiken
2. Glenn Kinning
3. Ray O’Shaughnessy
Unplaced veteran – Jason Henry
Unplaced junior – James Curry
Unplaced supervet – John Bogues
Cyclo-cross Females
1. Claire Oakley
2. Shenna McKiverigan
3. Gill Smith
Cyclo-cross B’ race
1. Bob Talbot
2. Steven Franzoni
3. Peter Morrison
First results here
Photos
David Stewart (FlickR) – here
David McVeigh (FlickR) – here
Bronagh Kirk – here, here and here
Eric Blayney (FlickR) – here, here and here
Commissaire: Martin Grimley
Report by Martin Grimley
