Date: Sunday 18 October 2009
Event: UCX Round 1
Location: Lurgan Park
Host club: Apollo CT
Apollo Cycling Team pulled out all the stops to host a superb cyclo-cross event in the beautiful surroundings of Lurgan Park. The event marked the first round of the Supercross Cup which is based on two events in Northern Ireland and two events in the Republic of Ireland. The event also marked the start of the newly formed UCX Series which unites the four cyclo-cross events being held in Ulster. Fred and Allister MacSorley and the rest of the Apollo squad had done a great job converting the public park into a race track. The course had been shortened from that used for the National CX Championships held in the park back in January this year with the water obstacle removed to allow for faster lap times. There was little wind in the park with just a slight drizzle before the events started which thankfully stopped for the main races to the pleasure of the many spectators.
The first races of the day were for the under 8s, under 10s and under 12s which took place just after midday. In the under 8s race it was the dominant Mark Buller from Banbridge CC who took the win ahead of Drew Armstrong (Dromara CC) with Chris Curry finishing ahead of club mate James Buller (Banbridge CC).
In the under 10s event the Banbridge riders were again at the fore with Jon Buller taking the win ahead of club mate Stuart Dunlop. Fergal McConvey (Newry Wheelers) finished ahead of Ben Hanna (Dromara CC).
There were only three entered in the under 12s race and for once it was not a yellow shirt in first place but instead it was Greg Bell (XMTB McConvey Cycles) who took the win ahead of Banbridge’s Richard Baird and Joseph Baird.
After a short break the riders were asked to gather on a open stretch of grass for the start of the next races. First away were the under 14s who were followed one minute later by the two under 16 riders. One minute behind them came the mountain bike support race both males and females.
The under 14s race was a closely fought battle between rivals Daniel Runcimann (Banbridge CC) and Zak Hanna (Dromara CC) with Daniel keeping his early lead right to the end. Alex and Chris Bell (both from XMTB McConvey Cycles) finished third and fourth respectively with newcomer Jonathan Collins (Dromara CC) completing his first race in fifth.
In the two man under 16s event it was Stuart Ballantine of XMTB McConvey Cycles who took the win over Jack Shannon.
There were 24 riders lined up for the mountain bike support race which was 5 laps of the main course (4 laps for the females). The course was fast with just a few muddy patches especially on some of the corners. It was Niall Shannon who took the win ahead of Ross Galway (Dromara CC) and host club’s Cathal Hendron. Gavin Magowan (Dromara CC) managed to finish ahead of experienced vet rider Paul Anderson (Banbridge CC). Derek Hanna (Dromara CC) won his battle with Jonathan Buller (Banbridge CC) to finish 6th and 7th respectively. There were a number of retirements with just 16 of the 22 men finishing the race. In the women’s race Caroline Patterson (Dromara CC) took the win ahead of Florence Millar.
The main event of the day was the Cyclo-Cross race which had attracted around 55 riders from across Ireland and beyond. The race started around 1:30 at a hectic pace with Curran Racing’s Lewis Ferguson completing the first lap just ahead of the chasing pack which included Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC), Ryan Sherlock (MAD MTB), Matthew Adair (Banbridge CC) and Allister MacSorley (Apollo CT) who had to recover from coming off the bike at the final corner. As the laps started to accumulate it was Roger Aiken who took to the front with an outstanding display of speed and ability streaking ahead of his nearest competitors. Roger finished the race almost two minutes ahead of closest riders Ryan Sherlock and Lewis Ferguson. Peter McConville (Newry Wheelers) finished fourth with Robbie Lamont (XMTB McConvey Cycles) in 5th and Evan Ryan (Team Worc) in 6th place.
Many thanks to the Apollo club for putting on an excellent event and providing the sandwiches and buns afterwards. Fred MacSorley conducted the prize giving for all categories.
Results from the main CX race here
