Date: Sunday 20 November 2011
Event: Ulster Cyclo-cross Round 5 – Ulster Cyclo-cross championships
Location: Ormeau Park, Belfast
Host club: Xmtb McConvey Cycles
Round 5 of the Ulster Cyclo-cross Series 2011 was hosted by Xmtb McConvey Cycles in Ormeau Park in Belfast on Sunday 20 November. This round also doubled up as the Ulster Championships with medals available for the cyclo-cross riders and the status of “Ulster Champ” up for grabs. The host club wish to thank Belfast City Council for their continued support of cycle racing in the park. The venue has a large carpark and changing facilities including hot showers. The park had received a lot of rain in the days leading up to the race which left long sections of mud for the riders of all ages to contend with.
Thankfully the day itself was dry with a cool wind which was difficult to hide from as the trees were now without leaves. Sign on was based up near the start/finish area where there was music playing and lots of people hanging around enjoying the atmosphere. Chip timing had been provided via ChampionChipIreland with all senior riders and youth aged Under 14 and Under 16 getting a tag to wear around the ankle. This is a popular venue for cycle racing and this round had attracted the largest turnout of the series with 186 riders participating. This was broken down into around 50 in the cyclo-cross race, around 50 in the mountain bike support race and 84 youth riders taking part. This round also attracted two visitors from Scotland who made a weekend of enjoying the hospitality of North Down while also competing in a cyclo-cross race. They hope to be back again in 2012.
The first race of the day was for the Under 8s who had to complete 2 laps of the course. Lining up were 24 boys and 4 girls and they started on separate whistles. The going was tough for these young competitors withe the mud forcing them off their bikes and having to push through the worse bits before jumping back on. Proving his strength was Jonny Campbell (Dromara CC) who took a narrow victory ahead of Dean Harvey from the host club with Christopher Curry (Banbridge CC) taking third, Shea O’Kane (Phoenix CC) taking 4th, Fraser Harrower (Dromara CC) finishing 5th and Neil Kelso finishing 6th. In the girls race it was Ellie McNicholl (Spires CC) who took the win ahead of Hannah Todd (Dromara CC) and Elena Samuel (Phoenix CC).
Next up were the Under 10s who had to complete 4 laps of the same course. Lined up in two separate groups were 11 boys and 8 girls. All races started at the bottom of the tarmac lane which provided a great start as the riders rushed up towards the timekeeper’s tent before heading into the trees. There was a visible difference in the speed the Under 10s went up the climb compared to their younger category riders and this speed was carried through the tricky sections. The race came down to a battle between Mark Buller (Banbridge CC) and Drew Armstrong (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) with the lead changing at one point but in the end Mark took the win by a mere 4 seconds. Finishing third was Cathir Doyle (Carn Wheelers) with Ben Wilson (Dromara CC) fourth, Lee Harvey (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) 5th and James Buller (Banbridge CC) 6th. In the girls race Kelly Wilson (Dromara CC) took the win ahead of Anna Mae Samuel (Phoenix CC) with Sarah Elder (Carn Wheelers) completing the podium.
Fifteen riders entered the Under 12s race, 10 boys and 5 girls. Their track incorporated the U8/U10 one but then had an extra section added on and they had to complete 4 laps of this circuit. The podium places were set at the end of the starting straight on the first lap with John Buller (Banbridge CC) taking the win ahead of Craig McCarthy (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) and Max Anderson (Orchard Wheelers). Max Melville (Dromara CC) was fourth, with Jody Thallon (North Down CC) fifth and Dominic Bradley (Carn Wheelers) sixth. In the girls race Rebekah Ogilby (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) took the win ahead of Rachel McLean (Carn Wheelers).
At 11:30 the next race categories got lined up. At the front were the Under 16s, behind them were the mountain bike support race riders and at the back were the Under 14s. All riders had to complete the full course with the Under 16s doing 5 laps, the mountain bike males and females doing 6 laps and the Under 14s completing 3 laps. There wer 8 males in the Under 16s race which was won by Matthew Teggart (Banbridge CC). Aaron Donnelly (Newry Wheelers) was second finishing well clear of Craig Crawford (TSC). There were two female Under 16s who started alongside the 7 mountain bike females. Aoife Cameron-Mitchell provided the stronger of the two Ballymoney CC riders finishing well ahead of Ellen McAree.
There were 41 male riders in the mountain bike support race where Matthew Casey, from the host club, put on a fine display to lead from start to finish. Coming in second was Barry Kellett (Dromara CC) who had a slow start but slowly picked his way through his competitors to claim this position in the final lap. Third was Patrick Kelly (Carn Wheelers) who had a great battle with Mark Farrell. Finishing 5th, 6th and 7th were Clann Eireann riders Michael Murray, Conor Grimes and
Johnny Heverin. In the female mountain bike support race Dromara Cycling Club’s Diane Wilson finally got past Trudy Brown (Northern CC) on the last lap with Andrea Harrower (Dromara CC) not far behind.
At 1 pm the main event took place, the cyclo-cross race, and this round had attracted a field of 54 riders. The cross racers had to complete 8 laps of the course which included the artifical plank obstacles as well as some tricky climbs up muddy slopes which required the riders to carry their bikes on their shoulders. The riders were gridded as per the overall standings to date and then they were off. Matthew Adair (Banbridge CC) did his usual burst of speed from the start line to get ahead of the pack as they went through the chicane past the timekeepers tent, however it was series leader Roger Aiken, also from Banbridge CC, who took to the front and then lead for the rest of the race. Matthew hung on to second place while Conor Campbell (Newry Wheelers) had to work hard to keep his third position as junior rider Jack Wilson (Performance VOC) was never far behind. First veteran rider was John Bogues, who has consistently placed highly in all the rounds this year, finished 5th today just ahead of his main rival Peter McConville (Newry Wheelers). Second junior was Cormac Clarke (Newry Wheelers) who finished 7th overall. Tim Edgar was 8th with one of the course designers Robbie Lamont finishing 9th just ahead of a fellow course designer Drew McKinley (Newry Wheelers). Gareth McKee (Banbridge CC) was the only other rider to complete the 8 laps. First Supervet was Johnny Mc Cabe (Cuchulainn CC) who finished 12th overall. In the female cyclo-cross race it was seasoned rider Ciara MacManus who took the win ahead of Gill Smith with Claire Oakley (WXC MTB Team) having to retire after 4 laps.
After the races the riders were able to enjoy the food laid on by the club before the prize giving ceremony took place. Many thanks to Xmtb McConvey Cycles for organising this round. The final round of the series will take place on Sunday 27 November 2011 at Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor hosted by Newry Wheelers.
Commissaire: Aidan Higgins
Report: Martin Grimley
More photographs here
Race video: here
Results
here
Report
On StickyBottle here
