Date: Sunday 2 October 2011
Event: Ulster Cyclo-cross Round 1
Location: Lurgan Park
Host club: Apollo CT
On Sunday 2 October 2011 Apollo Cycling Team played host to the first round of the Ulster Cyclo-cross season 2011. The venue was the superb Lurgan Park which also hosted the 2011 Irish Cyclo-cross championships back in January this year. A special thanks to Craigavon Borough Council for allowing the use of the park and to the park staff for their support.
The weather up to the event had been very wet with lots of heavy downpours. This left the park sodden with standing water in sections. The organisers were on site from 7 am setting out the course which was very similar to the championship course. The plank jumps were set up in the same place, at the entrance to the park at Waves Leisure Centre and this proved to be a great spot to watch the action. With the condition of the park it wasn’t long before there was mud everywhere.
There were the usual support races for both the youth and the mountain bikes with the main cyclo-cross race starting at 1 pm. The event attracted a record breaking 142 riders, 59 for the cyclo-cross race, 28 for the mountain bike support race and 55 riders aged 16 or under despite the event clashing with National Trails Day. Cyclo-cross racing continues to grow in Ulster with more and more newcomers giving this winter sport a go.
First race of the day started at 10:40 with the Under 8s. Sixteen riders lined up for two laps around the tennis pavillon. Fraser Harrower (Dromara CC) took the lead from the whistle and pulled out a good gap on Shea O’Kane (Phoenix CC). Adam McCaughtry (Dromara CC) was in third place after lap 1 but Dean Harvey (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) passed him to take third. Charley Dunlop (Banbridge CC) was 5th overall and first girl. Joel Anderson (Orchard Wheelers) was 6th with second girl, Ellie McNicholl (Carn Wheelers) 7th overall. As soon as the last rider was home the Under 10s lined up.
The Under 10s had to complete 3 laps of the same course. Mark Buller (Banbridge CC) lead the 10 riders after lap 1 and dominated the race. Drew Armstrong (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) gave chase stretching out a good lead over 3rd place but couldn’t bridge the gap to Mark. Cathir Doyle (Carn Wheelers) finished 3rd ahead of Ben Wilson (Dromara CC) who had made his way up from 7th. James Buller (Banbridge CC) was 5th with Daniel Donnelly (Newry Wheelers) 6th. The only girl in the race was Sarah Elder (Carn Wheelers).
At 11:05 the Under 12s had their race. Their course was similar to the U8/U10s except that they had to go around a tree and then up a steep (and muddy) bank. The 12 riders, 3 females, set off at a brisk pace to complete 5 laps. John Buller (Banbridge CC) pulled out an early lead over Max Anderson (Orchard Wheelers) and finished a clear winner. By lap 3 Craig McCarthy (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) had taken over second spot with Max dropping to third. Dominic Bradley (Carn Wheelers) made his way up from 7th to 4th with Max Melville (Dromara CC) taking 5th, Jack Lamont (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) 6th and Stuart Dunlop (Banbridge CC) 7th. Kathryn Doyle (Carn Wheelers) was first girl with Emma Elder (Carn Wheelers) second and Rebekah Ogilby (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) third.
A short prize giving ceremony then took place for the Under 8s, 10s and 12s.
At 11:30 the Under 14s Under 16s, and mountain bike support races took place. The Under 16s and mountain bikers had to complete 4 laps of the main course with the Under 14s completing 3 laps. The eight Under 16s were set off first followed one minute later by the MTBers, 27 starters including 4 women. One minute after them went the nine Under 14s.
Rob Deegan (Epic MTB) on his new cross-bike lead the Under 16s from the start with Daniel Runciman (Banbridge CC) finishing second ahead of Aaron Donnelly (Newry Wheelers). Aaron McCann (Cuchulainn CC) struggled with the corners on his new cross bike but managed 4th ahead of Alex and Curtis Bell (both from Xmtb McConvey Cycles) who finished 5th and 6th respectively.
In the Under 14s race Banbridge CC’s Joseph Baird lead from the start with the next four places also set from lap one, Aaron Swan (TSC / BCC), David Boyce (Apollo CT), Richard Baird (Banbrige CC) and the only female entry Shannon Buller (Banbridge CC).
The MTB support race saw Chris Oakley (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) stepping up from Under 16s to dominate the senior race. He had an impressive lead over the strong rider from Harps CC, Darren Hughes with Patrick Kelly (Carn Wheelers) taking third. Jonathan Buller (Banbridge CC) steadily made his way up from 10th to take 4th with Michael Kelly (Carn Wheelers) outsprinting Martin Grimley (Dromara CC) for 5th place. Brian Wilson (Dromara CC) took 7th ahead of the normally dominant Ryan Walsh (Carn Wheelers). Peter Bennett was 9th with Richard Faloon 10th. First woman was Andrea Harrower (Dromara CC) who finished 13th overall. Kathryn Bell (Northern CC) was second with Kerryann Hughes (Harps CC) third.
A second prize giving was then organised for the Under 14s, 16s, mountain bike men and women while the marshals and timekeepers got a chance for a quick cuppa and snack before the final race of the day.
Just after 1 pm the main race took place with the riders starting from the corner near the pits. As this was the first round of the series there was no gridding of riders so there was a rush for the best starting position. With the pace of the starting pack the riders avoid the plank obstacles on the first lap. The bunch swept around the left hand turn, over the road and across the muddy grass up towards the finish line. They then went around the tennis pavillon, up the bank and back through the trees before heading back along the grass, over the road and across the park to the trees on the far side. The first obstacle was placed here to get the riders to dismount before they remounted for a fast exit out of the trees and across the grass past the pits. Sweeping left they went over the bridge and along the grass beside the path before taking a sharp left and across the path and up the hill. There was a twisting round around the trees which made good use of the slope before heading to the next bridge through a quagmire of mud. A fast section through the trees before a long straight along the far end of the park, through some trees before the riders started turning back towards the pits. Along the trees the course dipped down the slope for a hairpin corner and steep exit. This lead to a fast run in to the pits which was followed by a sharp hairpin left through the standing water on the gravel (which helped to wash the mud off the tires!). Past the start area the riders headed for the plank jumps where the crowd had gathered to watch.
The riders had 7 laps to complete and from the first lap Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC) started to pull away. The battle for 2nd and 3rd was much closer between Ryan Sherlock (SportActive), Matthew Adair and Conor Campbell (Newry Wheelers). On lap 4 Conor dropped out of the race leaving Ryan and Matthew to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively although there was a good gap between these riders. In the meantime Roger had stretched out his lead to over 2½ minutes. Junior rider Cormac Clarke (Newry Wheelers) stuck to the wheel of Evan Ryan (Team Worc) for all but the lap couple of laps when Evan pulled away. Seán Ó Tuathail (Bray Wheelers) was 6th with Sean Downey (Cycleways CC) 7th and David O’Neill (Team Worc) 8th. Peter McConville (Newry Wheelers) was the first veteran but almost lost this position after he crashed which let John Bogues (Phoenix CC) close the gap, however Peter still had enough left in the tank to retain 9th overall, John taking 10th. A new category this year is the Super Veterans, men aged 50 and over, and the first winner was Fred MacSorley from the host club. Although 3 women started the race, only Gill Smith finished it to take the women’s prize.
After the race the riders were able to use the showers in the building beside Waves leisure centre before returning to the tennis pavillon where Apollo had laid on a banquet of food as the prize giving was conducted.
Many thanks to the crew from Apollo CT for setting up and running an excellent event. The next round will be at Lady Dixon Park on Sunday 16 October and hosted by Phoenix Cycling Club.
Commissaire: Michael Murray
Assistant Commissaire: Martin Grimley
Full results here
Report & photos: Martin Grimley
More photographs here
Video here
