Great racing in mild conditions at Day 1 of the Cyclo-cross National Championships

Day 1 of the 2025 Irish National Cyclo-cross Championships took place in Ballinasloe County Galway on Saturday 11 January 2025, hosted by Ballinasloe Cycling Club. The course was located in Fair Green, right in the centre the town. The club had made use of the red netting from the World Cup Dublin course to try to emulate the same type of course in Ballinaloe. It was an excellent course, looking very professional, with some tough climbs up Chapel Hill and more climbing over at the far side of the course behind the pits. The start/finish was on a closed road, registration was in the Civil Defence building as well as free car parking surrounding the course. A huge thanks to Galway County Council for their support. Races today were for the non-championship youth support races as well as the championship categories for Under 14s, Under 16s, Masters M50s and M60s. There were almost 190 riders in attendance and we were blessed with mild conditions, remaining dry all day with the winter sunshine struggling to get through the thin layer of cloud.

The first race of the day was for the Under 6s who had two laps of a short course from the tarmac start, along the grass beside the road, through the mud then the 180 degree turn for the race back up the road. Well done to all 6 young riders.

The Under 8s course took them the full length of the start/finish, onto the grass and then through the return section of the finish. They had 4 laps to complete. In the boys’ race Séan McGahan (Square Wheels) lead from start to finish with Evan McTavish (Western Lakes CC) second and Fiachra Connolly (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) third. The results from the girls’ race were reviewed post race to show Alice Rose Devaney (Un-Attached Connacht) taking the win with Elianna Logan (Omagh Wheelers Cycling Club) second and Aoibhín Collins (Newcastle West Cycling Club) third.

The Under 10s had a longer course than the Under 8s which included the spiral. Jaxon Jennings (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) continued his dominant form this season with another win in the 3 lap boys’ race. Josh Ruddell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) was second with Conor McGahan (Square Wheels) third, Bobby Campbell (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) fourth and Ryley Dempsey (Western Lakes CC) fifth. Ríonach Campbell (Square Wheels) took the win in the girls’ race, finishing 4th overall. Marian Mulvaney (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) was second with Ciara McCool (Square Wheels) completing the podium.

The Under 12s used the same course as the Under 10s but they had 4 laps to complete. There was a crash just after the start line in the boys’ race with Eoin O’Sullivan and Fabian Drwal getting caught up in this. The girls’ start was delayed to clear the riders. At the end of lap 1 there was no surprise when Benjamin Cunningham (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) appeared first and then went onto win the boys’ race. Max McGrath (Fermoy Cycling Club) was second with Nuadha Walsh (Greenmount CA) third, Tadhg Connolly (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) fourth and Jack McGahan (Square Wheels) fifth. Finishing just behind the top 3 boys was the first girl, Aoife Campbell (Square Wheels). Second girl was Molly Turner (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) with third place going to Caroline Collins (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) and fourth to Kate Horohoe (Lakeside Wheelers Mullingar CC).

The Under 14 girls and Under 16 girls then lined up for their 3 lap race. The Under 14 girls started 30 seconds behind the Under 16 girls. At the front of the Under 16 girls race was Emer Heverin (All human/VeloRevolution Racing Team) who had to work hard to keep ahead of Katie Turner (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) who was having mechanical issues. Aoife Craig (VC Glendale) and Orla Mulhearne (Panduit Carrick Wheelers) had a sprint finish for third place with Aoife just staying ahead of Orla. The big sensation was the ride by Ava Baker (Breffni Wheelers) in the Under 14 girls’ race. Ava managed to catch all but the top 2 Under 16 girls. A fine performance. Lilly McDermott (TC Racing) was second in the Under 14 girls with Laoise Crinion (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) third and Ciara O’Connor (Drogheda Wheelers) was fouth.

The Under 14 and Under 16 boys then gathered up for their race, with a total of 33 riders. The Under 14 boys’ started 30 seconds behind the Under 16 boys and all had 3 laps to complete. In the Under 16 boys race Caleb McGreevy (VC Glendale) had Shane O’Brien (Fermoy Cycling Club) glued to his back wheel for the first two laps. Caleb then managed to get a gap on Shane and it was all looking straightforward for his win until just before the final corner when Caleb’s handlebars got caught in the rope and he fell off in the mud. Tension was building as Shane was closing in. Caleb untangled his handlebars and then had to run with his bike to the finish. He had enough gap to still take the chequered flag. Shane finished second with Rian McCrystal (Bear Cycling) third, Conor Regan (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) fourth and Fionn Crinion (IMBRC) fifth. The 2024 National Champion James Cunningham (Team WORC) was back to retain his title which he did in style finishing 5th overall. Tomás Connolly (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) was second in the Under 14 boys with Rory McCool (Square Wheels) third, Kealan Doherty (Foyle CC) fourth and Dylan Finnegan (Square Wheels) fifth, despite missing the starting whistle due to some timetable confusion!

The final race of the day was for the Masters M50s and M60s. The biggest field of the day was the M50s with 42 riders on the start line. The M60s started 2 minutes behind. Last year’s National Champion Robin Seymour (Team WORC) was back to get yet another national title. He didn’t have it his own way as he was chased hard by Anthony Doyle (L’equipier Barcelona Cycling Team) who is based in Spain. Alan Bingham (Inspired Cycling) was out on his own in third place. Trevor Woods (All human/VeloRevolution Racing Team) was fourth with Peter O’Farrell (Team WORC) fifth, Declan McEntee (Emyvale CC) sixth and Aaron O’Donohue (Team WORC) seventh. The Team Prize went to Team WORC. Crashing on the final corner was John Mannion (Seven Springs CC Loughrea). He had to be lifted off by the first aiders. We wish John a speedy recovery. For Robin Seymour, adding to yet another national championship medal and jersey (and a team prize medal), was the award for his inclusion in the Cycling Ireland Hall of Fame. A well deserved honour for this champion.

As expected Johnny McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) won the M60s race finishing well up among the M50s and well clear of his nearest rival Paul Birchall who was sporting his new kit with Blarney Cycling Club. Declan Hanrahan (Panduit Carrick Wheelers) was third with Kevin McDowell (Un-Attached Ulster) fourth.

A huge thanks to all at Ballinasloe Cycling Club for hosting today’s race. We now look forward to Day 2 where the M40s, Junior Men, Women and Senior men will compete.

Commissaires: Gary McIlroy, Loch Miwa, Ray Staunton, Jim Adams, Liz Roche and Martin Grimley

Results here.

Report by Martin Grimley

Photos
Toby Watson (Facebook) – here
Sean Rowe (Facebook) – here
Dany Blondeel (Facebook) – here

Videos and photos
Keith Colville (Facebook) – here