Round 2 of the National Cyclo-cross Series took place at Petersburg Outdoor Activity Centre in Clonbur, County Galway. Host club Western Lakes CC had used the venue two years ago. The venue is at the southern edge of Lough Mask with great views along the shore line and over to the islands. The event did attach almost 190 entries but the weather forecast seems to have put off some with about 160 taking part. Unfortunately it did rain for the whole day with some strong winds coming over the lough. Challenging conditions for riders, marshals and course tape but all managed to survive. The finish line, registration, café van, podium, toilets and hot showers were all within the courtyard of the outdoor centre which did provide some shelter from the wind. The course wound it way up through the trees surrounding the site and along some walkways, over bridges before returning to the event village. The course was rocky in places and there were a few punctures to contend with. The main road into the site was used for the start/finish for most of the races. Parking and overnight stay was available in the local GAA club grounds about 1 kilometre away.
There were only two riders in the Under 6s race, one boy and one girl, who started from the event village and headed off around their one lap circuit with a lead rider and trailing rider escorting them round.
The Under 8s then started from the same location. Their course was mostly similar to the Under 6s but had an extra section through the trees off the main walking trail. They had three laps to complete. In the boys’ race Evan McTavish (Western Lakes CC) took his second win of the series. Fiachra Connolly (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) finished second with Noah Finnegan (Square Wheels) third. In the girls’ race Aoibhín Collins (Un-Attached Munster) crossed the finish line first with Skylabelle Oakley (Galway MTB) second, Elisa Tyszecka (Un-Attached Munster) third and Sol Lally (Ballinasloe Cycling Club) fourth.
The Under 10s then started their race which took in a longer section along the lough shore and included some small plank obstacles. They had 3 laps to complete. Jaxon Jennings (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) took his second win of the series ahead of visiting rider Lorcan Lamont (Ilkeston Cycle Club). James Kavanagh (Lakeland) completed the podium in the boys race. In the girls’ race Marian Mulvaney (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) took the chequered flag with Round 1 winner Ríonach Campbell (Square Wheels) second and Ciara McCool (Square Wheels) third.
The Under 12s used the same course as the Under 10s but they had 5 laps to complete. They started back down the main entrance road which gave them a long run up to the event village. Leading at the end of lap one was Benjamin Cunningham (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) who won the boys’ race at Round 1 but a puncture on lap 2 saw him drop down the field. Taking the opportunity Fabian Drwal (Un-Attached Connacht) powered his way to first place. Daniel O’Sullivan (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) was second with Max McGrath (Fermoy Cycling Club) third, Cathal O’Sullivan (Greenmount CA) fourth and Caden Byrne (Carlow RCC) fifth. In the girls’ race Aoife Campbell (Square Wheels) was back to her winning ways by chasing up through all the boys to finish ahead of Daniel O’Sullivan. Second placed girl was Molly Turner (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) with Caroline Collins (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) third.
After a break for podium presentations it was the turn of the Under 14s, Under 16s and Women to race. In the Under 14 boys’ race it was a repeat of the top 3 at Round 1 with James Cunningham (Team WORC) taking the win, Rory McCool (Square Wheels) second and
Tomás Connolly (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) third. In the Under 14 girls’ race Ava Baker (Breffni Wheelers) got her second win of the series. Lilly McDermott (TC Racing) was second with Ciara O’Connor (Drogheda Wheelers) rounding off the podium.
In the 4 lap Under 16 boys’ race Caleb McGreevy (VC Glendale) put on another fine performance to take his second win of the series. Shane O’Brien (Fermoy Cycling Club) was second again with Conor Regan (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) third and Eoin Davis (Bohermeen CC) fourth. In the Under 14 girls’ race Katie Turner (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) was leading after the first two laps but a mechnical on the final lap allowed Naoise Byrne (TC Racing) to pass and take the win. Katie had to settle for second.
In the 5 lap women’s race it was the current national champion Caoimhe May (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) who lead from start to finish. Junior rider Aoife O’Donovan (Dungarvan CC) was second with Elena Wallace (Harps CC) third. The prizes for the series are broken down by sub category. Joining Caoimhe and Elena on the podium for the Senior women’s medals was Stephanie Roche (Scott Racing IRL). Joining Aoife on the podium for the Junior women’s prize was Grace O’Rourke (Spellman-Dublin Port). The Masters women’s podium had Jean Wilson (EPIC MTB Expert Cycles) on the first step, Sally Drennan (Midleton CTC) on the second step and Sinead Parsons (Islandeady Cycling Club) on the third step.
After another break in the schedule it was the turn of the Masters M50 and M60 as well as the support race for the non-cyclo-cross bikes. They all had 5 laps to complete. In the M50 race Barry Convery (Newry Wheelers CC) got his second win of the series. Jay McCauley (Strabane Lifford Cycling Club) was second with Padraic Quinn (Gaeltacht.cc) third and Padraig Marrey (Western Lakes CC) fourth. Finishing ahead of Padraig was the first M60 rider Johnny McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) who picked up his second win of the series. Michael Hopkins (Ballina Cycling Club) was second with Glenn Watson (Galway Bay CC) third. In the support race Neil McDermott (Lakeside Wheelers Mullingar CC) crossed the line ahead of Gary Collins (Cunga CC) with Mark Dunne (Cunga CC) third and Hugh O’Donnell (Corrib MTB) fourth.
The final race of the day was for the Seniors, Juniors and Masters M40. In the 7 lap Senior race it was a repeat win in the series for Tadhg Killeen (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial). Richard Barry (St. Finbarrs CC) won the close battle with Timothy O’Regan (All human/VeloRevolution Racing Team) for second place with Javan Nulty (Un-Attached Leinster) finishing fourth.
The Junior men had 5 laps to complete. Hugh Og Mulhearne (Verge Sport PI Cycles) made up for his sub-par race at Round 1 to take the win at Round 2. Ciaran O’Sullivan (Greenmount CA) was second with John O’Mahony (Newcastle West Cycling Club) third, Diarmuid Collins (Newcastle West Cycling Club) fourth and Patrick Thynne (Greenmount CA) fifth.
At the start of the M40s race Round 1 winner Ronan O’Flynn (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) broke his chain. He had to run to the pits to get a bike change. He managed to then chase after the other 11 riders in his category and, over the 7 laps, pass them all and take the win. Trevor Costello (Islandeady Cycling Club) finished second with Kevin Keane (St Tiernans Cycling Club) third and Evan Ryan (Team WORC) fourth.
A big thanks to all at Western Lakes Cycling Club for hosting this round. A tough day but the club did a great job keeping the course together. Thanks to Petersburg Outdoor Activity Centre for allowing the race on their land. Round 3 will take place at TUS College Campus in Thurles, County Tipperary on Sunday 24 November 2024 hosted by Upperchurch Drombane Cycling Club.
Commissaires: Loch Miwa, Jim Adams, Martin Grimley
Report by Martin Grimley
Results here
Overall series after two rounds here
Photos
Keith Colville (Facebook) – here
