Round 2 of the National Cyclo-cross Series took place on Saturday 26 November 2022 in Upperchurch Drombane, County Tipperary. The event field was opposite the Gaelic club and was self-contained within the same field. Host club Upperchurch Drombane CC have ran races on this site in the past. The Gaelic club provides parking and changing rooms. Race day was overcast with thick cloud obscuring the sun. Thankfully it stayed day but it was windy.
The first race of the day was for the Under 6s with just 2 riders enjoying their short course. The Under 8s were then lined up next with 3 boys and 1 girl completing 5 laps of their course. Fionn Murphy (Verge Sport PI Cycles) won the boys’ race with Fionn Fitzgerald (Un-Attached Munster) second and Daniel McGrath (Fermoy Cycling Club) third. Marian Mulvaney (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) completed her race among the boys.
The Under 10s race was held over half the full course and over 2 laps. Max McGrath (Fermoy Cycling Club) took the win in the boys’ race with Jake McKee (VC Glendale) second and George Cleverley (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) third. Caroline Collins (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) finished ahead of Molly Turner (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) in the girls’ race.
The Under 12s used the same course as the Under 10s but they 4 laps to complete. In the boys’ race Dáire O’Flaherty (Carlow RCC) crossed the line first ahead of Ronan Patrick McCarthy (MBCC) with Dean Sheridan (Fermoy Cycling Club) third. Eire McCrystal (Bellurgan Wheelers) won the girls’ race when she finished ahead of Eve Cleverley (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club).
The Under 14s and Under 16s started next. These were the first of the national series categories. The boys completed 5 laps of the full course while the girls completed 4 laps. In the Under 14 boys’ race it was Rian McCrystal (Bellurgan Wheelers) who took the win ahead of Caleb McGreevy (VC Glendale). This was a reversal of positions from Round 1. Shane O’Brien (Fermoy Cycling Club) completing the podium. Katie Turner (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) won the Under 14 girls’ race again. Isabelle Gaffney (Dungarvan CC) and Naoise Byrne (Carlow RCC) finished second and third respectively. In the Under 16 boys’ race there was a close battle among the top 3 with only 30 seconds separating them at the finish. David Gaffney (Dungarvan CC) took the win ahead of Curtis McKee (Scott Bright Motor Group) with Ryan Daly (Scott Bright Motor Group) third. Round 1 winner Conor Murphy (Rostrevor Mountain Bike Club) had to retire after 4 laps. Faith Robinson (Bray Wheelers) won the Under 16 girls’ race. Kate Murphy (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) was second with Rhiannon Dolan (Cuchulainn CC) third.
Next up were the Junior men, Women, M50s, M60s and the Men’s B’ race. In the Junior men’s race Liam O’Brien (Fermoy Cycling Club) took the win ahead of Round 1 winner Joseph Mullen (Navan Road Club). Travis Harkness (VC Glendale) finished third with Cal Tutty (Dungarvan CC) fourth.
In the Women’s race Junior rider Aine Doherty (VC Glendale) took the win, her second win of the series. Aine finished ahead of master rider Grace Young (All human/VeloRevolution Racing Team) with Stephanie Roche (Scott Bright Motor Group) finishing third. Sienna O’Dwyer (Limerick Cycling Club) took the first unplaced Masters prize with Hannah Hayes (TC Racing) the first unplaced Junior prize.
The M50s race was graced by the presence of the legend that is Robin Seymour (Team WORC). Robin was just back from the European Cyclo-cross Masters Championships where he had won the 50-54 year old category. Robin, naturally, went on to win at Drombane. Des Woods (Newry Wheelers CC) finished second with Fearghal Regan (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) third. Jason Travers (Dungarvan CC) was fourth with David McKee (VC Glendale) fifth.
In the M60s category Paul Birchall (Verge Sport PI Cycles) took the win ahead of Michael Hines (Un-Attached Munster) with Glenn Watson (Galway Bay CC) taking the third step on the podium. In the Men’s B’ race Karl McKenna (McNally Swords CC) finished first, Des Ryan (MBCC) second and James McMahon (Un-Attached Munster) third.
The final race of the day was for the Senior men and M40s men. They had to complete 7 laps of the full course. In the Senior men’s race Dean Harvey (Spellman-Dublin Port) lead from start to finish – his second win of the series. Darnell Moore (Team Caldwell Cycles) chased hard but couldn’t bridge the gap. Richard Barry (St. Finbarrs CC) finished third with Jack Bernard Murphy (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) fourth and Dillon Corkery (Verge Sport PI Cycles) fifth.
Alan Bingham (Newry Wheelers CC) took his second win of the series in the M40s race. Evan Ryan (Team WORC) was second with Ronan Killeen (Lucan Cycling Road Club) third. John Dempsey (Verge Sport PI Cycles) was fourth with Gene Ryan (Velocity MTB) fifth.
A huge thanks to Upperchurch Drombane Cycling Club for hosting Round 2 of the National Cyclo-cross Series at Upperchurch Drombane GAC. Round 3 will take place on Wednesday 28 December 2022 at McCrystal Track in Co. Louth.
Full results here
Results after 2 rounds here
Commissaires: Roddy Keane, Mick Twomey and Martin Grimley
Report by Martin Grimley
