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As ever, the members of Castlebar Cycling Club have been
busy cycling the high ways and byways of Ireland, competing in a wide
variety of cycling events.
Connaught Time Trial League
Things have become serious as competitors
in the Connaught Time Trial League tackle the longer distances, making
the jump from the 16k time trials to the longer 30km / 40 km distances.
The first round of longer time trials posted some impressive times with
several club members posting personal bests. Among these were Chris
Troy who posted a scorching 54.57 and Ray Kirrane with a 59.01. Ray's
personal best deserves a particular mention as it was the first time he
broke the magical hour barrier for 25 miles, a milestone that all
testers endeavour to break.
For the record, Castlebar CC, amongst its
current members has quite a large group of men in the 'Sub One Hour
Club' namely David Brennan, Chris Coyle, Chris Troy, Patrick Clarke,
Paul Dunne, David Sands, TJ Coen and now Ray Kirrane.Bernard Mc
Guinnes, John Carty and Jasper Jennings also posted personal bests for
the 40km so congratulations to them and hopefully they too will soon be
joining the 'Sub One Hour Club'.
In the 30km events our strong youth team came to the fore, with
Cian Gavin, Patrick Morley, Jack Mc Cormack, Lauren Gourlay, Jack
Sheerhan and Jason Ormsby all cycling very well. Again, the club as a
whole is very proud of all the youth cyclists and is delighted with
their continued success and improvements. However, more importantly we
are delighted with their consistently good behaviour and sportsmanship.
Ras Dun na nGall and Ras Connachta
Post FBD Ras, the club's racing fraternity continues to compete in National Cycling events.
Bernard Twoomey and Ciaran 'The Eagle' Clarke tackled the 'Hills
of Donegal'. The lads certainly found Donegal to be Ireland's
equivalent of Las Vegas as they tackled a chaotic and extremely
difficult race. Each of the race's three stages were dotted with
numerous mountains, none more ferocious than the infamous 'Glengeash
Pass'. The two lads tackled the climbs without any problems and all in
all had a great weekend.
Ras Connachta, which finished last Sunday was another stage
race assignment for the club's racers. This time four riders tackled
the race, with Ras riders David Brennan and Chris Troy joining forces
with Bernard and Ciaran. The weekend was a success for the club with
David Brennan taking the KOH and third overall, Chris Troy taking
second in the time trial and Bernard and Ciaran again gaining
invaluable stage race experience. Ciaran's excellent ride on the final
stage should be noted, joining teammate David Brennan in a 75 mile
break putting the yellow jersey under pressure. This was a big jump for
Ciaran as he was in a group with all Senior 1 riders.
Finally, I would like to thank Patrick Clarke for acting as team manager for both events.
Other Events and Upcoming Races
Club members also tackled a number of other events. Paul Fahey and
John Carty partook in the Wicklow 200 cycling event, enjoying a very
long and tough day on the bike. Club members also raced well in the
training races held in Bohola, with Peter Tuohy and Cian Gavin racing particularly well.
Upcoming events include the Connaught Road Race Championships for
youth cyclists this Saturday in Kiltimagh and in Coolaney in Sligo in
Sunday for Senior Men and Women. Details can be found on the club
website at www.castlebarcyclingclub.com or at the Connaught website at www.connachtcycling.com
The Connaught Road Race League starts Tuesday week and the TT League continues throughout the sCastlebar Cycling Club Update 16/06/2009ummer, all details are at www.castlebarcyclingclub.com
Finally, Castlebar Cycling Club would like to wish all its members
the best of luck in the forthcoming Mullaghmore Triathlon which is
acting as a selection race for the European Triathlon Championships.
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