Road Race, Magheraconluce Road (map)
9 August 2012
The final club road race of the season for Dromara Cycling Club took place on Thursday 9 August 2012 at the Magheraconluce Road circuit. The start was at the Memorial Garden for Harry Ferguson and the trophy for this event was sponsored by the Harry Ferguson Celebration Committee. The race was held over 7 laps of the circuit which takes in Rafferty's Hill then the descent down the Dromara Road. The Dromara Road was the scene of a serious crash at this event last year when four riders were badly injured and needed hospital treatment. None of the four injured from last year had decided to take part this year to face the same fast descent!! Many thanks to race secretary who had to sweep the course a couple of times in advance of the race. The evening was warm and bright and stayed dry for the duration of the event.
There was a slight delay to the start of the race when the paperwork was accidently left behind by the club secretary. Many thanks to the timekeepers Davy and Colin for coping valiently with the crude paperwork they had to use. The groups were finally sorted and the race got underway around 7:15. There were three groups on the road. Group 1 had 13 riders, Group 2 had 9 riders and started 2½ minutes behind Group 1, leaving a 10 man Group 3 "scratch group" to start 2½ minutes behind Group 2. The first group went around with a lead motorcyle with side car.
After the first lap the gaps between the groups had dropped to around 2 minutes. By the end of lap 2 Group 2 had split with a core bunch now less than 2 minutes behind Group 1 and the rest of Group 2 about to be swallowed up by Group 3 who had closed their gap as well. By the end of lap 3 Groups 2 and 3 had come together. Group 1 remained ahead of the other groups until the final lap when all came together somewhere on the hill.
At the finish there was a sprint for the line between Gavin Magowan and Ronnie Smyth with Gavin taking the win. Barry Kellett came home unchallenged in 3rd place with a sprint for the line for fourth between four riders with Aaron McGrady taking that position just ahead of Anthony Quinn, Jonathan McBride and Chris Magowan. After this rush the riders finished at a steady pace, happy to have completed the race. There was the odd sprint for minor placings which kept the spectators interested to the end.
The riders then gathered around for the podium presentations with Gavin receiving the trophy from two members of the Harry Ferguson Celebration Committee. All the riders and volunteers were then gathered for a group shot.
Well done to all the competitors and many thanks to the timekeepers and marshals. Many thanks to Michael from the Ghostriders for providing motorcycle support.
Next Thursday (16 August 2012) will be a 10 mile time trial on the Dundrum Road in Dromara. See website for details (www.dromaracc.co.uk).
Timekeeper: Davy Robb and Colin Roy
Marshals: Neill Currie, Raymund Martin, Paul Gick, Alwynne Shannon, Brendan Doyle, Nathan and Michael Mullan, Gary Bailie, Conor Rice, Robin Priestley and Davy Young
Photographs and report: Martin Grimley
