| 2010 Irish Youth Championships | |
| Saturday & Sunday 28 & 29 August 2010 All Ireland Youth Cycling Championships 2010 Island Wheelers and Clann Eireann CC were the proud hosts of this year’s Irish Youth Cycling Championships for 2010, and with the competition being held over 2 days, both clubs made the weekend exciting and intense for competitors and spectators alike. Over 150 cyclists from the 4 corners of Ireland gathered in the Dungannon/South Tyrone area for a weekend of hard competitive cycling to decide the new All Ireland Champions in 3 separate events, a Time Trial, Criterium and Road Race, and in 6 age categories, under 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16s. The race headquarters was the Cohannon Inn, Coalisland. On each day the car parks were full to capacity and race officials had a hard job of getting all riders signed on and get their gears checked. To help with timing due to the amount of riders competing, riders had a timing transponder fitted to their bikes’ forks to make the job easier, and each rider received a bag with race numbers, race programme, a welcome letter and a complimentary water bottle after they had signed on. Dromara CC had 2 riders representing the club, Christopher Weir and Zak Hanna. Both riders were racing in their respective categories, Chris in the under 14s and Zak in the under 15s. Both categories had over 30 riders sign on, making for tough racing throughout the weekend. The 1st major competition was the Time Trial, which was held early on Saturday. The distance was 1 mile, so quick times could be guaranteed. The course was pan flat with a real good surface, and riders were treated to a starting ramp to dismount as they started their race. 1st age group off was the under 16s, and each category followed after that. Riders were not allowed any specialist equipment (TT bikes, disc wheels, 4 spoke wheels or aero bars), although TT helmets, skinsuits and over shoes where allowed. I was off at 10:33am, and managed to complete the course in 2 mins 47 seconds, with an average speed of 26.8 mph. I was placed 29th out of 33, which shows that I’m not a good time trialler! Chris was off at 11:27 and he completed the course in 3 mins 3 seconds, placing him 31st out of 33. The criterium was in the afternoon and was held in Coalisland Town Centre, which had its road closed for the whole afternoon, making for very fast racing. The course was 0.5 miles longs and had everything, sharp corners, narrow streets and a massive crowd to cheer the riders on. Before the race started, every rider followed a brass band around the course to get a look around the surroundings. Chris’s race was before mine and they had 4 laps to complete. He held in well to finish 20th, and beat others that had beat him in the TT. I had to complete 7 laps and in a bunch of 33, negotiating corners wasn’t going to be easy. There was a bit of carnage at the start as people couldn’t get clipped into their pedals, but luckily I missed it and got in to the main bunch and finished 13th, with an average speed of 21.8mph. The next and final day was the Road Race, which was held on the Argory Circuit. The course was reasonably flat with 2 small drags and a very fast technical descent, and a very long, hard, windy finishing straight. My race was off before Chris’s and we had 6 laps to complete of a 4.7 mile circuit. I stayed in the bunch the whole race, until the final corner 2 riders had collided with each other and caused a massive crash, bringing 5 or 6 riders down and blocking the whole road. I thankfully missed it and hung on to the bunch in a sprint which got me 9th place, my best placing in an Irish Championships. 27 miles with a 22mph average. Chris’s race had 4 laps to complete and also had its fair share of crashes, with 2 riders being brought down and one of them badly injured. Chris missed it and finished 8th, which was also a sprint finish. After the racing had finished all riders and parents headed back to the Cohannon Inn and were treated to a presentation dinner, which included chicken curry, rice, sausages, chips and garlic bread. After a few words from race organizers and commisaires, trophies, medals and National Champions jerseys were presented, and a lot of tired riders and parents headed home, looking forward to next year’s All Ireland already! Thanks must go to Island Wheelers and Clann Eireann for a very professionally organized event, and for amazing race circuits and competitive racing. Thanks must also go to my dad (Deek) for driving me to the races, the lend of his Trek Madone, advice and also to Darren Weir for his advice as well. Even though it’s only over, I am already looking forward to next year’s All Irelands already! By Zak Hanna Time Trial results here |