Seacourt, Larne
In stark contrast to the previous round at Lady Dixon Park last week where the weather was very pleasant, round 3 of the Ulster Cyclo-Cross series saw some very heavy rain and strong winds at the Seacourt site in Larne.
Host club Team Madigan had both race courses setup in advance of race day on Sunday 23 October 2011. After a quick check over the site the organisers were all geared up to receive the hardy cyclists. The morning was grey and overcast but thankfully without any rain which the youth riders were very pleased with. As per last year there was a separate course for the Under 8s, Under 10s and Under 12s to the right hand side of the excellent Cliff multi-sports centre. The course was extended from last year but still remained a great layout for parents and spectators to watch and show support to the young riders. The going was 'soft' as there had been a lot of rain in the run up to the event but the young ones seem to relish the mud.
First race of the day was for the Under 8s with 15 riders on the start line for 2 laps of the mini course. There was a strong battle between Fraser Harrower (Dromara CC) and Shea O'Kane (Phoenix) but Fraser got the better of Shea on the final lap to take the win making a clean sweep of all the rounds this series. Adam McCaughtry (Dromara CC) got his first podium place finishing ahead of Dean Harvey (Xmtb McConvey cycles) and Jonny Campbell (Dromara CC) who finished 5th. First girl was Ellie McNicholl (Carn Wheelers), 6th overall with Olivia Millar (Dromara CC) the only other female entry.
The Under 10s then got lined up for 4 laps of the mini course. This race had 10 entries, 3 female and 7 male. From the whistle Drew Armstrong (Xmtb McConvey cycles) took the lead and held it to the line. Cathir Doyle (Carn Wheelers) and Ben Wilson (Dromara CC) had a great tussle for second place with Ben just getting ahead of Cathir on the final lap. Lee Harvey (Xmtb McConvey cycles) moved up from 7th to 4th to finish ahead of Daniel Donnelly (Newry Wheelers). Sixth place went to first girl Kelly Wilson (Dromara CC) with second girl Sarah Elder (Carn Wheelers) just behind Kelly. Rebecca Carlin (Ballymoney CC) was the third girl to finish.
The nine entries in the Under 12s race quickly lined up for their race and, like all races today, they were gridded based on their overall position in the series. The Under 12s had to complete 6 laps of the mini course and with the absence of John Buller (Banbridge CC) this race was wide open for Craig McCarthy (Xmtb McConvey cycles), Max Anderson (Orchard Wheelers), Max Meville (Dromara CC) and Dominic Bradley (Carn Wheelers) to have a go at the win. Craig was the strong favourite with his previous two second places however Craig crashed on the first lap which left him at the back of the field. Max Anderson lead the race for the first 4 laps before being caught by Max Melville who held on for the win. Max Anderson had a close battle with Dominic with Max taking the second spot and Dominic third. Craig made a great recovery to finish 4th the only other rider to complete all 6 laps and this placing put him up to series leader. Kathryn Doyle (Carn Wheelers) and Rebekah Ogilby (Xmtb McConvey cycles) exchanged positions with Kathryn getting ahead to finish 5th overall, 1st girl. Emma Elder (Carn Wheelers) was third.
The organisers then managed to squeeze in a short prize giving ceremony for the Under 8s, 10s and 12s. Racing then moved to the main circuit with the drizzle just starting to add to the challenge of the already wet course. The Under 16s were lined up first and they had 5 laps to complete. The mountain bike support racers were lined up behind with the men having to complete 6 laps and the women 5 laps. Behind the women were the Under 14s who had 3 laps to complete.
The Under 14s race was closely fought with Aaron Swan (TSC/BCC) repeating his win from Round 2 and keeping ahead of Round 1 winner Joseph Baird (Banbridge CC). Ryan Orr (Orchard Wheelers) was third finally pulling away from Declan Mulholland (Clann Eireann). Gareth Kerr (Xmtb McConvey cycles) was fifth with Richard Baird (Banbridge CC) sixth out of the ten entries.
The Under 16s race had 8 riders lined up for their 5 lap race but the first lap was to be the decisive one with the positions established by the end of lap 1 with only the gaps between the riders changing during the race. Aaron Donnelly (Newry Wheelers) put in a great performance holding off Daniel Runciman (Banbridge CC) and Alex Bell (Xmtb McConvey cycles) with Oliver Graham (Phoenix CC) finishing a strong 4th. Aaron now leads the Under 16s series after 3 rounds.
The mountain bike support races saw 26 men and 6 female entries with more new faces among them trying out off-road racing for the first time. The condition of the course was suffering with the numerous wheels being ridden over the grass and soon there were some long stretches of treacle like mud to negotiate. In the woman's race Andrea Harrower (Dromara CC) lead for 4 out of the 5 laps before fellow club mate Diane Wilson came through to take the win. Kathryn Bell (Northern CC) was third, Ciara Mulholland (Clann Eireann) 4th, Eileen Regan (Phoenix CC) 5th and Jenny Melville (Dromara CC) 6th. In the men's race there was a close battle between Patrick Kelly (Carn Wheelers), Mark Farrell and Gareth Blair (ChainReaction Cycles) with Patrick managing to hold on despite the best efforts of Mark who in turn had to keep a watch out for the ever present Gareth. Fourth was Martin Grimley (Dromara CC) with fellow club rider Brian Wilson not far behind and Ronan Corrigan (Xmtb McConvey cycles) taking sixth place.
The prize giving for the Under 14s, 16s and mountain bikers then took place just in time to shelter the riders and spectators from a sudden downpour.
The rain eased just before the start of the main cyclo-cross race with the 28 riders lined up to take on 10 laps (7 for the two female riders) of the short muddy course. The riders were gridded as per the current league standings and were started just after 1 pm. At the whistle the riders set off, all except William Boyd (Xmtb McConvey cycles) who only got a few feet before his chain snapped which ended his race early. The big group circled up past the finish line and round the fence towards the first of the jumps.
Matthew Adair was first over, bunny hopping the first plank but having to drag his bike over the second. Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC) fell between the planks and lost 6 places before he managed to get back on his bike. Roger then set off at a storming pace gliding up through the riders to get back into second place as the riders disappeared over the drop to the grass beyond the tarmac road. The course took in a hairpin turn, an off-camber, slippy bank before dropping further down the hill along the gravel path overlooking the lough. The riders then climbed sharply out of this hollow before heading out along the grass along the perimeter fencing past the start area and back up through the finish line. Roger had taken the lead at this point and was already 25 seconds ahead of Matthew when he crossed the line at the end of lap 1. Chasing Matthew was veteran rider John Bogues (Phoenix CC) with Ray O'Shaughnessy (Cuchulainn CC), Tim Edgar, Jason Henry, Stephen Beck (East Antrim - Audi) and Robert Lamont (Xmtb McConvey cycles) enjoying the chase. However, these guys were racing for second place as Roger was gaining around one minute on his rivals every lap. With the short course style of racing that is cyclo-cross Roger's advance had him carving up through the back markers and when he crossed the line for his 8th lap he had passed all the other riders as they completed their 7th lap. Roger was the only rider to complete all 10 laps which he did in just over 55½ minutes. John Bogues finished a superb second with off-form Matthew third. Ray O'Shaughnessy was 4th, with Tim, Jason and Stephen taking 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. Robert Lamont took the first unplaced veteran prize with his 8th place. Taking the Super vets prize for the second round in a row was Johnny McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) who was 9th overall. Tenth went to Michael Cowan (ChainReaction cycles) with Stuart Ballantine (Xmtb McConvey cycles) the only junior rider taking 12th overall. In the women's race Gill Smith finished ahead of Lisa Millar (Dromara CC). Gill had raced the previous day in Dublin where she picked up second prize in Round 2 of the Stevens Supercross Cup.
Riders then had use of the changing and showering facilities before enjoying the great spread of food laid on by the club members and families. A big thanks to all the hard working members of Team Madigan who braved the elements but still ran an excellent event. The next round will be at Moira Demesne in Moira on Sunday 6 November and will be hosted by Dromara Cycling Club.
DROMARA CC RESULTS
CYCLO-CROSS FEMALE (Lisa Millar) 2nd
MTB SUPPORT MALE (Martin Grimley) 4th
MTB SUPPORT MALE (Brian Wilson) 5th
MTB SUPPORT MALE (Derek Melville) 18th
MTB SUPPORT MALE (Nigel Collins) 23th
MTB SUPPORT FEMALE (Diane Wilson) 1st
MTB SUPPORT FEMALE (Andrea Harrower) 2nd
MTB SUPPORT FEMALE (Jenny Melville) 7th
UNDER 16 (Jonathan Collins) 7th
UNDER 12 (Max Melville) 1st
UNDER 12 (Xeno Young) 9th
UNDER 10 (Ben Wilson) 2nd
UNDER 10 (Kelly Wilson) 6th, 1st girl
UNDER 10 (Sam Duncan) 9th
UNDER 8 (Fraser Harrower) 1st
UNDER 8 (Adam Mc Caughtry) 3rd
UNDER 8 (Jonny Campbell) 5th
UNDER 8 (Scott Wilson) 11th
UNDER 8 (Christopher Duncan) 12th
UNDER 8 (Olivia Millar) 13th, 2nd girl
UNDER 8 (Sam Millar) 15th
Commissaire: Danny Blondell
Assistant Commissaire: Martin Grimley
Full results here
Report & photos: Martin Grimley
More photographs here
