On Sunday past the highlight of the Ulster Youth road racing calendar, the Ulster Youth Road Race championships, was held in Limavady and hosted by Roe Valley Cycling Club.
Youth riders from all over the province of Ulster arrived in this town to compete for the coveted title of Ulster Youth Road Race Champion in their respective categories.  Fifty three riders in total competed in three age categories in two disciplines, the Time Trial and the Road Race.

Representing Dromara CC in the Under 16 Championship were Christopher Weir and I, along with 25 other competitors.  With loads of strong cyclists we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task competing against boys much bigger than the two of us!

The time trial was first to be contested, and I was the first off out of all the under 16s, and we had to tackle a flat 3.6 mile circuit in the Aghnaloo area. Time trialling has never been a strong point of mine and I knew it was going to be difficult to beat some of the top boys, but I managed to finish 19th overall, in a time of 10:36. Chris rode a good time trial to finish in front of me in 18th, in a time of 9:49. Mark Downey of Banbridge CC fame won in a very quick time of 8:20, with Matthew Doyle of Foyle CC 2nd and Bann Valley’s Conor McAteer 3rd.

The road race was held on the rolly 3.8 mile Ballyleagry circuit just outside Limavady, and the course had its fair share of drags with one massive climb towards the finish, enough to sort out a few riders! The under 16s had to complete 7 laps and I knew it was going to be a fast paced race, and it was a fairly slow start, and an unlucky start for Chris as his foot wouldn’t clip into his pedal, and he rode the first lap with 1 foot clipped in, and unfortunately had to pull out due to the problem. 

There were a few attacks launched but no breaks got away and I managed to stay with the bunch for 5 laps, and after getting it tight on the descent before the climb I was left fighting to get back onto the bunch with Mark Scott from Maryland Wheelers. We worked well together and got back onto the peloton, at this time my average was sitting at 22.3 mph, fast enough considering there were very few attacks. Mark Downey won by a few bike lengths from club mate Matthew Teggart and Matthew Doyle was 3rd. I won the sprint between Mark Scott and I, after I attacked at the foot of the climb and held him off to the line. I think I finished in the top 15.  Results haven’t been confirmed yet.

27 mile @ 21.9 average, was a fast one especially for the nature of the course, and I was pleased with my result especially after a disappointing time trial. Chris was unlucky not to have been able to race, but he gets to come back next year and hopefully go for a win! This was my last Ulster Championships, and it is now Junior racing for me next year!

Next weekend is the Irish Youth Championships in Roscommon, were I will contest a time trial and road race on Saturday and the criterium on Sunday. Should make for class racing!

Thanks must go to Roe Valley CC for an excellent day’s racing, and for their hospitality at the Roe Valley Leisure Centre.

Report by Zak Hanna

Report on Cycling Ulster here