Leinster Silver & Bronze for John Murray & Michelle O'Halloran
Post date: Sep 29, 2013 7:40:19 PM
By Billy Cunnane
The Leinster Road Race Championships were held in Dunlavin Co. Wicklow on Sunday 22nd September. There was a large turn-out across all categories on what turned out to be perfect conditions for racing with a slight wind, glorious sunshine and temperatures hitting 22 degrees.
A tough 24 km lap to be completed 3 times awaited all the riders. The ladies race was the first off and we were represented here by Michelle O'Halloran and Sonja O'Mahony. There were a few attacks but the bunch all stayed together until on the last lap the National Ladies Road Race Champion Melanie Spath broke clear and stayed away to take a solo win. On the uphill finish newcomer Michelle managed to get third in the sprint and claim a Bronze medal with Sonja finishing comfortably in the bunch. This is a huge achievement for Michelle who was competing in her first ever road race and has only recently joined the club. Great to see all the training has paid off.
Fixx Supercross Cup Round One.
On Sunday 22nd September we had a team of 3 in Grange Castle Clondalkin in Co. Dublin for the opening round of the Fixx supercross Cup. The Supercross cup has five rounds this year with the best three rounds plus the final round counting towards the overall results.
This race marks the end of the road race season for 2013 and well done to all the Wheelers who have competed during the year and here's looking forward to the 2014 season.
John Murray lined up for the next race which was for A1/A2 and Vets. There were numerous attacks with the winning breakaway going clear early on and staying away to the finish. John positioned himself well in the bunch sprint and got his silver medal for 2nd Vet across the line.
The last race off on the day was the A3/Junior and we were represented here by Billy Cunnane. Again there were numerous attacks with a 5 man break going clear on lap 1 and pulling a sizeable gap on the bunch. Despite all the efforts of the main bunch the break stayed away to the finish to claim the first 5 places. In the uphill bunch sprint Billy managed to finish 11th overall.
Next report will be on Round 2 which is being held in Bray Co. Wicklow on October 20th.
So what is cyclocross? Basically it’s a form of bike racing over a short (5-10min) lap on grass, gravel and sand. Most races run for approx. 1 hr.
We were represented in the A race by Peter Rimmer and in the B race by Paul Crowley, Richie Lenehan and Henry Whitston. the lads acquitted themselves very well with Richie Lenehan being the best placed Wheeler on the day to claim a well-deserved 2nd Place.
