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Post date: Jun 19, 2015 11:57:52 PM
(By Kevin Monaghan Fri. 19th June 2015)
It was double success for Mullingar riders in the country's best and richest Criterium event of 2015 on the racing calendar and Lakeside Wheelers rider David Casserly took an impressive win by over thirty seconds in the curtain-raiser A3 event, only to be followed by another local success a hour later as local rider Damien Shaw claimed top spot on the podium and the €500 top prize as he clinched victory in an exciting sprint finish in the main event of the evening - the A1/A2 race which consisted of the top fifty riders in the country.
As usual, Lakeside Wheelers members were out in force to get the course ready as soon as the town centre was shut down. Before long the course was ready and shortly after 7pm, the first event of the evening was underway as the fifty A3 riders set off behind the lead car to negotiate the tight town centre course for 45 minutes of the best of criterium racing on show all year. Following a few short lived forays and attacks, David Casserly made his way to the front and succeeded in breaking free. To his great credit, he consolidated his lead over the remaining laps and as the time counted down his lead stretched to over thirty seconds. In the end, he took the bell and the chequered flag with ease and had plenty of time to celebrate crossing the line and to savour the moment in front of the home crowd. Well done David on your success and also to your fellow clubmen who also did the club proud and put on a great show.
Once the dust had settled on the A3 race, it was the turn of the elite A1/2 riders to come out to play. Their efforts were to be for fifty minutes plus three laps. The pace was fast and furious right from the off. Damien Shaw missed the early breakaway but wasn't long bridging across. Such was the tempo set by the leading group that all but the first five riders on the road were lapped, leading to the unusual scenario of the remaining prizes (6th to 10th) having to be contested in the last lap of regulation time before the lapped riders were eliminated from the race.
It was cat and mouse over the last few laps for the leading trio and with one of them crashing out in the penultimate lap it was down to a two man shoot-out in the end with Shaw reversing his fortune in previous Mullingar crits by taking an impressive sprint finish.
Well done to all for putting on such a sporting spectacle this evening, including race organisers, club members, Gardai, Civil Defence, Westmeath County Council, Grange Motors, Gay Kay Howard and of course the riders themselves.
Looking forward to the the next major event on the club calendar already, that is of course the Mullingar Grand Prix on Sunday 19th July.
More pictures from this evening's racing available HERE
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