Masters Championships

The following morning 4 Lakeside Wheelers headed for the start line of the Masters 50 road race which brought the participants on a 4 x 20km lap circuit passing through the villages of Tobermore, Lisnamuck and Draperstown. 3 of last years M50 winning team, Brendan "Tosh" Kiernan, Paul Murtagh and Ronan Bracken were joined by Seamus Killian with the hope of achieving a podium finish and holding onto the team title. Some 50+ A4, A3 and A2 cyclists lined up at the event headquarters with a roll out to the start line some 4km's away. Conditions were better than forecasted although there were some showers throughout the race with plenty of wet roads to keep the feet cool. The race commenced at a very fast pace with a small number of breakaway attempts being reeled in by the main bunch. Unfortunately Ronan suffered a mechanical after 1.5 laps and headed for an early shower. The first 40km were completed at a 42km/p/hr pace and with no let up, the main bunch began to split at the end of the 3rd lap. With just under 80km of racing completed Tosh came home with the main bunch with a very credible 13th place finish, with Paul and Seamus finishing just a few minutes behind. Alas there was no team prize achieved this year but the 4 lads gave their all in what was a tough race indeed.

Next up on the Sunday afternoon was Seamus Moran in the Masters 60 road race. This race was held on the same circuit as the mornings event with 80km to be completed. Conditions were very favourable during the event and Seamus stayed with the main bunch throughout, finishing in an incredible 11th place in what was also a very fast paced race. Well done Seamus on what was a very busy weekend for you.

All in all this was a tough but good weekend of racing for the Lakeside Wheelers team. Special mention for Billy Cunnane who provided expert back-up as usual and his two assistants, Eric Smith and Mickey Hynes for backup support (and entertainment). Thanks also to the Co Derry club Carn Wheelers for hosting this years masters races, a well organised event indeed. Roll on 2022 Masters races...

Ronan Bracken, Billy Cunnane, Paul Murtagh, Brendan Kiernan, Seamus Killian