Midland League Round 10

Post date: Jul 22, 2013 6:46:0 PM

(By Billy Cunnane)

On Thursday 11th July Laois CTC hosted round 10 of the Midland League. Weather conditions were perfect with clear blue skies and 28 degree heat as everyone signed on at Tracey’s Bar on the Heath near Emo in Co. Laois. A 12km lap to be completed 4 times awaited all the riders.

Midland league round 11 is in Clonaslee on Thursday 25th July and starts at 7.30pm. It is an 8km TT up the Cut in the Slieve Blooms.

First race off on the evening was the A/B group. The B group of 11 riders set off first with a 1.30 min advantage on the chasing A group containing 10 riders. The A group made contact with the B group on lap 2 and this in turn brought with it the inevitable attacks, but all were brought back by the bunch. It was on lap 4 that a 3 man break went clear just before the climb and stayed away to the finish. The remaining points were to be fought for in the bunch sprint with Peter Rimmer getting 7th.

Next race off on the evening was the C/D category. The D group of 7 riders set off first with a 4.30 min advantage on the chasing C group containing 21 riders. The pace was very hot from the start with a lot of breaks and race tactics from our friends in the Laois club. The Wheelers had a busy evening chasing them all down with a seven man break getting clear on lap 4 after catching the D group. With about 2km to go the breakaway stopped working and were caught on the final decent to the finish. 15 riders contested the bunch sprint with Tosh Kiernan 4th, Aidan Farrell 9th and Graham Morgan just outside the points after a very strong ride.