Racing Roundup 23rd & 24th March

Post date: Apr 01, 2013 3:38:44 PM

Lakeside Wheelers were represented at two venues over the weekend of 23rd and 24th March with riders in both the Lucan Grand Prix and the Des Hanlon memorial in Carlow.

Lucan Grand Prix

On Saturday 23rd March Eoghan Kevlihan was in Batterstown Co Meath to take part in the Lucan GP. Eoghan Lined up in the A4 bunch of 70 Riders for the start of the 55km race. From the drop of the flag numerous attacks were attempted with 2 riders eventually getting an advantage on the bunch. Eoghan made a break with 2 other riders to try and get across. All 3 riders worked well together but both breakaways were caught by the main bunch with just 3km to go. The finish came down to a bunch sprint with Eoghan finishing in the top of the bunch in 15th position. Well done Eoghan.

Des Hanlon Memorial

On Sunday 24th March Carlow Cycling Club hosted the Des Hanlon Memorial race. The first race off was the A1/A2 over a distance of 156km and we were represented by Peter Rimmer and John Murray. On a freezing day for bike racing a five man move went clear inside the first 8kms of the race, with 3 of them never to be seen again. As well as the AquaBlue duo of Lacey and Fenlon in that breakaway was another rider from the team, Olan Barrett. These were joined by Ryan O’Donovan (Cork County) and Frawley. That group rode well together on the first of three laps, though O’Donovan and Barrett paid for their early efforts when they got dropped on the second lap. Conor Murphy (Eurocycles) – the winner of the Cycleways Cup in Navan a few weeks ago, blasted across the gap to the leading trio to make it four up front. And despite the gap to the group behind containing Peter Rimmer, ranging from three minutes to just 50 seconds, the leaders hung on to the finish where Lacey was too strong for the others. Fellow wheeler Damien Shaw took 8th position racing with the Aqua Blue team.

The second race off was for A3's and we were represented by Billy Cunnane, Eoin Lynch and Ken Berry. We all lined up in a bunch of 130 riders for the start of the challenging 114km circuit. From the gun the attacks started with 3 riders getting clear. After 10km they had a 35 second lead. They were soon joined by 2 other riders and they all worked well together. The bunch stalled on one of the climbs after Castlecomer and soon the gap was 2 minutes. This group however was caught at the 70km mark by a group containing 4 junior riders from the Nicolas Roche Performance Team-Standard Life. This group stayed away to the finish. Eoin lynch finished in the chasing bunch just outside the points. Eoin acquitted himself very well throughout the race instigating numerous attacks and getting into breakaways.

The 3rd Race off on the Day was the A4 race which was over a distance of 80km and we were represented by Brian Collentine. There were numerous attacks during the race but nothing stuck. Constantin Bartels of Western Lakes won the bunch sprint, with Brian finishing in the bunch. Next week we will have race reports from the Gorey 3 Day and Ràs Connemara.

The Lakeside Wheelers team that took part in the 2013 Des Hanlon memorial in Carlow