Exciting Racing at PJ Logan

29Mar/150

The Coalisland based cycling club, Island Wheelers, were the second Tyrone club to promote a busy weekend programme of races for lots of categories. This morning there was a full programme of races for the U12’s, U14’s and U16’s while the afternoon saw races for A1-3, A4 and women.

In the Under 12 race Odhran Doogan of Errigal took first ahead of Island Wheelers duo Scott Roberts and Darren Rafferty. Shea O’Kane (Phoenix CC) was first unplaced U11 while Sarah Elder (Carn Wheelers) was first girl.

In the Under 14 race Aaron Heaney (Derrymore CC) took the win with Ciaran Cahoon (Clan Eireann) in second place ahead of Arthur Taggart (Ballymoney CC). Ciaran Dixon of Phoenix was first U13 while Kate Armstrong of North Down was first girl.

In the U16 event Harvey Barney (East Tyrone) just had the edge on Adam Ward of Omagh Wheelers with Liam Wilson (Derrymore CC) in third position. Michael McGlynn of Errigal was first unplaced U16.

The by now famous 6.8 mile figure of eight circuit is one that allows the riders no respite and can be leg sapping. With the A race completing nine laps of this course it would be the toughest who would survive.

The weather was a cool 7 degrees with a chill wind making it seem even colder. Rain and hail punctuated the day as well leaving roads slippery. This was obvious as when riders approached the various junctions the speed was reduced significantly with no-one willing to risk sliding and coming off.

In the A race the A3’s were set off three minutes ahead of theA1 /A2 riders. Aaron Swan of the Nicholas Roche Performance Team broke early in the race and opened up a twenty second gap on the chasing A3 bunch. Mike Millar of Phoenix CC simultaneously broke from theA1/A2 group to try and close the deficit to A3’s. Within an hour of racing however the two groups had merged and attacks continued.

Then Jake Gray (NRPT) and Darnel Moore (Caldwell Cycles) broke free from the main bunch and began to open a significant gap on the chasers such as Declan Mulholland (Derrymore CC), Jonny Taylor (Carn Wheelers) and Mark Downey of Banbridge CC among others.

Gray and Moore hung out on their own for the final quarter of the race. However in the final laps Mulholland had bridged the gap and Moore was dropped. The fast moving chasing group never let up and in the closing stages had whittled the gap down to fifteen seconds.

Coming to the line it was well known sprinter Mulholland who soloed to victory ahead of Gray.

Adam Steenson (NRPT) pipped Ronan McLaughlin of Foyle CC for third with Downey taking fifth. Mike Millar of Phoenix CC was sixth ahead of Jonny Taylor (Carn Wheelers), Conor McCann (NRPT), Darnell Moore (Caldwell Cycles) and Marc Heaney (Carn Wheelers).

A special mention must be made of Davy McKnight who was seldom off the front of the chasing group and was constantly trying to bridge the gap to the leaders.

The A4 racing was more aggressive than usual. Kenny Bagnell (Newry Wheelers) made a significant break on the second lap & maintained a solo break for the remainder of the race with leads up to 1 1/2 minutes. He held this to the line to take the win.

Sean Mullan (Clogher Valley Wheelers) was second ahead of Neil Ryan (De Ronde van Cork CC) who was delighted with his third place. He obviously wanted the points.

Nigel Gibson (Carn Wheelers) was fourth while Dean Burnside (Island Wheelers), Owen Henry (Newry Wheelers), Kieran Talbot (Island Wheelers) and Eamon Brady (Harps CC) completed the line-up for points.

Ballymena's Eillen Burns chose to take part in this race and despite the fact that is was only her second A4 race she managed to come in with the bunch.

The women’s race was proof to the growth of interest by women as this was one of the biggest fields to date. The hard conditions took their toll and some of those new to racing were dropped but a good sized group remained to make the race interesting. Trudy Brown of VC Glendale was tailed off at the start but fought hard to remain in contention and got back to the group.

Roisin Kennedy of Adamstown also proved to be very strong and in the end took the win with Trudy Brown in second place. Jane Millar of Bann Wheelers was third ahead of Julie Mulligan (Strule Wheelers) and Karen Hull of Phoenix CC. Joanne Regan of Termoneeny was next followed by Sandra Devine of Four Masters.

As with all Coalisland events there were marshalls in abundance all of whom had attended pre-event briefings and knew exactly what they should be doing. They were the real heroes of the day as the weather got progressively colder with heavy downpours.

An event manual was available for the Commissaires and main officials. The club had also provided portable toilets at both the Bush crossroads and the finish line. These were greatly appreciated by the spectators. The local PSNI were also in attendance to man the busy main road junction and we would like to say a special thank you to them for helping keep the race much safer.

No Coalisland event would be the same without their famous crew of caterers who provided a massive amount of food for everyone including lashings of home made soup, sandwiches and tray bakes as well as their well-known pavlovas which always disappear so quickly. Thanks to comms on the day Brendan Kirk and Trainee Gabriel Bell, Chief Judge Garry Nugent and photo finish Ian Barfoot.