2001
Index
Europeran Ironman
C/ships by Hugh Byrne 26th May 2001
Harry Reynolds
Memorial by Hugh Byrne 5th June 2001
Well Done Keith
Daly (Dunlavin) by Hugh Byrne 10th June 2001
Dundalk Traders
Cup by Hugh Byrne 10th June 2001
Millenium Cup
CP(IVCA) by Hugh Byrne 12th June 2001
Simon on Top
Form!!(John McCormack GP) by Hugh Byrne16th June 2001
McNally Swords
Road Race C/ship by Hugh Byrne 21st June 2001
Under age
Coaching by Hugh Byrne 30th June 2001
European
Championships - Carlsbad, Czech. Rep. by Edith Kearney May 2001
Leuven, Belgium
20th May 2001 by Edith Kearney 20th May 2001
Triathlon - 'The
Hell of the West' by Hugh Byrne 30th June 2001
Paddy Neary
Memorial, Dundalk by Simon
Whelan 8th July 2001
IVCA Boot Inn
CPby
Hugh Byrne <Report on IVCA site> July 2001
Good
Week for Aidan Hammond by Hugh Byrne July 2001
Niall Rock, All
Ireland Champion by Hugh ByrneSunday 15th July
2001
McNally Swords
Kathleen O'Sullivan Mem GP by Hugh Byrne 22nd July 2001
Deano delivers
at last! by Hugh Byrne 24th July 2001
Swords League:
Balrothery CP by Fred Harte 25th July 2001
Monie Nolan
Memorial - Balscaddanby Simon
Whelan 31st July 2001
IVCA Age Std
Championship by
Hugh Byrne 5th August 2001
Westwood Homes
Kerry Youth Tour 2001 by Kieran
Whelan August 4th-6th 2001
Brendan Campbell Memorial, Donore by Simon
Whelan August 19th 2001
IVCA Batterstown
CP by Hugh Byrne 28th August 2001<Click Here for Report>
IVCA Clane CPby Hugh Byrne 26th August 2001
National
Vets C/ship by Hugh Byrne August 26th 2001
Leinster
Road Race C/ship by Sean Lally September 2nd 2001
IVCA Memorial MS
Cups by Hugh Byrne September 9th 2001
Collins/Christle
Memorial, Kilmessan by Hugh Byrne September 9th 2001
Underage Leinster
Championships by Keith
Daly September 9th 2001
European Vets
Championships, Majorca by Sean LallyOctober 8th 2001
11th
Alanya Intl. Triathlon, Turkey by Ann Kearney October 24th 2001
Sportstar
of the Month, Caroline Kearney by Fred Harte (+photo)
November
2001
Willie
McKevitt Memorial by Sean Lally December 9th 2001
Orwell
Wheelers Christmas Race by John Lally December 23rd 2001
Orwell Wheelers Christmas Race
Sunday
Dec 23rd 2001
Report
from John Lally below:
Brass
monkeys weather, distant memories of last Christmas on
Bondi Beach, and myself and Simon lined up to represent
Swords in the Orwell Wheelers Christmas Race. We had been
pre-warned by 'Captain in Absentia', Sean, that Andre
Engermann (St Tiernans) was one to watch. He was reported
to be in top form and we were warned that if we gave him
50 yards, it would be 'bye-bye' . This warning was
confirmed when one of his team informed us that we were
riding for second place. Anyway it would be academic if
we didn't catch the limit group which incl. Seamus
Kennedy and Sean Bracken for six min. The scratch
consisted of Shane Baker(Usher), Paul Healion(Usher),
Colm Bracken(Usher), Stewart Gibson(Orwell), Cian Lynch(BH),
Martin Maguire(BH), Andre Engermann(St Tiernans), Phil
Finnegan(Cycleways), Alan Lane(UCD) and ourselves. The
group worked together well with everyone doing their turn.
Cian, unfortunately, found the going a bit hard and blew
after about six miles. Simon unkindly offered to by him a
compass in the pub afterwards. After a long chase we
caught the main group coming up the hill into Drumree on
the last lap. There was an immediate attack by Shane
Baker, and an immediate response from myself which
brought me straight past him. Andre, Simon, Phil Finnegan
and Martin Maguire also spotted this move and within
seconds the six of us were clear. Simon did a
particularily long hard turn at the front to ensure that
our gap was decisive. Two miles to go, Andre jumped, and
started to get the gap we had been warned about! Simon
shouted for me to close. Head down giving it everthing
but got him back. Half a mile later Shane attacked with
Simon & Andre in close attendance. They got a gap (and
I could have a slight rest). Shane kept working hard in
fear of my trio coming back, but if we did it was up to
the other two as my main man was away, and nobody was
going to outsprint him! The final sprint was contested by
Simon & Andre, but Simon put about ten lengths into
him. You can go like a train, but my man sprints like a
rocket! I took the sprint for 4th after my 'armchair'
ride. Teamwork to perfection!!!!!
Result: 1, Simon
Whelan (Swords CC); 2, A. Engermann (St. Tiernans); 3, S.
Baker (Usher IRC); 4, J.Lally (Swords CC); 5, M. Maguire
(BH); 6, P. Finnegan (Cycleways)
John Lally
Willie McKevitt Memorial
Sunday
Dec 9th 2001
(Hosted
by Obelisk Wheelers)
Report
from Sean Lally below:
Hi
Hugh This is story of the race today. Limit group 5
mins ahead of Vets. Simon, John Lal, Geroid and rest of
scratch group 3 mins behind vets. We also had former Tour
de France rider Laurence Roche in our group. 2 laps of
vets National champs circuit, 26 miles. After 1st time up
the we only had 9 riders left in our group. As we
approached hill for 2nd time we caught the 5 min group.
Despite plenty of attacks coming to the finish, it came
to a sprint.
Result 1st T Lavery (Garda) 2nd S Kennedy (Navan) 3rd
J Lally (DWCC) 4th S Lally 5th L Roche 6th M
Rock. In the scratch bunch sprint 1st Fastest S
Whelan, 2nd Fastest John Lally. Scratch group finished at
50 secs. Many thanks to Obelisk Wheelers for the invite.
Sean
Sportstar
of the Month, Caroline Kearney
Report
from Fred Harte below: |
| Every month throughout the past year the
Fingal Independent in association with Holiday
Inn, Dublin Airport, has nominated some
Fingallian as Sportstar of the Month. Now, at the
years end there are 16 winners [there were some
joint winners] who are in line for the Sportstar
of the Year Award for 2001. The selection is made
by readers who cast their votes on an entry form
that will appear in the editions of the Fingal
Independent dated December 7th, 14th, 21st, and
28th. The Sportstar for October was Caroline
Kearney; the résumé that appeared in this weeks
edition of the paper about her achievements
during the year are impressive. Caroline will get
the overall award if enough people vote for her.
Perhaps the word could be put out to this effect
so that as many as possible are encouraged to
give her a well-deserved "lead-out".
The Fingal Independent invites its readers to
vote as often as they wish on the official entry
form. Closing date for votes is 6th January 2002.
|
 |
11th Alanya Intl.
Triathlon, Turkey
October
24th
2001
Report
from Ann Kearney below:
This race in Alanya
incorporated both the European Under 23 championships and
the European Junior + Elite Cup final. It also had a
third open wave for age-groupers - all were catered for
in Alanya. Consequently the race attracted over 300
competitors, 90+ in the elite men's start and 46+ in the
elite women's start.Weather conditions on the day of the
race were very hot and dry, with temperatures in the 30
Cs. Thankfully, having been there for a week before the
race, both Caroline and Edith were well acclimatised to
the conditions by the time the race came along.
The elite men started at 12pm
that Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, they were not
well behaved at all during the swim! Initially, there was
a false start but they also reluctant to go around the
marker buoys either and had to be nudged back on course
by the marshals. Obviously, this had repercussions for
the women's start (at 1:15pm). They were taken out of the
water enclosure 10 minutes before the start and were
penned off into a small enclosure despite the sizeable
beach. As the women were 4 deep before the off and all
jostling for position, the swim was very aggressive and
occasionally vicious. Leanda Cave was out of the water in
1st position, followed closely by 6 other athletes.
Caroline was out of the water amongst the 2nd group and
Edith was out approx. 30secs adrift in the 3rd group (which
included Annie Emmerson, Jo Hinde and the Aussie Kate
Allen).
The bike course was a
completely flat 4-lap course centre of Alanyathe . At the
beginning of the women's bike, four main groups had
formed - 2nd was 1 minute adrift of the 1st; there was 30secs.
from the 2nd the 3rd and another 30secs from the 3rd (which
was Caroline's group) to the 4th(Edith's group).
Throughout the bike, Caroline's group caught the 2nd
group on the 2nd lap and Edith's group caught this
combined group on the 3rd lap. By the finish of the bike,
The 1st group had made up 3 mins on the main bunch of
approx. 20+ athletes. Needless to say, in the evolving
situation, it was all down to the run and fast runners
such as Tanya Allen and Annie Emmerson were able to pull
up valuable places. Edith ran extremely well and made up
some places to finish 28th overall in 2hr 07:22 and 11th
in the Under 23 section. Caroline held her own, finishing
in 32nd position overall and 7th in the Junior section.
All were delighted with
their performances in Alanya - it was Edith's best
international result to date - and although the girls
were disappointed with their swim, it was an outstanding
learning experience for them and given the same situation
in the future, they will know how to deal with it
expertly. Caroline was also thrilled to find out that as
a result of endeavours over the season, she finished in
fifth place in the European Junior Cup series - a great
result at the end of her junior career.
Results:
1. Anja Heil GER 1hr58:29
2. Leanda Cave GBR 1hr58:53
3. Kate Allen AUS 1hr59:10
9. Annie Emmerson GBR 2hr01:57
30. Jessica Harrison GBR 2hr08:20
U/23 Champs.
1. Leanda Cave GBR 1hr58:53
5. Tanya Allen GBR 2hr03:37
7. Jo Hinde GBR 2hr04:14
11.Edith Kearney IRE 2hr07:22
Junior:
7.Caroline Kearney IRE 2hr08:34
European Vets
Championships, Majorca
October
8th
2001
Report
from Sean Lally below
Hi Hugh,
I am in Majorca at moment finished 5th, 6secs behind the
winner. The Germans were playing with us as they had five
riders capable of winning. When you got clear with a
German they just sat up. Two of them got clear and the
rest shut up shop. I was dissapointed but am over it now.
I did my best only thing is they have the first five on
rostrum. It was a very fast race on 10km circuit a 1km
hill every lap 6 laps the Germans controlled it.10km
to go 2 Germans got clear. Then a gallop for 3rd in the
sprint a Spainard grabbed my jersey. I got around him but
was still a lenght down at finish.Result 1st Manfred Nepp(Germany)
2nd Herbert Wilde(Germany) at 6secs, 3rd Natale Bisarello(Italy),
4th Hans Uterkuggenberger(Germany), 5th Sean Lally(Ballymagash),
6th Olat Ludwing(Germany). Five Germans in the first
eleven. Any of these five could have won. 6th rider
previous winner of this event. Another rider won KOM 3
tmes in Tour of Spain.
Sean
Underage
Leinster Championships
Sunday
September 9th 2001
Report
from Keith Daly below:
Dad wasted no time skipping around the back roads to
Kilmessan Co Meath for the Leinster Championships and
yes we did meet some Sunday drivers. Still we made it on
time, one and a half hours early to be precise, but not
to worry as this gave me plenty of time to have a look
around, check for pot holes and have a look at my
favourite part of the race 'The finish'. On the start line there was the
same familiar faces. Myself, Colm, Mark, Eamonn,
James, Stephen, Paul, David etc. We meet that often now I'm
beginning to feel that we are one big happy family and I
suppose we are as they are a great bunch of lads and we
all get on very well. With
the weather conditions perfect the race got underway at
12pm. Three laps of an eight mile circuit would decide
who would be the 2001 Leinster Champion. The attack
started straight away with the Bray lads relaying up and
down the road like a Pro.Outfit. Then Balbriggan
had a few digs countered by Shannonsides Eamonn Coyle and
myself. Colm Crawley was always handy and we
countered the jumps before they became breaks. The
two Usher lads and James Whelan from Swords did very well
and were always up there right to the very end. After
being heavily marked throughout the race and a bunch
sprint looked likely Stephen Mc Kenna Balbriggan launched
a winning looking attack on the last drag. A moments
hesitation, then sprint on to the line taking the lead
with about 500m to go I produced a Keith Daly special
coming home three lengths clear of the field. Colm Crawley
was 2nd followed by Paul Mc Mahon from Bray. Although I
wasn't around to watch the U/12's race I have been
reliably informed that Nial Rock finished a close 2nd
taking the silver Medal. Well done to all my fellow
underage riders. I have had a fantastic season and
will see you all next year when we will be cycling with
the BIG BOYS!!!!!!!!!!
Keith Daly (Drogheda
Wheelers CC)
Collins/Christle
Memorial, Kilmessan
Sunday
September 9th 2001
There were 110 starters
for this event incl Gareth, Pepe, Sean and John Lally. A
break of twelve riders were up the road coming to the
finish but John fresh from his good showing in the Club
TT C/ship during the week took
the bunch gallop for the 3rd B pot. This was his first
race proper on these
shores
since his return from his year in Australia & New
York (where he has been secretly training). It was a
fiercely contested sprint (with a little bit of banging),
but John used the wheels well & held his nerve to
take it. Sean was also in sprint and took 3rd Vet. Also
in Kilmessan, Niall Rock was second in the U12 Leinster C/ship
rounding off a great year for him. Keith Daly(DWCC) took
the U16 title which the on form Colm Crawley(Balb CC) in
2nd spot.
IVCA
Memorial MS Cups
Sunday
September 9th 2001
Three seperate races
with Swords well represented in all three. In the A race
we were represented by Joe Mc Nally, Anto McMahon, Gerry
Martin and newly crowned Club 10 mile TT Champ, Pat
Halpin. The cold north wind seemed to be in your face or
on your shoulder all the time exept for the 'charge' down
the Navan Road section. Swords managed to cover all moves
bar the winning one, and indeed Anto was 50 sec clear on
the first lap only to puncture. No panic.... he
approriated a wheel from a passing Liam Maxwell who was
out for a spin! He went again on the 2nd lap and Pat
nearly got across on his own before the group got
organised and reeled both of them in. No reward for for
the lads but all seemed to enjoy themseves. The C race
started at an explosive pace with Paul Deans forcing the
early pace. William Parnell managed to get clear a few
times but no one was being let go. Indeed Tracey Piggott
covered a lot of the moves. A few attacks in the last few
miles, incl Deano's trademark, but all were covered. On
the last few corners Tracey got a slight gap, which Lar
Cully bridged, with Dave Blake on his wheel. As Lar
reached a tiring Tracey (into the wind), Dave jumped and
stayed clear to the line to take his first result of the
year and the Memorial Cup!
Leinster
Road Race C/ship
Sunday
September 2nd 2001
Report
from Sean Lally below:
Today the Swords lads gave a good
account of themselves in the Leinster C/ship Road Race in
Kilcullen.The course was mostly flat with a few drags
which made for good fast racing. There was a good turnout
of 75 riders and incl Joe McNally, Anto McMahon, Pat
Halpin, Jason Kelly, John Peppard and mise. It's great to
see so many of the lads racing in the open races.With
four laps of a 7 mile course to I got away with six other
riders. We were caught with two laps to go, but
immediately nine riders got clear including Anto and Pat.
With one lap to go they had 1 minute on main field and I
was happy to sit in thinking that they would stay away,
so much so that I considered pulling up to see the finish!
But 2 miles from the finish, we all regrouped and the
race finished with a bunch gallop in which I finished 8th.
This also gave me 3rd Vet as both Sean Bracken & Tosh
Lavery finished ahead of me. Another bronze.....always
the bridesmaid.!
Sean Lally
National
Vets C/ship
Sunday
August 26th 2001
This years Vets C/ship
was an exciting race from start to finish with a top
quality field, incl 6 of the best from Swords, contesting
the honours. Our team comprised Sean Lally, Joe McNally,
Anto McMahon, Brendan Kennedy, Mick Rock & Gerry
Martin. Many of us came straight from the IVCA race to
cheer on our team mates and they did give us plenty of
reason to cheer! As we drove across we met the race on
its first lap and already the attacks had begun. There
were three riders with about 15 sec gap with another
three(incl Sean Bracken)trying to bridge with the bunch
in hot pursuit. This break was soon neutralised and the
bunch stayed together for some miles until our own Mick
Rock got clear with two other riders. These three did
well for a while but when they turned into the wind three
riders weren't enough! The next major move half way into
the second lap, four riders attacked and went clear at
the elbow. This break looked good and incl Sean McIlroy (Carrick
Cidona), Dave Woods (Usher), Brian Holmes (Slane Cycles),
and a rider from Cork. When these looked like staying
away, Sean Lally launched himself in pursuit. Catching
them proved quite difficult and it took a few miles to
get on. Sean admitted later that it was the fear of the
embarrassment of being swallowed back up by the bunch
that kept him going in his effort to get across. These
five now stayed clear until the last lap when they were
joined by a group of about ten riders incl most of the
pre race favourites. Up the hill and five riders broke
clear but were once again pegged back. On the run in it
was attack after attack until on a slight rise about a
mile and a half out, Sean Bracken made the decisive break
and came in a clear and worthy winner. Bo Graham (Provision)
won the sprint for 2nd from last years winner Norman
Campbell (unatt), with Hugh Davis (Eagle CC) 4th, Terry
Ferris (DWCC) 5th , and Sean Lally (McNally Swords) 6th
--- after being in the break all day. All our riders
finished in the main bunch except poor Brendan who
punctured with 1 lap to go. He also punctured on the same
circuit in our Club C/ship and to add insult to injury
its his 'local' circuit. The team prize was also a close
run thing with Usher IRC just edgeing out the host club,
Garda Motorway, by one point! All those who turned up to
watch were treated to great racing also from the U23's
and Juniors with Gabriel Howard doing MC & commentary
adding to the excitement. Hero of the day, Kanturk Junior
rider , who was 2 min clear for at least 4 laps of the 6
lap race in searing heat. Didnt end up in the medals but
a class act. <Photos
on IrishCycling.com>
IVCA Clane CP
Sunday
26th August 2001
I've written lots of (biased)reports for the Swords
website, but its hard to write about yourself, esp when
apart from a good finish I was basicly hanging on for
much of the race. Our group in the CP worked well and I
had plenty of clubmates in it (Deano,Dave & Fred).
Special mention to John Duffy who despite coming back
from being sick gave everthing and Paddy McInerny whose
powerful riding had me in awe and seriously questioning
was cycling really the sport for me. I found the going
quite hard and eventualy got to grips with it on the
second lap when (perhaps mercifuly) we were caught by
faster group. Soon the enlarged group had caught the
groups ahead and perhaps now a win was on the cards. I
was much encouraged by clubmate Jim Ludden who was
stewarding. Last time we had a CP in Clane I was
fortunate(after being dropped) to witness him winning,
with a superb sprint and I was slightly thankful that he
was on the sidelines today! A few miles to go and saw
Paddy Byrne with a puncture........another sprinter less
to worry about. There are so many twists & turns
coming to the finish its hard to remember them all,... I
didnt and ended up on the front too soon. No panic, Dave
Blake took up the running and I was nicely placed third
in line behind Mick Tynan, but boxed in by Arthur Ebbs
and a well placed Tracey Piggott. We were about 500 yards
out and I was wondering would a gap open.Next Deano
attacked on the right with a few riders in tow, so I
shouted at Arthur to go (which was my cue to unbox myself).
Deanos attack stalled slightly, and Arthur tucked in but
if we got boxed again there would be no second chance so
I gave it everything got a gap and despite arms &
legs turning to jelly held on for the win. Some lads ride
to make people suffer, some are great in a break and most
seem to find the going easier than I do but the
excitement and sense of heightened awareness coming to a
finish is the ultimate buzz..... the rest of it is just
pain & grovelling.
Hugh Byrne
IVCA Batterstown
CP
Tuesday
28th August 2001
Report from Hugh
Byrne on IVCA site:
<Click
Here for Report>
Brendan Campbell
Memorial, Donore
Sunday
August 19th 2001
Report
from Simon Whelan below:
During my warm-up lap Tony O'Malley commented to me that
this circut was''not so hard''. An hour later I had to
laugh to myself because I was taking a terrible hiding !!
13 laps of a 4 mile hilly circut was the menu of the day.
On the second lap the Vets, Juniors and Ladies were
caught by a break away group from the main bunch of As
and Bs.When the main bunch made contact with the limit
riders about 10 riders were clear and this group looked
dangerous as it contained some good As, I thought to
myself ... I had better get up there ! The gap was about
20 seconds but I managed to get across in one piece when
I got there I was releived to see that I had a team mate
in Anto McMahon, who was looking very strong ! The break
never got more than 50 seconds and with 6 laps to go we
were reeled in by a group of about 15 riders. With 25 in
the lead group the jumping started ... Anto and I missed
the boat as 8 guys sliped away. We both tried in vain to
get across, and with two laps to go myself and Aidan
Crowley with Mark Kiernan for company tried to bridge the
gap. (Mark didnt assist as he had two team mates up the
road) But we just ended up sprinting for 8th place ... a
sprint I didnt contest because of a lack of energy ! Sean
Lally was pipped on the line by Seamus Kennedy for second
Vet and Tony O'Malley had a good ride to finish his third
open race in the bunch. Mick Rock also finshed in the
main bunch, Geroid Loughnan punctured with 2 to go and
John Peppard was also in the main bunch punctured with
one lap to go !! In the underage races Niall and
Sean Rock were at the head of affairs (as usual) finishng
second and fourth. All in all another good showing for
the Club !
Simon
Westwood
Homes Kerry Youth Tour 2001
August
4th-6th 2001, Killorglin, Co. Kerry
Report
from Kieran Whelan below:
The Westwood Homes Kerry Youth Tour 2001 is a 3 Day Stage
Race
(Promoted
by Killorglin Credit Union Cycling Club)
Stage 1 Road Race in
Beaufort, Killarney Saturday Afternoon.
Stage 2. Individual
Time Trial Sunday Morning.
Stage 3. Road Race at
Sunhill, Killorglin. Sunday Afternoon.
Stage 4. Circuit Race
around Killorglin. Monday Morning.
This is the third year of this event. In all, there were
over 180 young riders from Ireland, Northern Ireland,
Isle of Man, Britain, Belgium and Denmark. The race is
run under ICF rules and the Chief Commisaire was none
other that Jack Watson, from Belfast, a UCI International
Commissaire who has run Professional World Championships
in the past. I first heard of this race in 1999 when Kay
Woods of 'Go Ireland' approached me to find out if Irish
Ferries would be interested in helping the UK based teams
with the cost of ferry travel. This is our second year of
involvement with Killorglin CC and the Kerry Youth Tour
and we're delighted with the numbers of foreign teams
coming to Ireland to race. Thanks must go to the race
committee and the volunteers who made this an enjoyable
and safe weekend of racing. The good weather for the
weekend played no small part in the great racing, with a
beautiful back drop of the Kerry Mountains.
Category 3. (Under 12's)
There were 34 entries in this section and our own Niall
Rock Mc Nally Swords finished in a outstanding 5th place
overall on GC. The category was won by Gavin Pyke riding
for Ireland, 2nd was Evan Dennihy riding for Kanturk 3rd
place went to Pat Ahern riding for Ireland . In fact,
Niall's 5th placing must be put in context. The 2nd
placed rider was only 12 seconds ahead of Niall on GC,
this after 3 days of racing. Niall, held his own with the
best of them. Well done Niall
Category 2. (Under 14's)
Again a big field in this one. There were over 60 riders
and Shaun Rock, riding for Leinster, finished in a
creditable 10th place overall on GC. Category 2 was won
by Ian Stannard riding for British Schools , 2nd was Adam
Petrie-Armstrong riding for Ireland, 3rd place went to
Chris Opie riding for British Schools. Shaun rode a very
good race and was unlucky not to finish on the podium.
The 3rd placed rider was only 38 seconds ahead. Well done
Shaun and you never know next year there might even be a
'mailot jaune' to take home.
Category 1. (Under 16's)
Again, another big field in this category. There were
over 80 riders and Chris O'Hare, (Balbriggan CC) riding
for Leinster, finished in an impressive 11th place
overall on GC. This was Chris's first trip to Killorglin
to ride in such a competitive race. Chris showed great
qualities and fought hard all the way to stay with the
big boys. Other Swords League riders who took part were
Stephen Mc Kenna (Balbriggan CC) riding for Leinster was
20th on GC, Keith Daly(Drog Wh CC), also riding for
Leinster, was 25th, Colm Crawley riding for Balbriggan CC
was 42nd and James Whelan riding for Mc Nally Swords CC
finished 51st on GC. Category 1 was won by Morten
Gottleib riding for Denmark, 2nd was Barry Woods riding
for Ireland, 3rd place went to Eoin Concannon riding for
Killorglin CUCC. Well done to one and all. It's a great
experience for our young riders. Lets hope we can build
on this for the future. Special thanks must go to the
sponsors and supporters of the Kerry Youth Tour without
their help this race would not be possible. Westwood
Homes / Killorglin Credit Union / Irish Ferries / Kerry
County Council / Irish Cycling Federation / Coca Cola /
Western Union / Splash Design.
<Click
here for Photos>
IVCA
Age Std Championship
Sunday
5th August 2001
This years IVCA Age
Standard C/ship was run over two big laps and one small
on the Summerhill circuit. The early pace setters were
Albert Murtagh (Obelisk) and Brian Monaghan (Newry Wh)
who broke clear of their group and had 1 min advantage
over them as the race passed Trim for the first time.
Last years winner, Sean Lally, was in a group 4 min back.
As they passed Trim for the second time, Seans group had
gained slightly, but ominously for the two leaders, it
had also been swelled by Jimmy Lally & co and the
chase was on in earnest. As our two leaders turned onto
the short lap, the gap was down to 30 sec from a slimmed
down group of chasers. As Albert disappeared over the
hill I heard some expletive deleteives. I knew that
something had happened and his race was over. It turned
out that a skewer had broken. The race finished with an
exiting sprint finish between five riders, all of whom
are excellent finishers. Seamus Kennedy(Avonmore) took
the sprint from Liam Keenan(Orwell), with Sean third.
Jimmy Lally(DWCC) placed 4th and Brian Monaghan after
being out there all day,5th. Paddy Fitzimmons(DWCC) took
the sprint for 6th place in the next group which incl
Paddy Griffen(11th) and Fred Harte(13th). After the race
even Anto was happy, despite finishing 3 min down with
the rest of the 'young' lads who averaged nearly 25mph
for the 48 miles. <Photos
on IVCA site>
Monie
Nolan Memorial - Balscaddan
Tuesday
31st July 2001
Report
from Simon Whelan below:
5 laps of a 5 mile hilly circut, only 25 miles, but
everyone will tell you that they had sore legs on
Wednesday morning I
attacked on the second laps in a 53 * 14 on the Stamullen
hill and Brian Ahern latched onto me, and we were then to
be joined by a very strong Phil Finnegan and another
comeback boy Peter Dunne. The hammer went down and I was on the big
gears most of the night Peter was feeling the pace but
didnt stop riding through, but Ahern and Finnegan were
strong On the second last ascent of the climb Phil
punctured and Peter was dropped which left myself and
Brian on our own with a 30 second gap Into the last 2
miles and on the climb for the last time Brian attacked
my but I felt good and rode back up to him Looking back I
should of attacked him because I felt very strong but
with a group of 7, at 20 seconds I decided to keep riding
I lead out the sprint which
is usually against my own sprinting rules and I paid the
penalty, losing by a few inches A good night for the club was capped with
Peppe finishing a strong sixth and Gearoid getting 3rd B,
as well as good performances from Brendan and Matt
Simon
Swords
League: Balrothery CP
Wednesday
25th July 2001
Report
from Fred Harte below:
{Race 16 }{Balrothery short
circuit [7 laps - 43Km]
George Devlin (Drogheda Wheelers) won for the second race
in a row even though I had dropped him down two groups.
He, Chris O'Hare (Balbriggan CC) and Alan Duffy (McNally
Swords) caught my group about lap 4 as far as I can
recall. From then on Devlin and O'Hare did all the work
with Sean Rock sticking to their wheels like glue but
going to the front from time to time. I heroically stayed
at the back, like a rear gunner, in order to defend the
group from unseen hazards from behind!! Thats my excuse
anyway. On the final lap when it looked as if we might
stay away, young Sean rightly berated those behind him [Caroline,
me, and Alan ] for not doing enough work - humiliating. I'll
really have to ride next time out; either that or banish
him to some far off group. At the finish, I came around
Sean in trying to catch Caroline, but only because he was
on restricted gears. Some of the difficulties of
predicting time gaps for CP's can be seen when
considering the average speed of the group. We had ridden
this same course the previous week when the route through
the Naul was switched at the last minute due to
insufficient stewards. The previous week our group
averaged 33.9 kph. I felt it unlikely that this speed
would be reached again. In the event the group, at least
those left in it, averaged 35.1 kph. which translates to
over two and a half minutes over the race distance. The
race was nearly stopped by the Garda . Apparently there
was a blessing of the graves in Balbriggan somewhere and
a garda had been detailed to direct traffic on to our
route, and in the opposite direction. However the steward
at that point, managed to persuade him to direct cars in
another way although this involved getting some cars to U-turn.
A note of appreciation will be sent to the guards in B
albriggan. This is a particularly important since both
the steward and the garda came in for some criticism from
a rider who had yelled at them to organise the traffic in
a different way. This is one way to antagonise the public
towards cycle races leadin g to groups calling for their
curtailment; and hostility from motorists, which is
dangerous. Cyclists racing on open roads have no legal
right to have even one rule bent. Motorists have no other
obligation than to observe the same rules, and stewards
have no power to tell any road user what to do; they can
only request and warn.
Fred
Deano
delivers at last!
Tuesday
24th July 2001
Paul Deans took a long overdue win in the IVCA DMS in
Batterstown tonight with the move he's been rehearsing
for the last three years. Normally he attacks off the
front about a mile out and is reeled in soon after, and
ending up well down the bunch afterwards. This time he
went earlier than usual and dangled about 50 yards off
the front as the bunch hurtled along, not too worried
about Deano. The road twisted a bit and when Deano got
another hundred yards advantage or so he realised that he
was in with a good chance and gave it everything using
the windy road to his advantage. With 1k to go the bunch
took a serious interest in catching him. He rounded the
last corner with a significant gap but it was still a
long way to the line, he had been out there for a while
and the bunch were closing fast. He needed all of the gap
that he had gained but held on for a well deserved win.
McNally
Swords Kathleen O'Sullivan Mem GP
Sunday
22nd July 2001
This year's race incorporating the Kathleen O'Sullivan
Memorial Trophy was a fitting tribute to a great lady
with great commitment from all the club members under the
direction of race organiser Richie McNamara, and spirited
racing from all our riders. I wont go into thanking all
who contributed, but suffice to say it was an event in
which we as a club can all take great pride. The morning
started with Sean Rock placing 4th in the U14 event, and
local lads Keith Daly(Drog Wh), Chris O'Hare(Balb CC) and
Colm Crawley(Balb CC) dominating the U16 event despite
being total outnumbered by the lads from Bray, placing 1st,2nd
& 4th respectively. <U/age Photos> In the main event both out
A riders, Simon & Pepe, were riding quite well with
Simon getting into most of the early breaks but
unfortunately missing the main move on lap 3, but Pepe
infiltrated this one. This break of about ten riders
contained a lot of heavy hitters incl. Michael McNena and
some very strong riders from the North. Their advantage
grew steadily with all incl. our own Pepe riding strongly.
With a man in the break it was up to the teams that
missed out to chase. Simon got into the chasing group of
riders but these weren't making any ground on the leaders
and I suppose they wouldn't be too keen on bringing Simon
up anyway. This was the second week in a row that Pepe
had got into the decisive break and was doing quite well
until constant attacks on the final lap eventually wore
him down. Only one B rider had made it into the lead
groups so it left 5 places to fight for and we were ably
represented by Matt Kelly, Stephen Rock, Brendan Conway,
Tony O'Malley, Sean Lally and Jason Kelly. Many of our
riders tried to get clear but to no avail until Matt
broke with Len Corrigan(DWCC) with two laps to go. When
the gap got to 300 metres Sean jumped across to double
our advantage. Brendan Conway came very close to getting
across also but just couldn't get those last ten yards.
The lead trio then pressed home their advantage ably
protected by the remaining Swords riders in the pack.
Three hundred yards from the final corner Matt, on a
signal from Sean, launched himself taking the DWCC rider
by surprise. Both riders were tiring on the sprint for
the line but Matt had gained enough distance to take it
and 2nd placed B rider. With equal prizes for A and B
riders it meant that there were still 3 places to contest
and we still had 4 riders in the bunch to contest them.
Despite attacks from all 4 it came down to a bunch sprint
with Jason attacking into the last corner but cramped in
the straight and finished 7th B, missing 6th spot by
inches. Club President, Johnny O'Sullivan presented the
Kathleen O'Sullivan Memorial Trophy to Overall winner
Michael McMena(VC La Pomme) but the loudest cheer was
reserved for 2nd B, Matt. But we weren't finished
cheering yet because Mick Rock and Pat Halpin took the
first two spots in the Vets race!!! <Senior Race Photos>
Niall
Rock, All Ireland Champion
Sunday
15th July 2001
Niall Rock has followed last years Leinster Championship
by winning the U11 Classic Walls All Ireland Championship,
and winning it in fine style! This event was run as a
three stage event comprising of TT, Crit & Road Race.
He started by winning the Time Trial in a time of 10'02",
beating the second placed rider by 26 seconds. The event
was run on a points for places basis and he followed the
TT by getting clear and placing 2nd in the Crit. This
placed him in a strong position coming into the Road Race
when near disaster struck. He was in a small group of
riders leading as the finished neared when they were
misdirected by the Commisaire resulting in the chasing
group getting ahead. To further compound the situation
Niall fell as he tried to get back on course. Justice
prevailed and the race was rerun and Niall's 2nd place in
the final bunch sprint cemented his victory. The
presentation of the yellow jersey completed a great week
for the Rocks, with the old man winning at the Boot and
Karen placing 3rd in a Ladies race. The question now is
will Niall now dye his hair to match his new jersey? Well
done Niall were all proud of you!
Good
Week for Aidan Hammond
A busy week of time trials for Aidan(Orwell, but honoury
Swords Member) started with the Swords League 10 on the
Tuesday in which he posted the fastest time of 22'09".
The next night himself and our own Pat Halpin placed
second in the Des Twamley Memorial 2-up against at
quality field around the Nags Head circuit in a time of
21'25". Then it was off to for the 50 mile Clifton
to Galway TT in which he finished 5th behind
Scanlon, O'Loughlin, Helion and McNena (all full time
internationals), so it wasn't too bad I suppose. He did a
1-47-05, despite blowing his lights at 40 miles and
struggling a bit over the last 10 miles. The Leinster 10
is next week and the National 25 is 3 weeks and the 50
about a week later. He also has the small matter of his
club's 25 C/ship to contend with, and sometimes that can
be the one that puts you under the most pressure, as
Simon will tell you. We wish him the best of luck in all
these upcoming events.
<Click
here for times for Des Twamley>
IVCA
Boot Inn CP
Tuesday10th
July 2001
Horrible conditions!!
The wind on the main road section was both in your face
and a crosswind. This made cycling both difficult and
tricky. On the way over to the race I was flying,
dreaming of a good result and not fully realising that it
was the gale blowing on my back that was responsible!
Half way through the first lap reality kicked in as each
turn at the front just seemed to bring the inevitable
closer......I was dropped. I kept going anyway and
completed another lap before the next group(s) caught me.
Having gotten over the difficult section on the second
lap I had hopes of sitting in on this passing train. 36mph
and I was swinging off the back!! Some riders clocked 40
on this section. Mick Rock had about ten riders incl.
Paddy, Sean, Joe and Gerry lined out and about another
ten trying to retie the elastic. He certainly looked on
top form and as Deano would say ....I let him go. On the
next lap I met with other riders, who would normally be
in the thick of things, also stranded. Anto and a couple
of riders passed on the long stretch into the wind and
were fighting hard to make up some ground, but they hadn't
seen the Mick Rock express and they had no chance of
seeing it tonight. I headed home dejected and later was
delighted to hear the Mick had won after great work from
the Swords riders in his group and also esp. from Dennis
Dodds(Bray Wheelers). Indeed it was Dennis Dodds who
attacked on the last lap into the wind and was brought
back by Mick & Gerry Martin. Not put off by the
strength in numbers he attacked again coming up to the
last bend and Mick responded which resulted in both
riders getting a gap of about 100 yards and once they
turned the corner it was 53x11 to the finish. Mick
managed to get a gap on Dennis in the long straight and
had about 40 yards to spare in the end. Gerry Martin was
just pipped in the bunch sprint for third place and Joe
placed 9th. A well deserved victory for Mick Rock. <Click here for photos on IVCA site>
Paddy
Neary Memorial, Dundalk
Sunday
8th July 2001
Report from Simon
Whelan below:
The race was 65 miles and in
the early stages there was a lot of attacking, but it was
obvious due to the strong headwind and taxing circuit
that there was nobody strong enough to get away. Geraiod, Jason and especially Matt
were in every move that attempted to go away but I was
minding myself, thinking perhaps of a bunch sprint.
After 4 of the 7 laps of the
9 mile (approx.) circuit, there were a few tired legs so
I made a couple of big efforts to get clear and finally a
group of four of us got free, soon to be joined by 7
more riders. With 2
laps I started to feel the strain but as the gap was only
40 - 50 seconds at best I kept riding through. On the last lap we started watching
each other and Colm Farrell made a big move soon to be
joined by Mak Kiernan, and soon after Healion, the 2
Brackens and Co came up the the break I was on a real bad day and
only managed 4 in the gallop for third. I was delighted to see Colm Farrell
(Mr. Nice) win again after a long time in the wilderness
(Well done Colm .... been there)
Simon
Triathlon
- 'The Hell of the West'
Saturday
30th June 2001
Club members Billy
Kennedy, Caroline & Edith Kearney competed in the
Kilkee Triathlon, which is known as the 'Hell of the West'.
This is an olympic distance event and comprises of 1 mile
swim, 28 mile bike and a 6.2 mile run. This years event
certainly lived up to its name as the tide and rough seas
adding to the difficulty of the swim, followed by a windy
cycle leg and a 6 mile run of which three miles went up
the mountain and three miles back! All three have
competed in Europe already this year and accounted well
for themselves in this event. Billy was 3rd Vet(& 17th
overall) in a field of over 150 competitors. Caroline,
although still a Junior, was 1st Lady with Edith 4th Lady.
Indeed Edith was 2nd going into the run but took a wrong
turn costing her approx 8 minutes. As a cycling club we
can take special pride in their performances on the bike
leg with Caroline 18th fastest and Billy 20th fastest
against all
competitors !! It should also be noted that Caroline
finished ahead of Billy in the overall and Edith a few
places behind. Also ex club member (soon to return we
hope) Paddy Cullen placed 8th overall in the triathlon.
When he comes back he can tell you the story how he ended
up in a field during the Gorey 3 day and was nearly
missed by neutral service who were attending the other
fallers until they heard a shout of ' hey, what about me?'
Leuven,
Belgium 20th May 2001
Report from Edith
Kearney below:
The race was a European Junior Cup race
for the juniors and an International race for the senior
over the olympic distance ie. 1500m swim/ 40km bike/ 10km
run)
Caroline 9th Junior
Edith 9th Senior
Swim was 1500m in a cold canal in wetsuits: Bike was 40
km (3 laps of 13km) through the centre of the town of
Leuven - 3 ascents of apporx 11% for 400m (Drafting
allowed): Run was 10km (3 laps of 3.4km) with one ascent
of 12% (400m).
European
Championships - Carlsbad, Czech. Rep.
Report from Edith
Kearney below:
Caroline raced in the Junior section - 750m swim/20km
bike/5km run
She raced extremely well. (it is her last year as a
junior) She was 3rd out of the water, 15th after the bike
and 20th overall.
The swim was 2 laps of a lake and involved getting
out and running around a Fiat car between the laps. The
bike involved a 3 mile cycle into the town and then 3
laps around a 5 km loop. This also included an
unbelievable climb (you really would have to see it
to believe it as none of the pictures before had did it
justice) Firstly, it was 24% uphill on cobbles for 500m
rounding a corner and then there was about 100m of tarmac
and then a winding cobbled ascent to the top of the hill
and then a decent on hair pin bends to the bottom and
then some flat on cobbles to the start of the loop. The
run was a 2 lap circuit with a hill of 24% for 500m. all
in all a tough race.
I raced in the senior elite section (1500m swim/40Km
bike/10km run) The course was the every same as Caroline
except I was to do 3 laps of the lake followed by seven
laps of the bike and 3 laps of the run. My race didn't
work out so well and I found myself having to pull out at
the end of the bike section which is something I don't
normally do.
Last Saturday was the 'Hell of the West' Triathlon in
Kilkee Co. Clare. Again this was a 1500m swim in the sea/45km
bike/10km run. The race lived up to its name as it was (as
usual) very, very windy which made the sea really rough
and was behind you on the way out on the bike course but
slap bang in your face on the way back.
Caroline raced really well again finishing 1st lady by
6 mins to the next female. I was in second place after
the bike but too busy chasing down a fella on front of me
and completely missed the turn and ended up running an
extra 1km before realising that I was going the wrong way
so the three of us had to go back (another lad followed
me the wrong way as well) and lost about 10 mins and 2
places - I ended up finishing 4th. I was told that it
served me right for chasing lads instead of concentrating
on the race!!!
That's it for now, Caroline and I are off to the
Scottish National C'ships on Thursday 5th July being held
in Dundee. The week after is the Carrick-on-Suir sprint
race. Also this year we have other European Cup races in
August, European U23 champs in Poland in September, the
British Sprint Champs for Caroline in Clumber Park,
Worksop and the Salford Quays Triathlon which will be the
Commonwealth next year.
Edith
(Many thanks to Edith
for the reports, Hugh)
Under
age Coaching
Saturday
30th June 2001
Aidan Hammond, in
conjunction with Swords CC ran an activity based coaching
session for U/age riders at the Boot Inn on Sat 30th June.
The session was aimed at the younger end of the spectrum,
particularly those who are new to the sport and attracted
twelve riders of varying degrees of experience. One
advantage of having a club with so many vets is that some
of them are bound to be nurturing the next generation of
budding hopefuls! Aidan coached them on various skills
and had them tackling coned circuits in the carpark to
develop their skills, and had a very short time trial to
appease their eagerness to race. It is hoped to run these
sessions every few weeks and details will appear on Club
Web Noticeboard.
McNally
Swords Road Race C/ship
Thursday
21st June 2001
A last minute switch to 3 laps of the
Blackbull-Batterstown-Dunboyne course by Race Director
Richie McNamara due to temporary traffic lights on the
intended one and the field of 35 riders were off. Some
early skirmishes were followed by Simon Whelan attacking
and going clear on the first lap. This took the field(who
had intended to work him over) by surprise but now they
had to chase him down. The gap went up to 40 sec but a
lot of hard work by the bunch eventually reduced and held
it at 15 sec. Simon was clear now for more than a lap but
quickly realised that the bunch were within striking
distance and were leaving him out there to fry, so he
returned to the fold. Things didn't stay quiet for long
as Garoid Lougnane seized the initiative, attacked and
Simon once again launched himself. This duo dangled about
10sec up the road and Anto McMahon tried his damnest to
get across to them but to no avail. More hard work from
the bunch and everyone was back together again. Simon
definitely wanted this bad and was unwilling to prove his
prowess in sprinting to get it, as he made his final and
decisive attack on the last lap went clear and stayed
clear to the finish. Who worked over who? Now the race
was on for the podium places. Just coming out of Dunboyne
as the bunch was eyeing each other up, Fran O'Sullivan
made a decisive move that caught all bar Brendan Conway
by surprise. Fair play to Fran who only recently has come
back to racing for having the balls to make a race of it!
Bren & Fran(Mr. Smooth on the bike) stayed clear to
the finish with Bren, moving up one place from last year,
rounding him in the sprint. An attack from 'new boy' Tony
O'Malley brought him clear for 4th place with Sean, who
had trouble with his gears all night, 5th and Garoid
Loughnane 6th. A great race where a perhaps slightly
nervous Simon showed his true class, and where all the
placings were fiercely fought for.
Simon
on Top Form!!(John McCormack GP)
Following his recent
fine form of 4th, 4th and 3rd Simon came one closer on
Thur 14th June placing 2nd to Cass @ 15 sec in the Duane
Delaney Memorial and then on Saturday got his much sought
after win in the John McCormack Grand Prix. This win was
witnessed by Club President,Johnny O'Sullivan who must
have taken great pride in a Swords rider winning a race
dedicated to the memory of his good friend and co-founder
of Swords CC, John McCormack. Details of race to follow....in
the meantime ask Johnny.
Report as promised: Ten
miles to go, fifteen riders in front group incl Sean who
was beginning to think maybe of a good result when the
group split and left six riders incl Sean 200 metres
adrift, scrambling to get back on. Now this group were
all 40 secs ahead of main field. Next Simon comes by so
fast they nearly got pneumonia on his own straight thro
to the leading nine. A great ride to cross 40
secs on his own and then proceed to embarrass the Usher
team who had the numbers to out gun him. A great ride, no
doubt the first of many. "As a man I once respected
said, there is no substitute for speed." Now where
did I hear that before?
Millenium
Cup CP(IVCA)
Tuesday 12th June 2001
This was run as a CP
over the Brittas course. Anthony McMahon's 5 man scratch
group who already caught the group in front caught the
next two groups as they came together on a long drag(hill)
and Anto immediately attacked before anybody got too
comfortable. Some hard riding caught the next group on
the last lap and this just left the limit group up the
road. Coming to the finish the first group jockeyed for
position unaware that what was left of the bunch was
bearing down on them fast. A tremendous surge from Anto
nearly brought him up to them but the finish line
came about 200 yards too soon for him.
Dundalk
Traders Cup
Sunday 10th June 2001
Another good showing
from the Swords riders. A group of eleven riders incl our
own Simon Whelan escaped after ten miles and managed to
stay clear to the finish. With the sprinters watching
each other towards the end of the race Andrew Donnellan
from Dublin Wheelers managed to escape and Simon finished
3rd. Pepe & Sean(riding in the A race) finished a
creditable13th & 14th 1'20" down. This was
Simons third open race this season and was placed in all
three, but knowing Simon he wont be happy until he wins. PS Some nice
pictures on IrishCycling.com by Jerome Rafferty incl Pepe
leading the charge. <Click Here>
Well
Done Keith Daly (Dunlavin)
Sunday
10th June 2001
Congrats to
Keith U16(Drogheda Wheelers) on 6th win of the season in
Dunlavin,with Stephen McKenna 5th and our own James
Whelan 7th. Keith and the trio of Balbriggan CC lads
Stephen McKenna, Colm Crawley & Chris O'Hare (who all
have wins this season to their credit )are all selected
to ride for Leinster this Sunday in Navan. All these lads
ride our League so pehaps we can take some of the credit.
Niall Rock(McNally Swords) was 2nd in the U12 race.
Harry
Reynolds Memorial
Tuesday
5th June 2001
Well Done the Lads!! Congrats to all who represented
Swords in the Harry Reynolds Memorial in Balbriggan.
Great teamwork by Matt, Pepe & Anto in support of
Simon on a rolling circuit .Well done Simon(4th), Matt(8th
and 1st B) and Anto 1st Vet. Special mention also to Tony
O'Malley who rode well but could have picked an easier
race for his debut, and to Niall who won the U12.
Europeran
Ironman C/ships
Lanzarote,
26th May 2001
We should see more of
Billy Kennedy now that he is back and recovered from his
recent endeavours in the European Ironman C/ship. The
race consisted of a 2.5mile swim, 112 mile cycle and full
marathon in some of the most difficult conditions in
years. A combination of high winds and tempetures of 36
degrees had to be endured by the atheletes. Billys first
run of the day was down the road after his water bottles
which blew away as he was filling them, and was still
burnt through his factor 50 sun protection. Despite this
Billy did the swim in 1'08" (9 min faster than last
year) and completed the bike section over a very hilly
course in 6'50". However a niggling knee injury
developed during the cycle as he as he slightly altered
his pedaling style to avoid a new bar mounted feed bag,
and this became qute painful during the second half of
the run. This cost him an hour off his run time and
likely selection for the World C/ship in Hawaii. The
severe conditions indeed took its toll on the competitors
as nearly 200 out of the 850 field, despite extended cut-off
times, failed to finish. Billy's next major trip abroad
will be to the Berlin Marathon in September, where he
will represent the Dublin City Marathon with which he is
involved in organizing.
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