Index
2002
Season starts:
Leinster League: Race 1 & Cycleways Cup by Hugh Byrne March 2nd/3rd 2002
Coomes/Connor
Memorial,Donore incl report from
Pepe
March
10th
2002
St Patricks Weekend
Racing by Hugh Byrne March 16th/17th 2002
Des Hanlon Memorial by Hugh Byrne March 24th 2002
Gorey 3-Day - My
first stage race ! by Tony O'Malley March 30th -1st April 2002
Gorey 3-Day - Keiths
Report by Keith Daly March 30th -1st April 2002
Nerja Training Camp! by Eamonn O'Murchu April 2002
Win for hometown boy,
Liam Maguire! by Hugh Byrne April 21st 2002
The Corkman 3-day
:Stage Win for Swords by John Lally May 5th 2002
The Stephen Roche
Grand Prix incl report from
Gearoid June 26th 2002
National Time
Trial C/ships, Navan by Pat Halpin(+photo) June 28th 2002
National Road
Race C/ships, Stamullenby Simon Whelan June 30th 2002
Navan Criterium
: Simon wins 'flat out' by Simon Whelan July 2nd 2002
National
Underage Championships incl report from
Michael Daly July 6th/7th 2002
Swords one-two in
the Vets! by Hugh Byrne July 9th 2002
Klondyke Cup -
Robinstown Co Meath by Simon Whelan July 28th 2002
Swords McNally Grand
Prix by Hugh Byrne 11th August 2002
German Ironman incl report from
Frank Ferguson
2002
Kathleen O'Sullivan
Memorial by Hugh Byrne (+photo) August 24th 2002
Andy Mahon Memorial
: Win for Keith !! incl report from
Keith Daly (+photo)August 31st 2002
IVCA Clane DMS:
Memorial Cups by Hugh Byrne (+photo) September 1st 2002
Inaugural Dublin
Galway Coast to Coast by Jim Callaly September 7th/8th 2002
Christmas Races -
Simon on Form by Hugh Byrne December 1st/8th/15th 2002
Christmas Races -
Simon on Form !!!
December
1st/8th/15th 2002
Sunday
1st Dec: The first race of the Festive Season
was the inaugural Swords Hamper Race organised by man of
his word, John Lally. He didn't ride himself however,
anxious to ensure all ran smoothly, and mindful of the
fact that 40mph headwind on the Main Road might aggravate
his cold !!! There is no hiding on the Boot Inn circuit
when it's windy !!! The Race was run on a h/cap basis and
our Club was well represented at all levels numbering 17
of the 40+ entries. Many thanks to Club Members who
helped out on the day and to The Ladies for organising
the post race nosh. Anyway major thanks to John (&
Bettyglen Electrical) for organising the event. The race
was won by a lone escapee, Brian Irwin (Team BH), who
battled the wind solo for most of the race. The group
gambled slightly that he wouldn't stay out there, but he
was well up to the task. Supervet, Ronnie xxxxx (Orwell),
attacked into the wind before the last bend, and held off
the main bunch to take 2nd. The bunch sprint for 3rd was
(I havent been on the bike) Simon with Sean 6th. Thanks
to Ravens, Dublin Wheelers & Orwell who brought so
many riders and we will indeed return the compliment for
their Christmas Races.
Sunday
8th Dec: Next up was the Ravens race over 2
laps of the Mullagh circuit. Once again our Club was well
represented. No wind today to slow down the mental assent
of the Mullagh Hill !! Keith, had missed our own race as
he had to go to Limerick for testing as part of the
Junior Development Squad but made up for it this week by
getting into as many moves as possible. Simon got himself
into the decisive 4 man break and then broke clear to win
by 20 sec. <Nice pictures on
the Ravens website>
Sunday
15th Dec: Obelisk Wheelers over two laps of
the Green Sheds and Simon looking for two in a row. A bit
of slaggin' from the Wheelers saying the Swords lads
would turn up for 'the opening of an envelope'!! Mind you
there were plenty of them there too!! The Prime on Lap 1
was taken by Sean Rock and the race, also run on a h/cap
basis came down to bunch finish, where Simon did what he
does so well.......took the sprint for back to back wins
!!!!!! Next week its the Orwell Race (if he's still
invited) !!!!!!
OBELISK WHEELERS
CHRISTMAS RACE, 26 miles, Batterstown.
1 Simon Whelan (McNally Swords) 2 Andrew Donnellan (Dublin
Wheelers) 3 Lenny Carrigan (Dublin Wheelers) 4 Terry
Ferris (Dublin Wheelers) 5 Liam Keenan (Orwell) 6 Jimmy
Lally (Dublin Wheelers)
Sunday
22nd Dec:
JOHN SWEENEY MEMORIAL (Dublin
Wheelers)
1 A Donnellan (DWCC 2 J Lally Swords 3 C Crowley (Balbriggan)
4 T Ferris (DWCC) 5 D King (Finglas Ravens) 6 S Lally (Swords)
7 K Farrell (Finglas Ravens) 8 D Irwin (BH)
Inaugural Dublin
Galway Coast to Coast Leisure Cycle
September
7th/8th 2002
Having previously participated in the
Maracycle, The Wicklow 200 and The Tour De France stage
around Wicklow, I decided to enter this cycle for a new
challenge. It of course would be a good way to try and
keep a reasonable level of fitness with the winter
approaching and the annual battle to keep the spare tyre
away. As is so often the case, well meaning training
intentions go by the wayside. Four weeks beforehand I
completed approx 85 miles with a view to getting in a
least one 100 mile spin after that. An untimely chest
infection resulted in a 2 week layoff from the bike.
Hence plenty of rest before the cycle was the chosen
preparation. Knowing that the course would be fairly flat
also was a consideration.
So to the big day, on the Saturday morning of the 7th of
September around 7.30.a.m. I along with approx 70/80
others arrived at Westmanstown. It was fairly dull out
but dry. We set off in around 4 different groups. We used
mainly back roads and yours truly was cycling alongside
Phil Cassidy for the first 10 miles or so at the front of
the group alarmingly noticing how high his pulse was. I
was to pay for this effort later on. I decided after a
regrouping that I would sit at my usual position near or
at the back of the group.
We all had our first stop at Rhode for Tea, Coffee,
Lucozade Sport and scones etc. Off again in our various
groups chatting away as we clocked up the miles. There
were cyclists men and women from all around the country
represented with some of the Blazing saddles group also
there. They had 2 tandems with of course the blind person
on the back of each of them. You can only but admire the
great courage shown by them. In fact so fit was the blind
guy on the back of one of the tandems that on the return
journey he was listening to a walkman for most of the day
humming and singing away oblivious to the sore bodies
around him. Our next stop was at Ballycumber a little
before halfway where I myself was already dehydrated and
starting to get a few twitch's of cramp. This stop also
had soup, sandwiches and bars along with the Tea, Coffee
etc. We had a good 20 mins.or so rest here. Two of the
groups merged here when we set off for the third section
of the spin. It was after this that the threatened rain
finally came with a vengeance along which with cycling
into a strong headwind really began to make things
difficult for me. I spent some time off the back of the
group in behind the following jeep and got back on
courtesy of Anita Cassidy's excellent pacing.
Our final stop was at Kilconnell a few miles under the
100 mile mark. Again more refreshments did the trick
before we set off for the final leg of our journey. Not
paying enough attention I missed the group and was
chasing at 100 yards for miles and eventually got back up
behind the jeep but could not bridge the gap to the group.
I cycled the last section mainly by myself but at my own
pace and after getting the pulseometer to work again I
found that at this stage of the cycle going at my own
pace to be to my advantage. I felt okay at the finish in
UCG with no sign of the earlier cramps.
While at UCG I had to organise a taxi to bring my bags to
my hotel less than a mile away and also follow it there
as this was my first time to Galway city that I can
remember. A steaming hot bath for the old war wounds and
creaking joints was next on the agenda followed by a
return journey to UCG via Taxi of course for the dinner
that was layed on for all of the participants. It was
also organised that we meet up in the Skeffington Arms
that night which some of us did. I decided to keep to
mineral water giving previous experiences of having to
jump out of the bed with cramp. I eventually got back to
my hotel a short while after midnight and organised with
the porter an early breakfast at 7.00.a.m. Given the
usual Saturday night revelry in cities I only got a few
hours sleep but not unusual either.
So to the Sunday morning and over at UCG around 8.00.a.m.
it was lashing rain. The organisers (Eamonn Duffy and
Elsa Connaughton who with their helpers all did a great
job given the very bad weather along with the task of
trying to ensure that everybody was accounted for on each
day and reach their final destination especially as some
had still 60 miles to go while others had reached Galway
on the first day) waited for a break in the weather.
About 50 of us were cycling back and we were escorted
around the outskirts of Galway city by the motorbikes who
did the whole journey with us on both days.
On the return journey we had the wind mainly on our backs.
We more or less all stayed together back to Dublin. It
took us a little under 8 hours to get back and it had
taken me a little under 9 hours to get to Galway on the
first day. I think that it would be fairly safe to say
that there were a lot of sore and tired bodies afterwards.
Cycling in wet gear for a long time can also be
uncomfortable.
Remembering back to the 2 days I can remember how my
experience and very good use of my pulseometer through
constant monitoring got me though the 2 days along with
the group, not forgetting the little bit of pacing. Also
a few of the cyclists around me noticed the clattering
sound of the bearings from my yet to be identified front
wheel completely washed out on the return spin. Some were
wondering was it my bottom bracket, I tried to reassure
them that I just needed my dentures to be regreased. With
all the rain we had my speedometer on my bike gave up
each day shortly after the 90 mile mark (Out of approx
133 miles). It was about 3 days after the spins before
the soreness left both of my thighs,.another 2 or so
before the soreness went from my right knee, a few more
days after that my back was okay again and finally after
about 2 weeks my neck was okay again . As a leisure cycle
I would recommend this to most cyclists to complete at
some stage. We were mainly on back roads and only cycled
through 3 main towns. Already looking forward to
competing in this event again and with some sunshine
hopefully the next time.
Jim
Callaly
IVCA Clane DMS :
Memorial Cups
Sunday
September 1st.2002
Race 1:
This
turned out to quite an active
affair race with attacks virtually from the line, most of
which included our own Anto McMahon and Se Weston (DWCC).
Many small groups attempted to escape without success
including one that looked particularily dangerous, a five
man which inlcuded our own Sean Lally and Pat
Halpin. A break towards the end of lap 2 proved decisive.
A move by AnthonyMcMahon and Se Weston (DWCC) was joined
by Sean Bracken, Liam Keenan, Mick Usher, Eddie Mongey
and John Heery. This seven stayed clear to the finish
until a further split was forced by attacks over
the closing miles. It was left to 4 riders to
contest the win. Anthony McMahon made the first lunge for
the line, got a reasonable gap, but his move was was
countered by the other three and the final sprint saw
Sean Bracken (Usher) the win from Liam Keenan (Orwell)
with Anthony McMahon (McNally Swords) taking 3rd as
reward for his aggressive riding.
Your truly!!! Taking the Win in Race 2
(Photo Courtesy of Paddy Byrne) |
Race
2: My own race. Lots of
attacking, esp from the irrepressable Peter McDunphy, but
no one getting much of a gap. Paddy Fitzimons made a few
solo moves but no one was going to time trial his
way away from this group. Lots of jumps but no one
allowed more the 200 yards. After a few attempts myself,
and after watching better riders try repeatedly and fail,
I decided that this was going to come down to a sprint.
A puncture for Aidan Richardson(DWCC) made for one less
danger man to watch. I figured the headwind in the
straight would make the sprint one to go late in. After
going from near the front over the last few weeks, this
time round I decided to keep the danger men in front of
me and go from further back. As I moved up I
noticed a lot of the sprinters,incl Liam Maguire and Pat
Halligan, were half way down the pack, so I launched.
I was mindful of something Keith Daly had said to me on
the Thursday spin, that a good sprint is about the
jump. I seemed to have taken them by surprise and got a
bit of a gap, but as I accelerated I could hear Liam's
shouts of encouragement. A great man to have on your
side as he has an imposing presence in the bunch and much
was down to riders watching him after his last win at
this venue. Full throttle and ahead of me I could see a
tiring Peter Schweepe, after his solo effort on the run
in, and this gave me a target to chase. I (prob like some
others) thought the finish was a the first car in sight
so I gave it everything to catch him before this, but as
I neared it , I realised it was another 100 yards to the
line. So much for the plan of going late, ends up as one
of the longest sprints I ever tried. Had to wait for the
video replay to see what washappening behind, as I never
looked back. Last race of the season for me as I start
nights on Monday, but a great end to the
season. Last year I was slaughtered in this race,
completely unable to hack the pace, so to be in a
position where winning was a possibility marks a
significant improvement for me. Out on the town last
night at a 40th, but stayed on the dry, and went home
early mindful that today was an important race for me as
my form has been on the way up over the last few weeks
and I had dared to think I could win it.
Race 3:This
was run as a 3 group CP, with Group 2 caught on the 2nd
lap and Group 3 not being caught until Barberstown Castle
on Lap 3. All together now and it was going to be down to
a sprint. Colm Cassidy (St.Tiernans) lead it out of the
bends coming into the straight , and started the sprint
from there.He got a slight gap and held it to the line.
Cassidy won by about 2 bikelenghts but the sprint for
second place was fiercely contested by three riders with
Des Howe (Newbridge Cutlery) taking it from Ron O'Rourke
(McNally Swords) Luckiest man of the day had to be Fred
Harte who was a close 5th ......too close as 'someones'
pedal took out 7 of his spokes practically on the line.
How he stayed upright is beyond me. One or two spokes
more and the wheel would have collapsed. Ah well he now
has a 25 spoke wheel he can use for Time Trials !!!!A
good display from the Swords riders in this one with Dave
Blake And Martin Doyle also finishing in the top 10.
<IVCA
page on race>
Hugh
Byrne
Andy Mahon
Memorial : Win for Keith !!
Saturday
August 31st 2002
This race hosted by Usher
IRC was run over 3 laps of the Green Sheds
circuit. Keith got into an early break of with
John Herety (Lucan) and Terry Ferris (DWCC).
Early wasnt the word fo it..... It went at three
miles and they were away for the remaining 33!
The break were nearly joined at one stage by Mick
Rock and two others but with escapees in at 20
yards they stopped riding and the trio were off
again. A hard earned victory for Keith who showed
that despite riding hard in the break, it didn't
take the edge off his sprint. A hard race and he
was still tired when I spoke to him today.
Elsewhere this weekend Niall Rock was beaten by
the width of a tyre at the National League Finals
in Athlone and Grace was third in her race |
Photo Courtesy of IrishCycling.com
|
Report from
Keith Daly below:
A win at
last!!!!! I was so happy to get a win before the
season was over. I felt good on the day so I was
confident and knowing the course was an advantage.
It was a ten-mile lap and we had three laps to do
with a three-mile lead out to the lap, which made
the race 36 miles long. I did my normal race
preparation, warm up, food and my pre race 'pep
talk' with Simon. At the start line the sun was
shining and there was a surprisingly big bunch of
juniors, Vets and C`s. There was an attack from
the line and two got away. After about a mile I
tried getting across but got stuck out in 'no
mans land' and was caught by the bunch. After the
first 3 miles we went on to the first lap. Terry
Ferris jumped away and made it up to the break. I
started to worry and decided to try it again. I
took me while but this time I made it. When I got
there James Lawless got blown out which just left
the three of us. We started working well together
and got a 30 second gap. By lap 2 we were nearly
caught by a small group, which I think contained
Mick Rock; they were only about 10/15 seconds
down. We rode harder and approaching the last lap
the gap was 57 seconds. I started thinking about
the sprint and I knew Terry was the man to watch.
What made me really worry was Terry missing a few
turns I knew what he was doing so I let a few
shouts at him to get him working again. With
about 4 or 5 miles to go the third member of our
party attacked us and got a good little gap. He
was a rider from Stagg cycling club, his name was
John Heraty. We worked hard together and caught
him with just over a mile to go. That's when the
'cat `n`mouse' started. I felt strong. The Stagg
rider was stuck on Terry's wheel and they both
seemed to ignore me. Terry thought he was the
best sprinter and so did John. That annoyed me a
little so I wanted to prove a point. I started
the sprint very early on which I never do but it
was down hill with a tail wind. I also thought a
long sprint would hurt the other two as I got the
feeling they were tired and starting to cramp. I
put the head down stuck it in the biggest gear
and went for the line. I looked under my arm to
see Terrys` wheel coming at me but he died off
when there was a good 100 metres to go. I was
right about the long sprint and I had plenty of
time to celebrate (I'm just glad they didn't come
around while I had my hands up). I knew that
wouldn't happen because when a sprinter gives up
that's it!!!!. ! I'll be on the hunt in Kilmessen
for another win. So watch this space.........
Keith Daly
|
Kathleen O'Sullivan
Memorial
Saturday
August 24th 2002
This race was run over 7 laps of the near
forgotten Boot Inn course and was a race for all
categories run on a h/cap basis. By lap three the B, C
& Vets categories were together. Small
groups of riders had tried in vain to escape this bunch but
all were back in the fold when Brian Aherne (Naas)
and Phil Finegan (Cycleways) came accross after breaking
clear from the chasing A group. With the rest of the A's
fast approaching, there was no time to hang around and
both riders attacked straight away. Both riders managed
to stay clear despite some disconserting noises
coming from Finegan's loosening saddle. The sprint
for the line was taken by Aherne, with Finegan in close
attendance. Next in, just a few seconds in arrears was a
group of three riders lead by the newly crowned Irish
Criterium Champion, Paul Doyle (Deeside), from Robert
Whelan (Avonmore) and Laurence Roche (Team BH). The
bunch sprint for 6th place was taken by local rider,
Simon Whelan (McNally Swords) in a tight finish.
Great turnout of Swords riders, I counted 17!
Boot Inn : 35
Miles 1:20:15
1. Brian Aherne (Naas Figrolls) 2. Phil
Finegan (Cycleways Lee Strand) 3. Paul Doyle (Deeside)
4. Robert Whelan (Navan Avonmore) 5. Laurence Roche(Team
BH) 6. Simon Whelan (McNally Swords)
B 1.Pat Byrne (Dublin Wheelers) 2.Brett
Nelson (IMBRC)
C 1. Derek Irwin (Team BH) 2.
Darren McMahon (McNally Swords)
Vet 1.Terry Ferris (Dublin Wheelers)
2. Mick Rock (McNally Swords)
Jun1.Keith Daly (McNally Swords)
Lady 1.Grace McNally (McNally
Swords) 2.Tess Quinlan (McNally Swords)
German Ironman
Please
detailed below Frank Ferguson's report on his recent
Ironman event in Germany. I think would be of great
interest to both the Club new letter and forum.
Distances for Ironman: Swim 2.4 miles - Cycle 112
miles - Run 26 miles (full marathon) As you can see
this is not a sport for the faint hearted and as you well
know they only breed HARD MEN in Skerries
Regards, Paul
Report from Frank
Ferguson below:
Paul, Many thanks for your good luck note. Overall the
race was very hard. Temperature was 34 degrees with high
humidity.I am swimming better now than last year and I
was hoping to do the swim in 1.10 to 1.15 but the design
of the swim course led to a very crowded swim
and I ended up with 1.21. This was 3 mins slower than
Austria last year. The bike course had no really bad
hills but there were a number of drags,wind, short
sections of cobblestone (the worst riding experience you
could
imagine), and many sharp turns which slowed everyone down.
Generally the bike was hard work in very hot conditions
and everyone seemed to suffer. My bike time was almost 20
mins slower than Austria.
I was ok for the first few km of the run but then felt
awful and believed for a while that I would not be able
to finish or would exceed 12.5 or 13 hrs. The heat and
humidity took its vengeance in a hard way. I had to walk
1 km. With an amount of effort I recovered and got
going again. I finished the run in 4.06, which gave me an
amount of satisfaction.
I came in 26th in my age group out of 100 starters and 91
finishing (my runwas 16th best of the 100 in my age group).
Overall I came in 673 out of 1800 starters. My time was 4
mins faster than Austria but the course was alot harder.
The quality of entrants was very high as Germany is the
strongest Ironman nation in Europe and they all came for
Frankfurt's 1st Ironman. The support around the course
was fantastic with an estimate of 150,000 to 180,000
spectators. Some of the hills had crowds like the Tour de
France. The organisation in nearly all areas was
brilliant. The facilities for competitors were superb.
To sum up, a very hard day. In the early stages of the
run I told myself (more than once) that it was time to
find another sport, which did not involve such levels of
pain. When I crossed the finish line the pain seemed less
significant.
I have had no after effects from the race other than
minor muscle stiffness in the legs. Recovery appears to
be good. I look forward to seeing you soon and filling
you in on the details.
Thanks again for your message,
Very best regards, Frank.
Swords McNally
Grand Prix, Ballyboughal
Sunday 11th August
2002
(A/B Race)
A strong field contested the Swords McNally Grand Prix
over six laps of the Ballyboughal - Naul course. One of
the pre-race favourites, Stephen O'Sullivan (unatt) made
an early exit with a broken chain, and a crash on the
slippery roads on lap 1 at the Ballyboughal Monument
delayed some others. The main move of the day came on the
2nd time up the Nags head when Simon Whelan (McNally
Swords) attacked and went clear with 4 riders incl Paddy
Moriarty (Dub Skip), Shane Baker(Usher), Peter Dunne (Avonmore)
and Brian Lennon (St Tiernans). Two laps later the break
was down to three riders(Moriarty,Whelan & Lennon)
and the gap was hovering between 1 an 2 minutes. On the
second last time up the Nag's, Moriarty launched a savage
& decisive attack on a 53x16 and his fellow escapees
were unable to respond.The Team Ireland Initiative rider
then proceeded to open up an unasailable gap over the
closing laps, while Whelan and Lennon held off a strong
chasing group. This group which incl three Cycleways
riders made serious inroads into the gap over the closing
miles but after being out there for so long Whelan and
Lennon weren't going to be denied and dug deep to hold
them off. Paddy Moriarty finished a clear and worthy
winner and heads off now to partake in the Surrey 5 Day.
(C/J/V Race)
An early attack by Mark Nestor (Shannonside) was joined
by local rider Anthony McMahon and this duo stayed clear
for the rest of the race with both riders sharing the
load while Nestor lead on the climbs, the heavier McMahon
drove it on the faster sections. Meanwhile an abundance
of Swords riders in chasing bunch made sure that these
two stayed clear and after a hard race they sportingly
crossed the line together to take 1st Junior and 1st Vet.
Over the closing stages Jason Ludgate escaped from the
bunch to take 1st C.
(A/B
RaceBallyboughal (6 x 12 mile laps)
1. Paddy Moriarty (Dublin Skip) 2. Simon Whelan (McNally
Swords CC) 3. Brian Lennon (St Tiernans) 4. Robert Whelan
(Navan Avonmore) 5. Ray Clarke (Cycleways Lee Strand) 6.
Mark Kiernan (Provision) 7. Philip Finegan (Cycleways Lee
Strand 8. Dave Peelo (Usher IRC) 9. Aidan Crowley (Cycleways
Lee Strand) 10.Shane Prendergast (Naas Figroll)
B Cat 1. John Cruise (Bray Wheelers) 2. Dave Dukes (Usher
IRC) 3. Henry Crowley Waterford CC
V/J/C
(4 x 12 mile laps)
Vets 1. Anthony McMahon (McNally Swords CC) 2. Terry
Ferris (Dublin Wheelers) 3. Gerry Martin (McNally Swords
CC)
C Race 1. Jason Ludgate (McNally Swords CC) 2. Noel Kelly
(Stamullen M Donnelly) 3. Greg O'Donnell (Unatt.)
Juniors 1. Mark Nestor (Shannonside) = Colm Crawley (Balbriggan
CC) 3. John O'Mahony (Four Masters) 4. Michael Holland (McQuaid
Tyres)
Klondyke Cup -
Robinstown Co Meath
Sunday July 28th 2002
Report
from Simon Whelan below:
An hour before the race started it began to rain - some
rain would be nice, for a change!
The race was 12 laps of a 5 mile circuit with a long drag
to the finish the only incline worth reporting. The
Swords/McNally riders were out in force and as we rolled
away from the start I was determined to get into the
winning move, as I seem to be in chasing groups all the
time these days, so I decided to go up the road with
everything that moved.
After a lap, 15 riders clipped away and I was in the move.
We got working well and nobody missed a turn. After a lap
we got a gap for 30 seconds and it steadily grew to 1:30
at the half way mark. The break had 2 Usher riders (Baker
& Swinard), 2 Naas riders (Looby and Prendergast),
Stephen O'Sullivan, Brian Lennon, Conor Murphy and a few
others. It was a strong group but I knew that Cycleways
would be chasing hard as they had nobody in the move so
the hammer stayed down, until a time check came in with
the bunch at 3 minutes.
5 laps to go and I felt great but I had to watch some of
the big guns. With 3 laps to go the jumping started. I
let a few up the road knowing they were no treat until
Sully went. I let him get the gap and I put it in the 11
and went after him and got across. The 2 of us put our
heads down and got a gap quickly. We heard that Brian
Lennon was trying to get across and as there was 15 miles
still to go so we waited for him. Over the next 2 laps we
built up a gap of a minute and it was obvious that the
race was between us 3. Going into the last lap Sully
tried a few attacks, they didn't trouble me, but it
signalled his intentions and I decided to ease off on the
last lap and let them try and drop me. There was a bit of
cat and mouse but I got into the last mile and Brian
Lennon attacked hard as Sully and I just looked at each
other, Sully closed the gap and I jumped past as hard as
I could in the 53*12 to take a very satisfying win for
myself and McNally Swords CC.
Simon
Whelan
Swords one-two in
the Vets!
Wednesday July 9th 2002
Tonight
Gerry Martin took a thrilling victory in the A race. Club
sponsor Joe McNally attacked and got clear in the long
straight to the finish. The lead in to the finish is a
few miles long and its a hard one judge, very few
landmarks and seems to go on forever! Very few manage to
hold on when they do escape. As the line came in to view
the bunch were bearing down on Joe, so Gerry jumped
straight accross assuring that the victory went to Swords,
with Joe hanging on for 2nd place from Seamus Kennedy (Avonmore)3rd,
and our own John Shortt 5th. A long overdue reward for
Gerry who always gives 110% every time he races.
In the C race Dave Blake took the sprint for 2nd place
after Eamonn Thackenberry(Newbridge CC) had made a
decisive solo break at Skreen, with Jim Ludden 6th.
Sorry lads I couldn't replicate your success in the B
Race despite the advise and shelter from my domestique
for the night Mick Rock, who missed his start. I did have
a few few stabs and eventually cramped on my final effort
on the last hill. Not quite good enough.............yet!
National U/age
Championships
Saturday & Sunday July 6th/7th 2002
Our
club was ably
represented at the National U/age Championships, hosted
by Bray Wheelers, by Niall Rock(U12), Grace McNally &
Michael Daly(U14), Sean Rock(U15) and James Whelan(U16).
Stage 1 was a short, fast & furious, TT along the
promenade in Bray and was followed in the afternoon by 6
separate criterium races (which I was fortunate to see)
for the various age categories. This stage proved to be
exciting stuff, run on a tight .6 mile circuit that
included a hill and some tricky corners. In the U11 race,
saw Colm Crawley's niece Ciara (Balbriggan CC) given a
good account of herself, and a rising star Benner Maguire
from Drogheda Wheelers lead for the first few laps
despite being just 9 years of age. Benner gave it
everything and finished the weekend 8th overall in the U11
category. Next up was the U12 race with Niall, and
Stephen McKenna's sister Laura. Niall, as cool as you
like, never moved outside the top 6 for the entire race
and finish 4th. Niall showed consistent form over the
weekend with 4th in the TT,4th in the Crit and 3rd in the
Road Race. Next up for Swords was Grace McNally &
Michael Daly in the U14 Crit. The pace in this race was
quite intensive, but both riders were up to the task. At
the midpoint 6 riders looked like they might go clear w
ith a short gap to three riders which incl the Swords duo.
We needn't have worried as the next lap was lead out by
Michael, and Grace was at the head of affairs at the next
lap. Shortly after this Grace didn't show for the next
lap having crashed (& punctured) on the back end of
the circuit. Back on for next lap but there was too
little time to get back in contention but still managed 8th.
Nearly missed Michael in the sprint as a rider, Gavin
Brown, crashed yards from the line and actually slid
across the line (just) for 4th place. Gavin had also
crashed earlier in the race but ended the weekend as the
U14 All Ireland Champion. Michael Daly added his 6th
placing in the Crit to 8th in the TT, and a good showing
in Road Race gave him 7th place overall. Certainly a
rider coming into a rich vein of form and should do well
in the Kerry Youth Tour.
Next up was Sean in the U15 race. This race did split up
considerably, but Sean stayed in the lead group
throughout finishing 10th for the stage. He was quite
pleased with his performance, as he had come back from a
few weeks in the Gaeltact, where he undoubtedly went to
bed early every night !!! He also made it into the break
in the road race and finished 8th in that. The U16 race
had James Whelan representing us. Unfortunately he got
caught behind a crash early on and couldn't get back in
contention. Stephen McKenna (Balbriggan CC) was well up
there, but his luck ran out the next day in the Road Race
over a quite hilly course, when in the break a short
distance from the finish......his chain snapped. Great
racing for those who were fortunate enough to be in it
and for those who were fortunate enough to see it.
Report
from Michael Daly Jnr. below:
It was an early start for the 8.30am sign on in Bray
for the National Youth Championships 2002. The weather
was good to start with but there was some dodgy dark
clouds hanging around but we did manage to get through
the 2 day event without any major rainfall. The 1st stage
was a 1km time trial along the sea front. It was so short
it was really a sprint the whole way. When it was my turn
I went all out, gave it my best and ended up joint 6th .
Stage 2 was a crit around the back streets of bray and
finishing on the sea front. We all got off to a flying
start with plenty of attacks from the Killorglin and
Kanturk lads and ended up lapping some of the dropped
riders. Grace Mc Nally attempted an attack on the last
lap but was clipped by the wheel of another rider and
crashed. I was still hanging on in the group until the
last corner when they pulled away leaving me to take 6th
place. This was a very dangerous course and there were
several crashes. One rider crashed just before the
finished and managed to roll over the line to take 3rd
place. By the end of these two events I was lying in 6th
place overall. There was lots of plasters and bandaged to
be seen on Sunday morning for the start of the 3rd stage,
a 15 mile road race in Roundwood. This was a very hilly
course and very hard for lots of riders including myself.
The start of the race was on a downhill and a good few
riders got dropped early. When we got to the last lap
there was a break of six riders. Grace and I worked well
together but those Wicklow hills were a killer and I
ended up in 10th place and Grace in 9th. I lost my 6th
position but managed to end the 2002 National
Championships in 7thposition overall. I was very happy
with my performance as I beat many of my old rivals. See
you in Killorglin lads!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael Daly Jnr
<Link
to all 2002 u/age results>
<Photos
on IrishCycling.com>
Navan Criterium :
Simon wins 'flat out'!
Tuesday July 2nd 2002
Report
from Simon Whelan below:
I didn't know whether to not to
ride this one or not as I was a bit tired after the
exertions of the last week when I rode 4 races in 7 days,
including the little matter of that 4 hour rain soaked
spin on Sunday. The race was 8 laps of a 4 mile
undulating circuit. The Stamullen lads were there in
force and looking ambitious too. The C's, Juniors and
Vets were given a 5 minute handicap and the A's and Bs
were chasing together. The race settled down and we
caught all but two the first group, two juniors Andrew
McQuaid and Stephen Enright. These two were 30 seconds
ahead with 2 laps (8 miles) to go. There were a couple of
jumps made to bridge the gap but nothing serious until
Robert Whelan attacked and the bunch sat up. As soon as
they sat up I went after Robert and we got working
quickly and we got a gap of about 20 seconds at the bell.
Soon we caught the 2 juniors and there were only 3 miles
to go when I got that terrible sensation that my back
wheel was softening. 'Was I imagining it' - NO I was
flatting and with only 2 miles to go. It was a matter of
getting to the finish before it was completely flat and
not letting the other realise my predicament. Robert
attacked out of the final corner, which I took very
slowly. I got back up to him and decided to lead out the
sprint from 400 metres out with my back wheel sliding
around behind me, and I managed to hold on for my first
win of the year. Result:
1. Simon
Whelan (McNally Swords CC) 2. Andrew McQuaid (Emerald CC) 3. Robert Whelan (Avonmore Navan)
4. Stephen Enright (Usher IRC) 5. Fintan McCormack (Newbridge
Cutlery CC) 6. Craig Sweetman (Stamullen M
Donnelly RC)
Simon
Whelan
National Road
Race C/ships, Stamullen
Sunday June 30th 2002
Report
from Simon Whelan below:
Standing
on the start line, getting cold while the legendary Gaybo
Howard entertained the masses and built up a wonderful
atmosphere. All the Pro's and full timers were looking
quite relaxed but I could tell that they understood the
importance of the next four hours to their careers.
Finally the mighty Swords team were called up to the line,
I went to put my foot into my pedal and slipped and put
my foot down, Gearoid clipped my back wheel and we almost
had the first crash of the day but we both had a good
laugh at it !
The flag was dropped and we were off ! Cass was the first
off the front but I think it was a token effort. I got
myself into the first 20 on the road and prepared for the
first climb. McCann went off the front so I thought why
not get onto that so I went across to him with a big
effort. I sat on him and just before the climb he
punctured so I was on my own and decided to sit up. I hit
the climb for the first time and was in big trouble and
could not get my breath but I got over and it took the
next lap to get warmed up. After that it was a case of
staying near the front and out of trouble. I knew with
the tough weather and course conditions that a lot of
people would get shelled and that was the case with the
bunch shrinking each lap. On the second lap John Lally
punctured and with a big chase got back on and that was
an achievement as the bunch was not hanging around,
unfortunately the replacement wheel given by neutral
service was flat too and that spelt the end of Johns race,
a pity because he looked great on the climb. As every lap
went by the groups were getting smaller and we had the
Stamullen and Earl of Desmond riders working hard at the
front including a very strong Paul Griffin. We were
catching a lot of riders and I was suddenly thinking of a
top 15 place, until I hit the last 2 laps where my lack
of racing this year was taking its toll. As the line outs
persisted I started to look forward to the climb for a
rest. I asked Gearoid how he was doing and he too said it
was now a matter of survival, but then I looked up and
say him on the front and we were going about 30 mph.
Gearoid was on the ride of his life - flying!!.
When we finished I hear the result and was delighted to
hear that Scanlon won and hopefully this will help him
get a Pro contract. For me I was glad to get the miles in
the bank and I am looking forward to the Navan Crit on
Tuesday and the Swords World Champs on Wednesday week.
This was a tremendous event that impressed all that took
part. Well done to the Swords and Stamullen Clubs for
their wonderful efforts and a big Thank you to Mick,
Brian and the two Seans (Lally and Rock) for their back
up support throughout the race and to all the Swords
members that were cheering our team on, all the way
around the circuit.
Simon
Whelan
National
Time Trial C/ships, Navan
Friday June 28th 2002
Report from Pat Halpin below: |
Mick Rock and myself
represented the club at this event, run over 1
lap of the Meath Grand Prix circuit, distance 43km
- the official UCI TT standard. On a breezy
evening, over a very very difficult course the
vets title went to Sean Bracken (Usher IRC), with
Jim Cassisdy (DPC First Legal) 2nd and Mark
Birney (Maryland Wheelers) in third place. I
finished 4th. 12 sec down on Birney with Mick
Rock 6th. 30 sec was all that seperated 2nd, 3rd
& 4th, so the competition was quite close
making it disappointing to finish just outside
the medals. Times in both Senior & Vets
categories were relativley slow due to the
distance and severity of the course. David McCann
who won the senior event had just come off a 20
min 10 the previous week and won as he liked in
56 min. Only two seniors (both pros) broke the
hour, while Sean Bracken won the vets title in a
time of 1:05, while he had won an IVCA TT the
previous week in 58 minutes.
Times are all relative, so we shouldn't be put
off by the super fast times we read week in wek
out in the Cycling Weekly from the North and
Britain. Anyway , Mick Rock said he hadn't
enjoyed an hour on the bike as much in years (The
Savage), and the sandwiches weren't half bad
either, so maybe we'll be back next year!!
Next stop , the Isle of Mann on the 14th July for
Cycling Week, where I take part in a 10, a 25 a 2-up
with 'nearly' Swords man Aidan Hammond. I will
also take part in the Vets Road Race run over the
Motorcycle TT course - something to look forward
to!!!!!!!
Pat
Halpin
|
Picture
courtesy of
Gerry
McManus
|
Stephen Roche
Grand Prix
Wednesday June 26th 2002
Georoid Loughnane
continued his fine run of form in the Stephen Roche Grand
Prix last night. ThCriterium is always run at a frantic
pace and is a race which Simon has placed 1st & 2nd
in in recent years. Might be worth putting a few bob on
Gearoid for the upcoming Club C/ship. By the way it looks
like Gearoid 'edged' out Brian Taffe ........this time!!!!!!!!!
Report
from Gearoid below:
Group of 3
clear by 2 seconds, sprint finish by remainder of bunch.
This was a handicapped race with C`s, Juniors and Ladies
off first, B`s at 45 seconds and A`s at 30 seconds. The B`s
caught the first group after 8 laps of 29 and held off
all except 9 A riders. Group of 3 jumped clear with 500m
to go and held off sprinting bunch in which 2 or 3 riders
came off in a heavy collision. Result:1: Graham Thomas (Finglas
Ravens) , 2: Tim Aherne (UCD), 3: Emmet Roche (Navan
Avonmore), 4: Stephen O`Sullivan
(Unattached), 5: Gearoid Loughnane (McNally
Swords), 6: Brian Taffe (DWCC).
Regards
Gearoid
The Corkman 3-day:Stage
Win for Swords
Stage
3 - Criterium: Sunday May 5th
2002
Report
from John Lally below:
Stage 3 was a Criterium run as 15 laps
of a 3 mile circuit which included two hills. The race
started at a fairly fast pace. Aidan Hammond was in
yellow. Todays race was always going to be decided ovet
the latter laps because the elastic was stretching with
every rider in the bunch. On a circuit like this I had to
cover every move as any move could be the one to succeed
but I had decided to merely cover the early moves as a
passenger, saving my efforts for any move in the third
last lap or so. As we started into the third lap , Paul
Reid had been up the road for about 2 miles. I decided it
was time to move. I attacked on the hill on my own. I
knew if it was hurting me, it certainly was hurting
everyone else. As I turned the corner after about 300
yards I saw another rider trying to come accross. It was
Paudi and we worked together well to pick up Paul Reid.
Paul stayed for a while but his solo attack had taken
some of the sting out of him and soon it was just Padi
& myself. We continued to work well together to hold
the bunch at bay. At 500 yards I decided it was time to
stop coming round and gamble for the win. The bunch was
about 7 sec behind and Paudi wanted me to come through
again saying we would be caught. I wanted the win, and
the best way to get it was to keep him in front. If we
were caught so be it..... First on last I didnt care, but
I didnt want to be second! With 200 to go I launched, and
had time for a two handed salute and at last had opened
my account for Swords for the year
John
Lally
Win for hometown
boy, Liam Maguire!
IVCA
Clane DMS: Sunday April 21st 2002
Liam Maguire had only
one thing on his mind today, and that was to try for a
win in his hometown. The race started at a frantic pace,
and I was beginning to wonder was someone trying to catch
the A race. As the race approached the finish for the
first time of the three lap race, Liam went off the front
briefly, to do a recce, I presume, of the finish. This
would have told him that there was a stiff headwind in
the finishing straight, and this would temper how he
approached things in the closing stages. Indeed the windy
conditions made it difficult for anyone to escape. As we
headed into the final lap, attacks from Paul Maxwell and
myself made sure the bunch were chasing Swords riders,
instead of Swords riders having to close gaps. We managed
to keep a lid on things until dangerman Jimmy Stagg made
an explosive attack which needed Liam to show his hand to
close. After that the bunch slowed over the last few
miles with no one anxious to attack into the wind. Liam
maintained an imposing presence close to the front to
discourage any moves. Then coming into the last corner,
about 800 yards to go Liam attacked. The front men looked
at each other to see who would close the gap, allowing
him to gain a slight advantage. It was a difficult finish
into the wind, but Liam knew what he was at and
maintained the gap to the line and proceeded to wake all
in Clane with a mighty roar! Clane is where Liam is from
originaly, and he came looking for a win today............and
he got it in style!!
Elsewhere. in the A race Pat Halpin put in a strong
performance to finish a creditable 6th after three riders
had made an early escape and Jim Ludden finshed 4th after
the closing of a single rider over the last few miles
took the edge off his sprint.
Nerja Training
Camp!
Report
from Eamonn O'Murchu below:
For the fifth year in a row,
ambitious members of our cyling club have travelled to
Nerja in Southern Spain, where they are enduring a
rigorous and demanding training schedule under the
focused direction of the Chef de Campo, Tess Quinlan. The
members of this A team are under the strict supervision
of Sheila Blake, who insists there is no drink,
intemperate language or impatience even during the most
trying of circumstances. Talking of trying circumstances
Tommy Markham continues to annoy, provoke, and challenge
the weaker members of the team, especially the shy and
self-conscious Eamonn O Murchu. The most successful of
cyclists has to be that elephant of a man, Dave Blake,
who continues to climb the highest of mountains in
Southern Spain with the greatest of ease, followed (at
some length it has to be admitted) by Piston Tess and the
90K Ken Brennan a considerable distance back. The find of
the current season is the man himself Granny TQ, so aptly
named because of his use of the most modern of technology
on his yellow sleek machine - the Granny Wheel). Betty
Markham is again this year Masseuse Extraordinaire to the
Head Buck Abbot, Lugs Ludden, whose sinews and muscles
glisten while on the bike, and whose vocal cords enhance
and enliven as he sings on his bike and makes the hills
alive with the sound of music.
Seriously though, it was a wonderful two week cycling
event for the nine cyclists concerned. The nine cyclists,
Terry & Tess Quinlan, Tom & Bettty Markham, Dave
& Sile Blake, Jim Ludden, Ken Brennan and Eamonn O
Murchu each cycled over 500 miles ,in all kinds of
terrain, flat, hilly and mountainous. The ultimate
achievement was that by Dave Blake and Tess Quinlan when
on the last week they climbed a 16 mile category one
mountain. This was an outstanding achievement by two
great cyclists. Great credit is due
also to Tom & Betty Markham and to Sile Blake for
cycling a considerable distance up the same mountain on
the same day. The title "King of the Mountains"
is still retained this year by Jim Ludden, who constantly
and consistently led the field over Ludden's Hill, named
after him by the local Municipal Authority last year -
each day. And watch out for Ken Brennan. Based on this
year's performance he will be Jim Ludden's greatest
challenge next year in Nerja. After a hard day's cycling
the group used dine well, and after dining retire to a
local hostelry, nicknamed "the yeacht" because
of its lack of opulence. Such was the intensity and
ferocity of the debate there each night, that these
discussions became known as "The Senate in the Yacht"
. Cathaoirleach of the Seanad was the one and only Tom
Markham who had so much to say that all others had to
shout and clamour over his loud and increasingly voice to
be heard! Our grateful thanks are due to Terry and Tess
Quinlan whose gracious hospitality and limitless patience
made this tour possible.
Eamonn
O'Murchu
Gorey 3-Day -
Keiths report
(Apologies
but mail with this report was lost )
Report
from Keith Daly below:
Day
1 Saturday
30th March 2002 . My first obstacle was the 180 riders
surrounding me and having to fight for the wheel of the
top peddlers. It's a bit different from underage
racing. You can get caught behind a wall of lads
and miss the breaks. Sean Lally advised me to sit tight and
ride in the bunch. The 120 Km from Tallagh to Gorey
was the longest race I have ever ridden but I felt
surprisingly strong and the 42 chainring my Dad fitted on
friday helped me over the drags in Hacketstown and other
places along the way. I was worried about Hascketstown
hill since the training weekend in January, when the club
star Simon Wheelan blew us all away except Pat Halpin
with a gut bursting attack that my Dad is still talking
about. After this training session I was having
second thoughts about going to Gorey but with
encouragement from the lads I am now glad that I gave it
a go. John Lally got into the winning break with some
help from Garoid and finished a super 6th on the
stage. This put him into a nice place on GC and put
McNally Swords the 3rd best team after stage 1. I
was very happy to finish in the main bunch at 2.03.
All in all a good day, and riding alongside the
great Sean Kelly was a nice experience.
Day
2 31st March 2001:
4 mileTime Trial After a nights sleep and some good
nourishment from Mrs Anne Sunderland (Hillside B&B)
I woke up in good form for the 4 mile Time Trial.
Due to a mix up over my entry my start time was 11.40am,
a bit later than I would have liked with the afternoon
stage due to start at 1.30pm. I just rode my
standard bike for this time trial, no add ons, no fancy
wheels or helmet and did a time of 8.19mins Back to
the B&B for a light snack ,rest and a leg massage in
preparation for stage 3.
Day
2
Sunday 31st March :Stage
3
Feeling a little tired by now but
riding ok in the main bunch until some bright spark
leaned back to get something to eat and brought half the
bunch down. I landed on my ass in the nettles (sore!!),
and my bike tangled up with the other unfortunates.
By the time I got moving again I could see the bunch
sailing away in the distance. Try as I may they
would not be caught so about 30 of us accepted our faith
and rode home in the laughing group, about 20 minutes
down on the winner. Not such a good day today but
enjoying the experience.
Day
3 Monday 1st April 2002
:Stage 4 Felt better today.
Recovered well from the wars and thinking I could even
have a go. The speed was the highest of the whole weekend
on the journey home. The Mc Nally Team were
all riding comfortably in the bunch and were in good
spirits as we were now on our way home. Paudi O'
Brien in his yellow jersey was happy to ride
along with us mortals as he already had the trophy safe
and sound. Many thanks to John Lally, Sean Lally.
Allen Duffy, Anto Mc Mahon, Garoid Loughnane, Sean
Tierney and Tony O Malley for making my first senior
event a weekend to remember and to Terry,Johnny, Mick
Qwen and Michael for looking after us all.
Keith Daly
Gorey 3-Day - My
first stage race !
Report
from Tony O'Malley below:
Stage 1: Saturday March 30th
2002
I was feeling a mixture of nerves and excitment at
the start in tallaght, our support team were making sure
that bikes were in working order and that all tags and
numbers were secure, and everyone had signed on.
There was a big bunch starting, about a half hour before
the start Kelly arrived with rather large Kit bag, so he's
definately riding ! Jesus I'm thinking will he make today's
stage faster than normal, I hope not ! After an hour on
the road I was feeling comfortable, eventhough the speed
was fast, at this stage we had two riders up the road,
John Lally and Geroid Loughnane, I managed Hacketstown OK
but it was the drag after that, Carnew that was a bit
more gruelling ! I think we lost some 30 riders off the
back at this stage ! with about 15 to go John was still
sitting the Break but Geariod had come back to the main
bunch, he had put in a real hard ride up there. With
about 8 miles to go I started to work my way up to the
front of the bunch and disaster struck ! before I knew it
I was on the ground, the impact caused my right leg to
cramp and I could n't bend it. A guy beside Anto McMahon
had taken him down on a downhill bend, I think the guy
paniced cos it was a very sharp and fast turn and to make
things worse there were cars pulled in on the right by
one of the Motorbikes. Anyway I could n't avoid going
into the backof them ! While I was trying to fix my leg
Anto couldn't find his bike when I saw him looking into
the ditch and across the road, it was yards down the road
! I can laugh now at this now ! The other guy got into
the ambulance, the driver kept asking "do you want
to get in?" "no not really" I replied, the
thoughts of sitting around the B&B or watching the
race did n't appeal to me ! Anto was gone at this stage,
and I managed to losen out my leg after about 5 minutes
and got back on the bike and finishing 9'30" down on
the winner, but I was happy, I survived my first fall
from a Racer !A good rest a plenty of food would
hopefully have me right for the Time Trial the next day!
John Lally placed 6th putting him nicely in contention
with the TT to come and setting the team up for a high
placing.
Stage
2: Sunday March 31st
2002
I felt OK in the morning as myself Sean & Geariod
cycled out to Cloughto the start of the 4 mile TT. John
Lally was already there warming up in style on the
trainer. He went off first, then Geriod, and then myself.
It was a very fast start 35-38 mph and a good tail wind,
I was happy with 7'54 and John did a 7'42 which was the
second fastest time of the morning starters, I think the
wind picked up after that ! Back for breakfast and rest
before the afternoon stage.
Stage
3: Sunday March 31st
2002
The weather was damp and dull, the rain held off,
but the speed did not, when we hit the main road it was
up to around 38 mph and lined out in single file ! on the
second lap there was a pile up mid bunch, the back road
was quite narrow and there were bodies and bikes all
across the road, people were panicing to get through as
the bunch went on ahead. I managed to get around and rode
hard with a few other chasers, by the time I got the the
main road I had blew my Lights, Sean Lally and Anto
passed me by but I wasn't strong enough to take a wheel,
I was very pissed off, I should n't have been in such a
panic to get back on ! I started to do the third lap on
my own, passing by some others who had blown up aswell,
John Wall passed by his arm on the window of a car doing
50 !! he was later disqualified for this. The bike
was definately going in next Wednesday's Buy & Sell,
a million other thoughts entered my mind, none of
which were anything to do with cycling ! Just as I was
finishing the third lap, Keith Daly caught my wheel with
one of the lads fromthe North Bucks Team, himself and
Sean Tierney were involved in the earlier crash, Kieth
was sore, and badly stung but OK, as we approached the
turn off from the main road a bunch of about 25 lads spun
( Sean T included ) by and we very gladly joined the
bunch most of which were either the crash or held up by
it.The finish couldn't come any sooner I had nothing left
in the tank for the last few miles. After the finished I
got into the van and didn't even ride back to the B&B,
I was wondering if I could recover enough for the ride
home tomorrow ! It was another solid ride for John &
Geariod finishing in the bunch just couple of minutes
behind winning break. Sean Lally and Anto finshed
comfortably in the second bunch, it was a great ride from
Anto as he spent Saturday nite with a bag of frozen
peas on his knee to keeping the swellin' down ! Sunday
nite's dinner was beef, and we ate every last morsel put
in front of us. I was beginning feel a bit normal again
after dinner ! The B&B was brilliant the rooms
were great and food was excellent, I might even go back
down without the bike ! After dinner I went straight back
to the room and drank plenty of water that evening, and
tried to do as little as possible to try and recover as
best I could for tomorrow, I really wanted to finish with
the bunch tomorrow and avoid any trouble.
Stage
4: Monday April 1st
2002
We packed our bags in the morning, it was damn but
not raining, as we left the B&B the cows in the field
opposite all began to sit, and the rain came down only
minutes later. We cycled into Gorey and were wet before
the start. I signed on the Pub in gorey and that larger
than life figure appeared beside me signing on at the
same time, Sean Kelly, he was wearing a long white rain
cape and seemed in good form, he went downstairs to the
bar and ordered a cup of tea, and sat with it, this
looked like a ritual he has been dong for years on
miserable wet race days, I wonder did he have a cup of
Lyons before the Paris-Roubaix in 84 ? it always rains
that Sunday ! I cycled up to the start, the legs were
feeling OK this morning which was surprising as I found
yesterday took alot out of me. And we were off, it was
fairly fast and I found myself hovering at the back for
the first hour, the fall had unnerved me a bit, the rain
did n't stop and it was cold ! but once your competely
wet it doesn't matter, no crashes today, and no breaks
either, everyone just wanted to get home in one piece !
John Lally was feeling unwell the night before, so he
decided not to start, he was dead right though, riding
with a touch of anything in these conditions, could end
up out for a month, I hope you are recovering well!
Everyone else was sitting fine in the bunch, which got a
bit smaller from 164 to 123 starters on the last stage. I
was feeling good keeping close to Sean Lally's wheel,
reckoning that this man knows how to keep out of trouble
! but after 1 hour and a half in the saddle I found
myself slipping off the back with 3 others, there was no
way at this stage so close to home that I was going to
ride back on my own. One of the lads from IMBRC came
round me and I caught his wheel, I got a chance to
recover slightly and I started riding through, within
about 10 minutes we were back up the the bunch again, I
kept moving up the bunch, there was no way I wanted to go
South again ! when we got to Baltinglas the rain had
stopped and the Sun was shining, I was sitting
comfortably spinning at about 30 mph when we hit the main
road, with 15 miles to go there were two guys up the road
@ 45' and Tim Ahern held the bunch off out there on his
own to take the last stage, that was a great effort ! I
was a happy bunny when I reached the finish in the Bunch
!
I would like to thank everyone who came along, they
made my first stage race a memorable one, The Lads; Sean
Lally, John Lally, Keith Daly, Alan Duffy, Geriod
Loughnane. The Great Support Crew; Terry, Johnny, Pauline,
Mick. My Room Mates for the motivation and advice; Sean
Tierney, Anthony & Owen McMahon and special
thanks to Aidan Hammond who has helped me with my
training over the last couple of months.It was great Team
effort, and dispite a few crashs we came 5th Team Overall.
No Red cards need over the weekend.
<Irish
Cycling.com's page incl videos, photos etc>
<Seamus
Shortall comprehensive Race results>
<Cycling
News's page on Gorey incl results>
'Tones'
Des Hanlon
Memorial
Sunday March 24th 2002
B-race
Them's hard men in this part of the country and todays 90
mile hilly course was always going to be a serious test.
John Lally got himself into a five man break after two
miles , and these stayed clear up to the sixty mile mark
when they were joined by five more. John continued to
work with this break until 'his lights blew' with twenty
miles to go. His form was good but didnt quite have a 90
mile race in his legs just yet, but its early days! You
just cant seem to keep him off Peter Puirfields photo
page. <Photos>
C/Vets/Jun
-race This race was
a severe 67 miles of racing, and sure enough when a ten
man break formed on lap 1, Anto was in it. That is until
half of them , incl Anto, crashed on the decent. Anto,
bruised & battered, remounted (hopefuly on his own
bike) and rejoined the race. One by one the break was
reeled in by a group of chasers that incl Pat Halpin.
This was Pat's kind of course......plenty of hills, and
such was the severity of the course that many riders didn't
finish. The third and fourth place riders on the road
were just caught on the run to the line by Pat's group,
with Pat finishing 11th(4th Vet). This was a day when Pat
mixed it with the best of them, an excellent performance.
C/Vets/Jun
-race Not much to
report results wise, except the recently returned to
racing, John Condon, was in good form and was in the
break for some time. This in contrast to Sundays race was
run over a very fast course. Sean had been wondering if
anyone else was thinking that the speed was high when
Lawrence Roche remarked about the speed of the race. As
Sean says 'When an ex-pro says its fast......it's fast"
St Patricks
Weekend Racing
Leinster
League: Race 3 Saturday March 16th
2002
Plenty of racing to be had over the weekend and Swords
riders in all of them. Racing started on Saturday with
the third round of the Leinster League. Mick Rock was
prominent in the early break from the Vets/Cat3 group and
this move was clear for some time. A's & B's started
together and Pepe was in the first break which was
attempting to bridge to the Vets/C's.Shortly afterwards
John Lally also escaped with 3 others, picked up Pepe and
all worked to get across, but the gap wasn't coming down
enough to warrant a continued effort esp. with a race to
come on Sunday. New signing, Keith Daly, placed first
Junior to maintain some pride for the Swords lads.
Carrick
Challenge Cup Sunday March 17th
2002
Two races on Sunday. Sean, John and Garoid went to
Carrick on Suir to a race run on the Championship course.
A field of heavy hitters incl.Cassidy and the Carrick
lads. Strong winds and rain saw the race shortened from
it's planned 6 laps to 5. John got into some early moves
but no group got more than 40 sec. Unfortunately Garoid
suffered mechanical difficulties and had to pull out.
Plenty of speedwork done with speeds of 70k (43.5mph) on
the long five mile straight. It was left to Sean to put
us on the scoreboard, placing 8th in the combined Vets/Jun/C's
race.
Dublin
Drogheda Sunday March 17th 2002
Meanwhile on another
windswept and rainy course the rest of the Swords clan
were doing battle in the traditional Dublin Drogheda H/cap.Early
moves from the Vets group that involved Mick Rock were
countered until on the return leg Anto launched what
would be the major move of the day. He was quickly joined
by one other rider and soon this group swelled to 12
riders incl. first year Junior Keith Daly. Keith came
through a few times but perhaps his efforts on Saturday
began to tell as he and a few others lost contact with
the leading group. The group was down to seven and
split further on the run in with three riders escaping.
Despite continued efforts from Anto he failed to bridge
to these three, but still managed a creditable 6th. <Photos
on IrishCycling.com>
Other riders competing this weekend (that I know about)
were Sean Tierney, Alan Duffy, Jason Kelly, Simon Whelan,
Pat Halpin, a debut from O'Malley, Joe and an ever
improving John Shortt on his welcome return to racing. By
the way lads, what's the story, have ye slipped Peter
Puirfield a few bob, yez are in nearly every bleedin'
picture!! (Or maybe it's because ye are in all the moves!)
Coomes/Connor
Memorial,Donore
Sunday March 10th 2002
The
day started with mixed fortunes in the u/age, with Niall
Rock a clear winner at U12 but brother Sean crashing in
the U14 race. He's ok and it will take more than that to
put him off!
Impressive full racing debut for Grace McNally, placing 5th
in the U14 race.
The C races saw Anto attack and go clear with one other
rider, James Lawless(Usher), after a few miles. These two
were joined by Sean Lally and Seamus Kennedy(Avonmore) on
the first lap, and soon after by 2 more riders. the break
was further swelled by Tosh and seven other riders on the
second lap and shortly afterwards Mick Rock got across.
Three riders broke clear with six miles to go. One more
rider slipped clear and left the Swords lads to fight for
5th place. Anto & Sean got into the next 4 to escape.
Sean was pipped for 5th, with Anto taking 8th spot. Mick
Rock finished strongly from the remainder of the break
for 10th, getting a prize for first unplaced Vet.
Garoid Loughnane rode well in the B race, getting himself
into the break that dominated the race and rode well in
it. Unfortunately this break split on the last lap and
Garoid found himself on the wrong side of the split. He
however gave a hint of what's to come when he outsprinted
his remaining compatriots for a minor place. John Lally
worked hard to get across but the closest the chasers got
to Garoids group was 10sec at best. When the B riders
were heading for the showers Pepe was well up and going
well in the A race and looked like he was going to be in
the shake up.
Report from Pepe on
A race below:
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but I have to
do the work thing this week. As for last week-end I was
feeling pretty shite for the first two laps, I was having
trouble holding wheels on the tail wind section and
thought I wouldn't finish, but as the race went on I
started to come round. Although at this stage the move
for the day was gone. On lap 4 I was off the front of the
bunch with Colm Bracken(Usher) and we were then joined by
another four riders on the road from Duleek to Dunor.
This group was still together at the start of the last
lap, on the hill just after the finish line myself and
Phil Finnegan(Cycleways)moved clear of the others and I
ended up finishing in 9th place behind Phil. I was happy
to finish in the top ten, on only the second race of the
season. As for the profile I'll try and get it finished
next week. All the best for now.
John P.
Pictures of Pepe, Garoid, Mick and Anto in the breaks in <Photos on IrishCycling.com>
Well done to ex Swords rider, Mick Bolton (BH) who had
another win in the B race. Well remembered for his superb
time trialling, and his setting off for a run after the
Club League races! He's now an A.
Season starts:
Leinster
League: Race 1 Saturday March 2nd
2002
First
outing in the new club colours was the first round of the
Leinster League, hosted by Kilcullen CC and ran from
Narraghmore, Co.Kildare. The race was run over 6 laps
with a Nags Head type climb before the finish on each lap.
The race was run on a h/cap basis with C riders off first,
then the vets, B's etc and the A riders first off on the
road but had an extra lap to complete.
After all the slagging we gave Anto McMahon over the
winter, regarding his gung-ho tactics, he proved he was
listening by attacking on the hill on lap one. At the top
of the climb he eased slightly to be joined by 3 other
riders who had followed his attack. These 4 then worked
together to extend their lead. After a further two laps
the lead group was down to three, but all had to ride
through to protect the gap. Anto tried to shake off his
fellow escapees on the final climb but a downward glance,
showed him that this wasn't to be. He went into the
sprint as third wheel, but was slightly to slow to react
to the final attack and ran out of road to come back. But
1st Vet and 3rd on the road from a field of just over 100
riders aint half bad!
LEINSTER
LEAGUE RACE - 35 miles: Result: 1st D Byrne - Usher IRC;
2nd I Ormond - Carrick
Cidona CC; 3rd A McMahon - McNally
Joinery Swords; 4th J Lawless - Usher
IRC;
5th J
Cruise - Bray Wheelers CC; 6th S Enright - Usher
IRC
Cycleways Cup Sunday March 3rd
2002
Large
fields of over 70 riders in each of the A,B and C(incl
Vets,J,L) races with swords riders in each. We were ably
represented by Pepe(A),Sean Tierney(B),John Lal(B), Mick
Rock(V), Pat Halpin(V),Keith Daly(J),Jason Kelly(C) and
Garoid Loughnane(B). Racing was competitive & very
fast. John Lally took a spill on the last bend while
trying to make up places for the sprint for about 10th
place. A crash occured in front of him and he had nowhere
to go. Some cuts & bruises but managed to avoid
damage to his new club gear!!!
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