Round 6 of the Munster League brought the club to the small village of Upperchurch Drombane in Tipperary. This little known village is GAA mad, but also home to Paralympian and National Tandem TT champ Peter Ryan. While it may be a small town this was by no means a small race. This was the finale of the hugely successful Munster League and there was a battle at hand for all the club riders. UDCC put on a mighty show and it was hard to believe that this was the first ever race this thriving cycling community had put on. Hats off to Jerry Ryan, Michael Cahill and crew- they put on one great event. The startline rivalled what you'd see at the World Cup races, and they created a great sense of occasion for the race that had much on the line. The course was demanding on fitness, but yet was an excellent test of rider skill, and the strongest riders would come to the fore of the race. The situation going into the race was that both Russell and Richie were in podium spots in their respective categories. Russell was 3rd m40 overall, 15 points behind the formidable John Crowley of Killarney. Richie was in 3rd place overall, 8 points behind Richie Maes of Killarney, but breathing down his neck was John Dempsey of Carrick Wheelers. John and Richie have been battling all throughout the league, and the day set up for one final showdown. Ger and Stevie also took to line of the A race, and even though the team podium looked out of reach, the club weren't going to be defeated without a fight. The start was frantic, but halfway through the first lap, league leader Matt Slattery, Richie Maes, John Dempsey, and Richie had established themselves at the front of the race. A small slip through the forestry meant Richie had a gap to close coming up the hill. This is where Matt put in a burst to get rid of the rest and John followed. Richie went around Richie Maes, and looked up to see that John had also been distanced, but was holding a ten second gap over him. Richie held the gap, and slightly closed it, but was riding on the limit to do so. On the third lap, John put in a big effort to keep Richie at bay and it worked. The gap went out to 30 seconds, and bar a mechanical or a spectacular lights out moment, John was home and hosed. Fortunately Richie had a big enough gap over Trevor Woods in 4th to be secure of 3rd place in the race. While he closed the gap slightly to John in the final lap, it wasn't enough, but 3 podiums in a row meant Richie secured 3rd overall in the league, behind Richie Maes, and the dominant Matt Slattery. Russell also rode a super race. John Crowley was sick, and unable to race, which meant Russell had to score 15 points or more in the m40 category to leapfrog John into second place. However he also had to keep a close eye on Kenny Bucke (Team RAD) as he was just 5 points behind him starting the final round, and he had ridden strongly throughout the league. Trevor Woods (having won every m40 round in the league) was out of sight at the top of the league and had it wrapped up. Russell started well, and resumed his battles of previous races, with Gary MacDonald, Kenny Bucke, and Paul Birchall. Kenny suffered a mechanical, while Gary pushed on and distanced Russell. However Russell was having a ding dong battle with Paul Birchall. Time and time again they tried to gap each other but to no avail. Eventually Paul got the upper hand and came in a handful of seconds ahead of Russell. More importantly though, was 3rd m40 on the day, and this was enough to take 2nd place in the m40 category. Ger and Stevie also took to the line and rode excellent races. Ger was riding only his 3rd race as an A but was getting stronger each week. Both Ger and Stevie had the opportunity to stay at B level for the duration of the league, but both put the clubs performance ahead of their own, and were out to grab as many points as possible for the team prize. Ger and Stevie put in great rides with Ger in 22nd and Stevie in 23rd. Despite not appearing to be in contention for the podium at the beginning of the race, due to Ger and Stevie scoring high in the m40 category, the club jumped up to 3rd in the team standings for the league. This turned out be a super day for the club, and they proved that both individually, and collectively that they are among the strongest in Munster. There are many people to thank for the success of the Munster CX League, and this will be done in another post. For now the club are looking forward to the Munster Championships on the 18th of December in Killarney, with the hope of bringing home medals. Hon the Barrs
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St.Finbarrs Cycling ClubEst. 1938 Archives
October 2017
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