Dromara CC riders shine over the weekend #CrossisBack
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Friday night saw the first race of the Kinning CX Series with a first race under floodlight in Orangefield Park. It was very popular and saw several members taking part in the Ladies, CX B race and CX A race. In the ladies race Lisa Millar took to the start line for Dromara CC but having been battling for a place on the podium had to pull in due to an injury (fingers crossed she can get sorted for the rest of the season). In the CX B race Davy Broome, Adi Booth, Gibson Chambers and Derek Graham competed in a very busy race with over a hundred starters. Davy Broome had a more conservative start but as each lap went past he clawed his way through the riders to catch the lead group of 4 on the last lap. With the light fading and floodlights on Davy made his break for victory and took a decisive victory to not only take the win but also capture the Kinning CX Series lead with 3 races to go.
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By the time the A race was due to start the light had well and truly left with the plenty on the course in darkness causing some to wonder if they should have brought a front light. Barry Kellett, Nathan Mullan, Richard Cowan and Peter “Im not a junior anymore” Davison stepped up to the main race. If was a frantic start and with some of the corners in complete darkness it would prove a challenging race. Barry took an excellent 5th place with Nathan Mullan 12th, Peter Davison 23rd and Richard Cowan taking 29th meaning the whole team finished in the top half of the race. Hopefully this bodes well for the next race in the series.
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Having enjoyed a dry Friday night the rain that came on Saturday made the first round of the Ulster CycloCross Season a more challenging affair. Apollo CC hosted the first round at Lurgan Park as always with the usual expectation that this will be a fast dry circuit. Alas the weather changed that and it was mud tyres all round. The first races of the day saw the Under 6 to under 12’s races with plenty of Dromara CC participation. Aoife Kellett is getting used to the Under 8’s race and is certainly getting better every race, the becketts and McCready’s and Broomes were out in force. It will be great to see how everyone continues to improve as the season progresses.
Well done to getting your bike around a very muddy and challenging course. There were some tight climbs that would have tested many a rider so top marks for effort.
In the Under 16 race Ben Wilson had a tough race but managed to dig out an excellent 5th place. The MTB support Race saw some new faces this year from Dromara CC with Neil Armstrong, Kevin Walker and Colin McGready testing themselves in the muck. The young Neil Armstrong proved the strongest to take a top 10 in his first MTB race.
The ladies cx race saw Jackie Wade and Emma Johnson tackle a very tough course which saw both taking a top 10 finish even though Jackie managed to snap the rear derailleur before the end.
With much talk all week about what is a B racer and what is an A racer the general consenus is still being sought. The Dromara CC riders of Graham Beckett, Brian Wilson, Derek Graham, Robert Davison, John Shanks and Gibson Chambers took to the start line and we cannot leave out the new cyclocross recruits of Darren McCann & Bryce Hetherington taking their first cross race. As stated it was anything but an easy course with the conditons changing every lap. The muck really testing out those finely tuned legs and well maintained cyclocross bike. Brian Wilson led the DCC riders with a 25th place and both Darren and Bryce delighted not to come last and talking of cyclocross domination next week once they find their bike in the mud and get new mud tyres.
The main race of the day saw Davy Broome step up from the B race, Peter Davison racing as a espoire (under 23) rider for the first time, Nathan Mullan fresh from his Belgium training, Barry Kellett running about fixing bikes before the start and Richard Cowan who should know better. Its important to watch the top riders so you can see any helpful tips and today we will have a look at a new technique that Peter tried on the first lap. If you havent enough grip on the shoes then use your knees – Im not sure its going to take off. At the front of the race Barry Kellett was producing an awesome ride as he battled with Graham Boyd lap after lap. Roger Aiken had pulled away to take the win and Barry finally broke Graham to claim an excellent 2nd place. Nathan Mullan has been enjoying this cyclocross lark and clearly the Belgium trip must have helped him as he would take 11th place on the day. Thankfully there were no mechanicals for anyone and Peter managed to get back on his bike to take 1st under 23 with Richard Cowan taking 23rd place and Davy Broome in 26th place.
The next race is on Sunday at the Falls Park and is hosted by VC Glendale – fingers crossed the sun comes out. Many thanks to Apollo CC for yet again putting on an brilliant race. #crossisback #whereismypitcrew
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