Kellett back on the podium at Donard Park
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Dromara CC had a great Awards night at the Primrose in Ballynahinch and a few excuses had been mentioned in preparation for the cyclocross. From what i can remember Barry Kellett recommended that podiums may be in short supply but what does he know. Shimna Wheelers had stepped up to host Round 9 of the Ulstercyclocross Series and they certainly know how to design a course and run a race.
Thankfully the Dromara CC Junior section were the example of professionalism by getting to bed early and fully prepared for the days events. First up was Aoife Kellett in the Under 8’s and with the Kellett fire in her belly she took off only to get held up at the dismount section leaving her well back on the leaders. Most would just accept it as a bad day and take it easy but with the responsibility of the first Dromara Cyclist on the course she dusted herself off and charged through the field. With the laps running out she made an epic uphill sprint to give her an opportunity to sprint for 4th. It was a photo finish for 4th – awesome performance……hang on and she got a goodie bag with a medal…RESULT!
Next up was James Armstrong who had words with his mechanic regarding getting his bike ready. I hear he is going to clamp down on the mechanics nights out until he learns to have the bike sparkling. From the race it certainly looks like we have another climber in our ranks as every lap they went up the steep hill James would power ahead leaving riders in his wake. In fact his climbing is only his second best skill as you should see him dismount and remount – we could all learn a thing or two from that technique. Rumour has it that he had a summer camp run by the Ulster’s Off Road commissionaire to perfect this skill. When the dust had settled James finished in an fantastic 7th in the U10’s race and could be his performance of the series.
In the U12 race Benjamin Quigley stuck the race number on and gave a great performance in one of the most competitive races. Finishing in 10th place I believe it was his best finish this season. In the U14’s Fraser Harrower is certainly looking more comfortable in this race and battled through the crowd to take 7th place with only a few seconds making the difference to making the top 5 – brilliant performance.
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In the MTB Support Race saw Colin Mcgready making a comeback to the off road division with the main aim to finally beat Neil Armstrong. The plan was simple – stick on Armstrongs wheel and shadow him until the final sprint. The plan worked really well but the final part of the plan was ruined by an eager Armstrong who wanted to keep this #beatthemcgready going. There were also other riders in the race but really there was only one race to win. With Bangor the last opportunity for Mcgready to burst Armstrongs bubble it could get nasty.
The B Race saw a resurgent John Shanks prove that he may need to relook at his prerace setup – Awards dinner and carrying someone elses trophies home made sure that he had his best race of the season with a 12th place. Behind John Paul Watson had a great race to take 20th place, Paul Mclean proved that he could really get into this cyclocross racing with a great 24th place, behind them Adi Booth and Robert Davison battled it out for the bragging rights and it was Booth who would pip Davison this time.Our poster boy Bryce Hetherington was certainly not smiling with the awards dinner as pre-race preparation proving to be a poor choice however he had great delight to tell me how he beat Mike Barton and Mark Lavery (who didnt make it to the finish due to a mechanical).
Diane Wilson was Dromara’s only representative in the Ladies CX race and she showed her climbing credentials with a great performance to take 7th place.
The final race of the day was the Mens A race with 8 Dromara CC representatives taking to the start line. Barry Kellett looking to get himself back on the podium after last week had a great start and would find himself joined by Nathan Mullan for the first lap. On a fast tough course Barry managed to settle into second place and hold off Graham Boyd lap after lap until the finish line. Nathan would rue that fast start as he dropped off the pace but still recorded an awesome 13th place. Behind Davy Broome was the third representative in the team and would just be pipped by the Newry Wheelers rider to take the second team and 18th place. Richard Cowan continued a slow improvement in performances and finally beat Peter Davison (there is a story there). Derek Graham continued his great form taking 34th and just in ahead of Brian Wilson who is really settling into this A racing scene. Paul Lavery took 49th to round up the dromara results.
Hang on the Davison race notes……who could forget this story. Having a decent start he bunny hopped the boards although his first attempt could be called riding over them. That left the log to bunny hop which was all under control until he caught his front wheel and face planted on the log. From someone who saw it I can confirm I was glad it wasnt me. A little dazed he managed to get back on the bike and battle through the field and back into the top 25 before the legs tiring and then the rear derailleur playing up he managed to hang on for 41st and take the first U23 rider of the day. Full faced helmet that he uses for downhill mountain biking might be required for the next race..especially if he is planning on keeping all those teeth.
Finally a shout out to Shimna CC for a superb run event and many thanks to all the helpers and volunteers who made this a race I am sure we are looking to tackle next year. It was great to see so many Dromara CC supporters shouting the riders on and it really made the difference. Next week is the last round in the Ulster Cyclocross Series at Castle Park in Bangor.
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