Ulster cyclocross round 5

The 5^th and final round of the Ulster cyclocross series took place on Sunday past at Palace Demesne in Armagh, hosted by Square Wheels CC. Conditions were bitterly cold, with freezing fog to contend with for many of the riders making their way to the venue. The ground was heavy in places but the course held up well given the recent dry cold spell of weather.

Dromara CC had Fiadh Kellett representing the club in the under 10 girls race. Fiadh managed to finish in 6^th place as she continues to improve and get to grips with things after a long break from the racing scene, having only returned 2 races ago.

In the Under 14 girls race, Aoife Kellett managed to finish in a very impressive 2^nd place. Aoife led her race for a long spell and managed the race well, completing 3 laps on the adult course.

In the next round of races on the day, Barry Kellett, Eoghan McGuigan, Paul Hamilton and Darren McCann all took to the line in the senior A race. The course was unrelenting and as the race wore on, the major climb on the course seemed to become longer and steeper by the 6^th and 7^th laps. Darren and Paul battled each other, finishing 18^th and 17^th respectively. Eoghan continues to show improving form after a recent return from injury and rode strongly to finish 11^th. Barry came home in 5^th place and secured enough points to take 3^rd in the overall series table.

In the final event of the day, Gibson Chambers had a nice view of the race to start with, from a back row gridding. To compound things, he then had a poor start but managed to work his way through to 8^th place in the B race. John McGuigan recovered from an early mechanical issue to finish 17^th.

Next week will see Dromara CC’s cyclocross contingent take to the line at the Ulster championships. See www.ulstercyclocross.com for more information.

Pictures from The Belgian Project