Club podiums at Ulster cyclocross championships!
The 2023 Ulster Cyclo-cross Championships and final event in the provincial calendar took place on Sunday at CyclocrossNI. Host club for the event was Velocity Road Club. Conditions leading up to the event were as wet as any winter I remember racing. Heavy rain for 3 days in a row leading up to the day had everyone slightly worried about what lay ahead.
On the day itself, the racing kicked off for Dromara CC with Fiadh Kellett in the under 10 girls race, the rain was beating down and the course was very heavy going. The under 10s course included the adult size barriers and the long steps section, extremely difficult for the smaller racers! Undeterred, Fiadh kept fighting to keep the bike moving forward and came across the line in 6th place.
Next up was big sister Aoife in the under 14 girls race. Aoife rode a strong steady race, holding off stiff competition from Skye Spence (Shimna Wheelers) to take 3rd place on the day and the first medal for Dromara.
In the next round of races, Gibson Chambers and John McGuigan took to the line in the Masters 50 event, with Gibson taking 11th place and John coming home in 15th.
The final round of races on the day was the Seniors and Masters 40 riders. Barry Kellett and Paul Hamilton took to the line in the M40 race. Barry had a good start, taking the lead for the first lap, but unfortunately could not maintain the pace required and slipped to 4th place at the finish line. Paul battled the course on a single bike to take 10th place.
Eoghan McGuigan and Darren McCann represented the club in the senior race. Darren produced a strong performance to take an impressive 6th place. Eoghan had a superb ride right from the whistle and battled hard to take a great 3rd spot on the podium and not far from second place.
The Ulster season may be over, but there are still some dates coming up across the country to keep an eye on. On Saturday 30th December, Bellurgan Wheelers are hosting round 6 of the nationals series at the McCrystal Track, Co. Louth. Round 7 will occur on the 7th January and the National Cyclo-cross Championships will take place on the 13th and 14th of January 2024 and be promoted by Greenmount Cycling Academy in Co.Limerick.
