Round 2 Northern Ireland Cyclo Cross Sunday 14/11/2004.

 

Lurgan Park was the venue for Apollo Cycling Team's event. Andy Hayle had designed a new shorter course ensuring Ten,  approximate Five minute laps. A field of 50 riders entered. The race was run on a handicapped basis, with four groups setting out at Two minute intervals.

Two Dromara Cycling Club riders started, Bob Patterson and Trevor Annett. We both started in the first group, both since Bob is a lot fitter than I, Bob left me in his dust. The scratch riders Robin Seymour and Roger Aiken started in group four, six minutes later, which meant some of us were already on our second lap.

The race was fast, with excellent conditions in the wooded sections, but the grass areas became quite muddy in places. Two short climbs, with logs to carry the bikes over, seemed steeper ever lap. At this stage I had settled into a tussle with three others from group one for fifth place. It took two laps for me to pull away, before riders from the other groups started to catch us. Bob had to pull out on lap two with a broken rear mech, the same fate as Roger Aiken.

I battled on and completed nine laps in the time It took Robin Seymour to complete his ten laps and win a great race. I was very happy with my first Cyclo Cross outing as a number of riders from groups, two and three had not passed me. I had only one fall as I closely followed another rider who clipped a log into my path.

A great race on a good course, I will have to find a Cyclo Cross bike for the Ulster Championship to be held on this course in January 2005.

Dromara Cycling Club are grateful to CyclingUlster, www.cyclingulster.com and Jerome Rafferty, www.raffoto.com ; for their photographs. We shall head to Castle Park, Bangor on Sunday 28th November, for event number three run by TeamFergie