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THE TWELVE CYCLING DAYS OF CHRISTMAS (By: GERARD CROMWELL Dec 22) On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me a cartridge for a BB. (Bottom bracket!) Handy thing to have during the winter! You never do know when that bottom bracket might seize up, what with all that water and grit about. Anyway, you try and think of something that rhymes with a partridge in a pear tree! On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me two thermal gloves, (no more frozen finger-tips on those long, cold winter training spins), and a cartridge for a BB. On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me three French pens. I knew they were French because they have Cofidis down the side. Must have got them at the team launch or something. Still, they'll do for filling in the old training diary. Oh yeah, two more thermal gloves and a cartridge for a BB. On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 40,000 words. Actually it was The Ras, Ireland's Unique Bike Race, by Tom Daly and no, I haven't counted all the words but there's a lot and it's a great read to boot. I got three more French pens, (this time they had Ag2r on the side), two thermal gloves and a cartridge for a BB. On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me five new ch-a-i-n-rings. (A 53, 52, 51, 45, 42 and a 39 if you must know), 40,000 words, three French pens (Brioches Le Boulangere), two thermal gloves and a cartridge for a BB. On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me six geese-a-laying. Don't really know why she sent them but hey, maybe she couldn't think of anything to do with cycling that rhymed either! Suppose the eggs will come in handy for those pre-race meals anyway. Five more chainrings, 40,000 words, three more French pens (Jean DeLetour), two thermal gloves and cartridge for a BB arrived. The spare room is filling up fairly rapidly now and I'm not really sure about having those geese in the house! On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me seven pills for slimming. I knew I was finding it hard to get up the hills, but I just thought it was early days yet. Oh well, I'll try one tomorrow before my poached geese eggs. I got another six geese-a-laying, five chainrings, 40,000 words, three French pens (Credit Agricole), two thermal gloves (I now have a pair for every day of the week) and a cartridge for a BB. On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me eight bottles for drinking, seven pills for slimming, six geese-a-laying, five ch-a-in-rings, 40,000 words, three French pens (VC La Pomme), two thermal gloves and a cartridge for a BB. On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me nine pumps for pumping. I now have more pumps than I have wheels. The eight bottles for drinking, seven pills for slimming, six geese-a-laying, five more chainrings, 40,000 words, three French pens (Credit Lyonnaise), two thermal gloves and another cartridge for a BB are taking up a good bit of room in the house. I had to move the geese into the back garden after they ate through two copies of the Ras book. Still, the eggs taste nice and they're a lot bigger than your average, ordinary, everyday, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum chicken's egg. On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me ten bikers biking. Now, I know it's good to have mates at your beck and call to go training with but where the hell are they all going to live and one of them is already giving out that he hasn't got a pump! On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me eleven ladies dancing. See, the trouble with not adhering strictly to the cycling orientated theme is that it just takes one thing to go wrong for the whole lot to fall apart. The eleven ladies dancing have already begun fighting over the seven pills for slimming and the ten bikers biking haven't biked since they arrived. They say it's too cold out and they prefer to watch the ladies dance. Since the ladies arrived I can't find any of my thermal gloves. The geese are beginning to crack me up with all that cackling. It's looking like goose for Christmas dinner this year! On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me twelve pulsomoters bleeping, eleven ladies dancing, ten bikers biking, nine pumps for pumping, eight bottles for drinking, seven pills for slimming, (which were gobbled up by the first seven of the dancing ladies to reach the front door this morning!), six more geese-a-laying. I'm getting a bit sick of eggs now and wouldn't mind a pancake breakfast out of McDonalds. Five more chainrings! I mean come on! even Desperate Dan wouldn't break that many chainrings! 40,000 words, (I had to use the last three issues to protect my good wooden floor from those foul geese. Maybe that should be those geese fowl. I don't know anymore, I can't concentrate with all those pulsomoters going off. I think one of them is bleeping from inside a goose! Nearly forgot three more French pens (Bonjour), two thermal gloves (I still haven't found the rest of them) and a cartridge for a BB. Today I'm gonna ride through the sand down the beach for an hour. Those damn bottom bracket cartridges are filling up my cupboards!!! More 'RÁS' Stories: (By Gerard Cromwell Dec 7) It usually began with the packing of an old brown suitcase. It looked like it had seen better days. The brown fake leather was peeling off in patches and you could see a kind of laminated cardboard underneath. More... 3rd Cat 2-Day: (By Gerard Cromwell Aug 17) After the success of last year's 3rd Category only race prior to the National Road Race Championships, Stamullen M. Donnelly Road Club have announced details of a new 3rd Category stage race to take place at the end of August. The Rás Teach Maoiláin 2-Day race will begin on Friday 29th of August at 6.30pm with five laps of the five mile Monie Nolan circuit, beginning and ending in Balscadden, North County Dublin. This circuit is also used for another Stamullen promotion, the Brendan Carroll Memorial. Stage two will begin at 11.30 next morning at the gates of Gormanston College and will cover twelve laps of a flat 2 mile circuit along the old main Dublin-Belfast road taking in the Delvin Bridge and the Cock Tavern and will finish at Gormanston.
The event is purely for 3rd category riders only and is aimed at encouraging newcomers and those who have been out of the sport for a while to give it a go at their own level. Entry fee is 20euros and each entrant will receive a three-course meal at the Cock Tavern, Gormanston after the second stage. The prize presentation will be immediately after the meal. One day licencees will be allowed ride although these must be applied for in advance. Cycling Ireland have agreed to allow one licence to cover both stages. Team managers/ officials or family and friends are encouraged to attend the meal and can get a ticket for ten euros. "We decided after the success of last years race to try and do something more this year." says Gabriel Howard of Stamullen. "We have the full backing of Cycling Ireland and we hope to encourage a lot of newcomers to ride this race and maybe generate some more members for the sport in general. While it will be run like any other stage race, the emphasis is on fun and enjoyment and with the meal and prize presentation we hope to encourage family and friends to attend and make it a social gathering as well as a sporting event. Entry forms are available from Kay Howard at 01 8411 352
Murphy and Moore rode clear of the main field on the undulating circuit with just four of the 12 laps to go. Despite a tremendous chase behind this duo built up a maximum lead of 40" by the finish. With Moore cramping in the closing miles, Murphy saw his opportunity and attacked on the final rise to solo to his first victory since a recent suspension for a positive dope test was lifted. Clearly delighted with his victory the Crannog Ireland man punched the air in jubilation. Behind Tim Cassidy rode clear of Cycleways Lee Starnd teammate Aiden Crowley to take third with David Peelo leading home Aaron Deane of totalcycling.com for 5th SENIOR RACE 1 Conor Murphy, Crannog Ireland 2 Robert Moore, Stamullen M.Donnelly 3 Tim Cassidy, Cycleways Lee Strand 4 Aidan Crowley, Cycleways Lee Strand 5 David Peelo, Usher Insulations Irish Road Club 6 Aaron Deane, Totalcycling.com 7 Andrew Donnellan, Dublin Wheelers 8 Paul Brady, McQuaid Tyres, Emyvale Senior B 1.Daragh 0 Sullivan, PSV Aachen CC 2.Francis Ennis, Lucan Staggs 3.John Wall, North Kildare CC Senior C 1.Adrian McDermott, Totalcycling.com 2.Gary McNulty, Orwell Whlrs 3.John Sower, Orwell Whlrs
Robert Moore kicked off the winning sequence when taking the Stamullen leg of the McNally Joinery League on Wednesday . The next evening Paul Butler notched up his second win in the Mark Mullen Memorial League when taking the final stage. Craig Sweetman took the Stamullen Road Club's 3rd win of the week when soloing to victory in the Ballyconnell Grand Prix on Friday night and Mulvaney added a fourth victory when outsprinting over 100 riders to take the stage win in Newry. Colm Crawley also took two first junior placing at Balscadden and Ballyconnell, with Robert Moore taking 3rd and 2nd during the week too. With next weeks Junior tour squad all set for action, the team is hopeful of some more good performances in a race sponsored by the clubs title sponsor M. Donnelly and Co. McMahon takes Mounnugent GP: (By Gerard Cromwell Aug 3) Kieran McMahon (Earl Of Desmond Tralee) took the Mountnugent Grand Prix on Staurday night from a five man lead group. On the last of ten laps, McMahon surged clear with Stamullen M. Donnelly's Robert Moore and Stephen O'Sullivan of Cycleways-Lee Strand. With just over a mile to go these were joined by Fintan McCormack of Newbridge cutlery and the previous nights winner at Ballyconnell Craig Sweetman of Stamullen M.Donnelly. As the five leaders merged, Sweetman launched an attack which saw him look set for his second victory in two nights but his advantage dwindled and he was caught with just 200 metres to go. McMahon took the sprint from Moore, with McCormack, Sullivan and Sweetman completing the top five. RESULTS MOUNTNUGENT GP 1. KIERAN MC MAHON (Earl of Desmond tralee) 2. Robert Moore (Stamullen M. Donnelly) 3. Fintan McCormack (Newbridge Cutlery) 4. Stephen O'Sullivan (Cycleways) 5. Craig Sweetman (Stamullen M. Donnelly)
After a flurry of attacks on the final lap of the race, Denis Easton of promoting club totalcycling.com and Sweetman's Stamullen M. Donnelly team mate were reeled in with just three miles to go. It was here that Sweetman launched the counter attack, which saw him hold for a fine solo win. Last year's Classic League winner and Commonwealth Games rider Easton took second in a close sprint from Moore with Paul Slane of Slane Cycles Belfast taking 4th in front of totalcycling.com's Brendan Docherty. Junior Colm Crawley rounded off a good night for the Stamullen Road club when taking the Junior prize on the night. RESULTS 1. Craig Sweetman (Stamullen M. Donnelly) 2. Denis Easton (totalcycling.com) @ 09" 3. Robert Moore (Stamullen M. Donnelly) st 4. Paul Slane (Slane Cycles Belfast) st 5. Brendan Docherty (totalcycling.com) st. WEEKEND WINS: (By Gerard Cromwell Jul 21) Aiden Crowley of Lee strand Cycleways made it three wins in as many weeks when taking the Ballivor Grand Prix on Saturday evening. In an action packed race Crowley escaped with a large group midway through the 30 mile race and forged clear in the fast finishing sprint. Craig Sweetman of Stamullen M. Donnelly took second, having been reeled in with two others at the kilometre mark. Fintan McCormack of Newbridge Cutlery took third in a hair raising dash to the line. Junior Colm Crawley got Ireland's annual assault on the International Cycling Week in the Isle Of Man off to a good start when winning the Douglas Circuit Race on Sunday. Crawley riding for the Stamullen M. Donnelly team is over in preparation for the upcoming M. Donnelly Junior Tour. More details later. Blame it on the weatherman: By Gerard Cromwell (May 20) Noel Gallagher of Oasis penned the line; 'Nobody ever mentions the weather can make or break your day'. This is especially true if you're a cyclist on this week's FBD Milk Rás. More... THE REAL MEN OF THE RAS: By Gerard Cromwell (May 14) This Sunday, over 120 of Ireland's and the world's top cyclists will converge on O'Connell St. Dublin, just outside the GPO for this year's FBD Milk Rás. Since it's inception in 1953, the Rás Táilteann, as it was then known, has grown into one of the best pro-am stage races in the world today. The eight-day stage race regularly attracts the cream of world cycling and can boast of being a breeding ground for top professionals and even future Tour De France stage winners. More... 'A' WINS 'C' RACE: By Gerard Cromwell (Apr 18) 'A' WINS 'C' RACE would have been a more appropriate headline, but anyone perusing through page 11 of the April 12th edition of 'Cycling Weekly' would have read one of 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR CONNOR'. More... POWER 7th iN BELGIUM: By Gerard Cromwell (Apr 13) On the day before Mark Scanlon was due to have his first taste of the cobbles that mark the Paris-Roubaix classic, Ciaran Power was negotiating more of the dreaded pavé in the 1.3 Rond Van Drenthe in Belgium. More... NEW BORN (By Gerard Cromwell) They say fathers often try to live out their dreams through the lives of their sons. If that's the case, then the latest addition to the Cromwell household has a busy time ahead of him. A stage win in the FBD Milk Ras, a King of the Mountains title in the Tour De France (even in dreamland I could never actually win the Tour!), scoring a hat-trick for Liverpool in the FA Cup Final, landing a lead role in a blockbuster film, writing a best selling novel, having a number one single and an occasional fling with bond bombshell Halle Berry(well maybe her daughter) are all on the agenda. Read More Here... UNLUCKY 13th FOR SWEETMAN IN JAPAN: (By Gerard Cromwell) Friday the 13th proved unlucky for Ireland's Craig Sweetman in today's second road stage of the Tour of Hokkaido in Japan. Sweetman who only received a call-up to the team on Saturday, crashed out of the race while going through a feed zone today. "I was going through the feed zone, " said Sweetman afterwards, "when a japanesse guy just came across me and took two or three of us down. I had a musette in hand and the other hand on my handlebars but I hadn't a hope of staying up. My back, legs and arms are very cut up and the base of my spine is really sore at the moment. That was that, I suppose Friday the 13th was unlucky for me." Guess what number Sweetman was wearing at the time. Yep! 13. M. Donnelly Fun Cycle: (By Gerard Cromwell) In conjunction with Cycling Ireland's inaugural Bike Week, Stamullen M. Donnelly will promote a fun cycle in aid of Muscular Dystrophy in Clonee on Sunday September 1st. <Read More Here> |
Murphy
takes Brendan Campbell Memorial:
Four
wins in five days for Stamullen M. Donnelly squad:
SWEETMAN
TAKES BALLYCONNELL GRAND PRIX:
(By Gerard Cromwell Aug 2) Craig Sweetman of Stamullen M. Donnelly took another
step up the podium tonight when taking the win in the Ballyconnell Grand Prix in
Co. Cavan. Having finished third in Robinstown on Sunday and second in Ballivor
the previous week, Sweetman earned his third podium place in as many races.