Cycling Reports

Noel Taggart Memorial

 By Patrick Withers

Sunday 9th June 2002

Last week's Ulster Championships had been a bit of a hiccup in the season, with myself and my two team-mates out of the race after the first lap. Richard Jones had came off on the first corner, he rode on but retired at the end of the lap, I got dropped early on, and my chain came off twice which led to me also pulling out, and finally Anthony Devlin fell into a hedge and hurt his back.

This week's race was in Banbridge, and was over 2 laps of the senior circuit. The race started at quite an easy pace, we began to do bit and bit after about a mile, but as I came back down to the back of the group again for the third time, I noticed one rider wasn't going to the front at all, I decided to join him, and sat in at the back.

After only about 2 mile my team-mate Anthony got dropped, and as we continued on an up-and-down rolling road I was beginning to feel the pinch myself. Most of the work, was being done by the Northern riders, and David Dunlop. As we came down a descent and turned a tight left hand corner I was on the back, and was unable to hang on to the wheel in front as we came out of it and started another ascent. Yet again I was out the back, and feeling disappointed that I hadn't managed to last longer. The next 2/3 mile was hard on my own as I was riding into a headwind and had lost all sight of the main group. I turned left again and was on a steady 3 mile climb, I came through the start finish area, and decided I would go around the second lap anyway, just for training, if nothing else.

After a steep descent I turned left back into a headwind, I had been riding the big chain-ring most of the first lap, and now decided it was time to slip it into the small chain-ring. After a lonely few miles on my own, I turned left towards the 3 mile climb again, as I looked behind I saw the Senior A & B race coming, first group past contained between about 10 and 12 riders, with Doc (Brendan Doherty) on the front, followed by a chase group which included Cass (Phil Cassidy). Then it was the turn of the main group, I was feeling a bit better at this stage and jumped on putting it into the big chain-ring, and to my surprise I was sitting in the middle of them, with the help of one of a Dublin Wheelers rider, who give me a little push, but apart from that I was feeling ok, and being sucked along by them.

I came into the finish with the senior's, and pulled over to the left where my team-mate's grandparents and Mother where. Richard had finished fifth after also getting dropped towards the end of the first lap, apparently he'd been held up by a circus, which the main group had just missed by a few seconds having to ride up the inside of the trucks in a single file, he'd chased the whole of the second lap and was only a few seconds down at the finish. The race had been won by a guy called Watson from Northern, with Dunlop in second, I'd finished back in sixth, there were 6 finishers out of 8 which had started.

To see more on me and my club go to our website http://www.fcc.sports-page.com  or it is also viewable via http://www.go.to/fintonacc