Cycling Reports |
Report on Cycleways Cup By Cian Lynch
2nd March 2003
Team transfers, if you can call them that.... many of the times its simply a case of a new start, time to move on, lack of cohesion - check out the message board for all the stories of team-mates chasing down breaks with their own members .... great reading. A chance to meet up with the old faces, Eddie, "the winker" O' D, Shane Baker is around also, but something tells me that the Usher Camp has grown in line with Man U, and it'll be hard to get up the road, with team-mates already up there, leaving half the bunch behind looking for an excuse to follow wheels... An incredible amount of colour, as teams from all over the country don European type multi-coloured kits, always a good move. The ones to watch today are, as always, Eddie, Baker, Cass and the Northern Lads, who for some reason or other, probably geographical, never seem to have savage winter session stories passed about down south. Update on transfers - Eddie O' D and Mick Mulcahy are with the Irish Road Club (Ushers), Paul Healion has joined North Kildare CC, along with Simon Whelan and Tony O' Malley - they join Laurence Roche and myself. John Peppard, who had an unfortunate crash on the Ras last year yet managed to come back to have an impressive season end, has jumped ranks to Cycleways. More updates next week. The race start in the Cycleways Cup is never one for the happy go lucky, lets get ready to rumble sort of rider. I recall Cassidy attacking on the line last year, as he accelerated away with Baker, Eddie, J.P Hilliard and Andrew Donnellan me thinks, and my lungs screaming as I tried in vain to hold a wheel going across, then having failed in that effort, joining a chasing group for half the race - again to no avail, and pulling out of the race halfway through - slightly fatigued(!). This year, raceplan was to settle into the race, get in a couple of moves etc. Yet when you're sitting on the front, and moves start going up the roda, its hard to simply sit in and wait. So there I am once again, head down, arse up, lungs screaming, trying to get into that move. The race winning, 1st lap, not coming back move. Needless to say, no happening! I did however manage a couple of efforts. Simon Whelan, (welcome back - cheers Swords!)was trouncing away up the road, where he was up with Eddie and another, and when Davey Smith, Naas attacked, I jumped across, followed by a Mayo Wheelers rider (details please) and Kane Cycles (not Paul) but alas, they weren't convinced that I has a rider up the road, and we made a collective balls of the opportunity. A couple of scrawls off the front, and it settled for a while as Col. Cass sent Lt. Ray Clarke, Lt. Finnegan and Corporal Pepp to the front. They rode steadily all right, and in tow were Colm Bracken, Dave Peelo and myself - the purpose of the steady riding was revealed when Cassidy attacked, a la Cass, big gear, and Dave Peelo and myself high-tailed across onto his wheel. We did manage to get another group going, but with (dare I say it) IRC representation unwilling to ride, sitting on, we were only ever going to be reeled back in. Laurence and myself did get away approaching the main road for Navan, and it was all good news, as Cass arrived across (as you do. ARRIVED across - 53.11 for 2 miles) and beckoned us on. I was on his wheel, all set for action, when the inevitable, BANG, HISS - you guessed. Brand new tyre. Punctured. All I could do was continue in a straight line to stop. Our car was up the road, so that was that. Race over! As Irish cycling goes, I was sitting on the wall, waiting for the cars to come around again, throw in the bike etc. when ould team mate of 02, Joe Magill passes by, only to shout out - theres the Stephen Roche wasters - and we wonder why we have problems in Irish Cycling! Sorry I can't match that Joe. Up the road, Simon was sitting in a group of 12 or so, which split on the last lap. He was in the second group. Interesting in that ORC had Eddie and Swinard behind. Surely Eddie was the man to have up front? In the final, as Kelly says, a great win for Vinne Gleeson. A deserving winner and a gentleman. Simon's revenge was to take the sprint from Eddie, but that was little consolation given the break up on the last lap. A good showing nonetheless for the new outfot from North Kildare CC! For us, the outfit is on the road at last, and thanks to a few sponsors, we'll have the best setup for the last while. Next week, Batterstown on Saturday, sign on at 10:30am ( Lets keep it real organisers - no ridiculous handicaps ) and Coombes Conor Memorial, Drogheda on Sunday. Sign on a the Thatch Bar, 12:00, race starts at 13:00. Cian Lynch. Asst. D.S., North Kildare CC |
