Cycling Reports

Griffin climbs to victory

Paul Griffin (Team Rás Mumhan) took the overall victory in the Evans Cycles Surrey League 5-Day on Tuesday 19th August.

Griffin repeated the feat accomplished by Paddy Moriarty in 2001 with a demonstration of his climbing ability on the most difficult stage that included three climbs of ‘the wall’.

With Brian Kenneally in the yellow jersey, the Rás Mumhan team began the day ensuring the race stayed together. Andy Roche and Timmy Barry took to the front of the bunch and marked all the moves. When a break of four eventually went clear it was of no importance to the overall classification but became more significant when it acted as a carrot to the field on the two-mile link road that climbed to the final circuit.

When Danny Axford (Parrot Print RT) launched his bid to join the leaders, Griffin was instantly on his wheel but Kenneally was amongst the field struggling to stay in contact. As Griffin, Axford and a number of other re-inforcements reached the break Kenneally was as at the stranded at the head of a large group content in giving no assistance to the yellow jersey.

The leaders included Matt Melville (VC St Raphael), third placed Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport RT), Griffin and Axford. They were almost caught at the bottom of the first climb of ‘the wall’ when the chase group were bizarrely forced to stop by the obstacle created by unscheduled road line painting and farm vehicles.

On the second climb up ‘the wall’ Axford attacked with Griffin securely on his wheel and the duo built a lead of 20 seconds. As the chasers got within ten seconds, Dodd put the hammer down to jump across on his own but he had no answer to Axford’s final attack on the last lap and he drifted back to the chasers.

On the descent back to Crowborough Axford and Griffin reached speeds over 40mph but one final climb lay in wait for their tired legs. With 200m to go Axford climbed steadily on the front and with Griffin appearing to be content with overall victory, Axford took the stage win.

“Brian was tired after his long breakaway ride the day before,” said Griffin: “So we decided at a team meeting that he would watch Dodd and I would watch Axford. I couldn’t have done it without the other guys and we rode well as a team.”

Full results

Axford wins the stage from Griffin - Barry & Roche police the break attemps

Griffin stays close to Axford

Roche leads Barry on stage 5 - Roche on 15% climb 

KOM Meville, Winner Griffin & Points Hoy

Top 3 Overall: Axford, Griffin & Dodd

KENNEALLY GOES TOP

(Aug 18) Brian Kenneally (Team Rás Mumhan) pulled on the yellow jersey in Surrey on Monday when he finished second on the stage to Duncan Urquhart (Prestige VC).

It was another long day in the saddle for Kenneally on the 100-mile stage. “I got away with Urquhart and Christian Varley in the early part of the race and we must have been away for nearly 90-miles,” said Kenneally: “Eventually Christian fell back and I finished about a minute ahead of the bunch at the end. Paul Griffin managed to get away in the run in to the finish and he got third on the stage.”

Urquhart’s victory is the first real showing of the VC Prestige team on this year’s race and it moves the former Army CC man up to seventh place overall and over two minutes off the lead.

Kenneally’s lead of twenty seconds over Griffin and twenty-four seconds over Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport RT) is the largest leading margin in the race so far but Tuesday is the toughest stage. Danny Axford (Parrot Print RT) is still well within striking distance in fourth place at 45 seconds coming to the stage where he has already tasted victory in 2001.

The second battle tomorrow will be for the mountains competition where Kenneally now lies in second place just three points behind Roger Morgan (Parrot Print RT)

August 18, 2003 - Herstmonceux - Evans Cycles Surrey League 5 day - Stage 4 - 100 miles

Pos Name Club/Team Cat Time

1 Duncan Urquhart Prestige VC 4:10:49

2 Brian Kenneally Team Rás Mumhan E 4:10:49

3 Paul Griffin Team Rás Mumhan E 4:11:37

4 Justin Hoy Evans Cycles RT E 4:11:45

5 Matt Sewell Energy Cycles 4:11:45

6 Andrew Rigg Prestige VC 1 4:11:45

19 Andy Roche Team Rás Mumhan E 4:11:45

47 John Horgan Team Rás Mumhan E 4:11:45

49 Adrian Hedderman Team Rás Mumhan E 4:11:45

50 Timmy Barry Team Rás Mumhan E 4:12:22

August 15 - 19, 2002 - Evans Cycles Surrey League 5 day - GC after stage 4

Pos Name Club/Team Cat Total

1 Brian Kenneally Team Rás Mumhan E 15:34:08

2 Paul Griffin Team Rás Mumhan E 15:34:28

3 Gary Dodd Sigma Sport E 15:34:32

4 Danny Axford Stilton-Parrot Print E 15:34:53

5 David Berkeley Sigma Sport E 15:35:32

6 Gareth Jones Energy Cycles 15:35:47

26 Adrian Hedderman Team Rás Mumhan E 15:44:03

32 Andy Roche Team Rás Mumhan E 15:47:04

42 Timmy Barry Team Rás Mumhan E 15:54:50

50 John Horgan Team Rás Mumhan E 15:59:05

Still all to play for in Surrey 5-day

(Aug 17) Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport RT) emerged as a clear race leader following the 2.4-mile individual time trial on the Goodwood motor racing circuit on Sunday morning. The stage was won by Andy Roche (Team Rás Mumhan) in a record 4:28 to beat the time of 4:31 set by Chris Newton last year.

Dodd successfully defended the jersey in the tough 84-mile afternoon road stage won by Justin Hoy (Evans RT) who narrowly beat Timmy Barry into second spot in the group sprint.

Paul Griffin (Team Rás Mumhan) lost four seconds to Dodd on the morning time-trial but held onto second spot overall as his team successfully kept a strong breakaway group at a safe distance in the afternoon road stage.

Dodd’s teammate Dave Berkeley had crossed over to a leading group of five who had escaped early in the stage and included Timmy Barry. The breakaway forced the chase from VC Prestige and Team Rás Mumhan as the lead grew to over four minutes and Berkeley was the leader on the road. In the final miles of racing, a concerted effort from the bunch saw the lead rapidly reduce to only 1:28

With Brian Kenneally in team duties in the bunch, he was forced to relinquish the king of the mountains jersey he had won on the previous day as Roger Morgan (Parrot Print RT) mopped up all of the points on the climbs to Goodwood Racecourse.

Only 1:15 separates the top six on GC to leave the race wide open with two tough days to go.

August 17, 2003 - Goodwood - Evans Cycles Surrey League 5 day - Stage 3a - 2.4 miles individual time-trial

Pos Name Club/Team Cat Time

 1 Andy Roche Team Rás Mumhan E 0:04:28

 2 Danny Axford Stilton-Parrot Print E 0:04:39

 3 Rowan Horner VC St Raphael E 0:04:45

 4 Chris Birch Evans Cycles RT E 0:04:46

 4 Gary Dodd Sigma Sport E 0:04:46

 6 Matt Sewell Energy Cycles 0:04:50

 6 Gavin Poupart Stilton-Parrot Print E 0:04:50

 6 Brian Kenneally Team Rás Mumhan E 0:04:50

 6 Paul Griffin Team Rás Mumhan E 0:04:50

August 17, 2003 - Goodwood - Evans Cycles Surrey League 5 day - Stage 3b - 84.3 miles

Pos Name Club/Team Cat Time

1 Justin Hoy Evans Cycles RT E 3:22:22

2 Timmy Barry Team Rás Mumhan E 3:22:22

3 David Berkeley Sigma Sport E 3:22:22

4 Chris Spence Caesarean CC E 3:22:22

5 Greg Roche Energy Cycles 3:22:22

6 Chris Belsham York Cycleworks 1 3:22:22

August 15 - 19, 2002 - Evans Cycles Surrey League 5 day - GC after stage 3b

Pos Name Club/Team Cat Total

1 Gary Dodd Sigma Sport E 11:22:47

2 Paul Griffin Team Rás Mumhan E @ 4 sec

3 Danny Axford Stilton-Parrot Print E @ 21 sec

4 Brian Kenneally Team Rás Mumhan E @ 32 sec

5 David Berkeley Sigma Sport E @ 1:00

6 Gareth Jones Energy Cycles @ 1:15

Griffin leads in Surrey

Paul Griffin (Team Rás Mumhan) won stage two of the Evans Surrey League 5-Day race on Saturday 16th August and took joint leadership of the event on general classification with Britain’s Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport RT).

Griffin was in a group of four that included team mate Brian Kenneally, Danny Axford (Parrott Print RT) and Dodd. The quartet created a lead of 1:30 on the chase group in the latter part of the stage and on the final one-mile climb of the day, Griffin pulled steadily away to take the stage and joint race leadership after he had built a 28 second margin over Dodd on the climb.

Kenneally moved into the King of the Mountains jersey after having a busy day. “I went away after only about five miles and a small group developed,” said Kenneally: “After we had built a good lead I went away on my own again. A couple of riders got to me first then Paul (Grifffin) came over with a few others and there were about ten of us then. The group slimmed down to the four of us as we hit more climbs and when Paul finally attacked the others couldn’t go with him.”

Sunday begins with a 2.4-mile individual time trial around the Goodwood Motor Racing circuit and the exposed course is expected to produce a single overall leader before the afternoon’s 84-mile stage in the surrounding countryside.

August 16, 2003 - Handcross - Evans Cycles Surrey League 5 day - Stage 2 - 97 miles

Pos Name Club/Team Cat Race # Time

1 Paul Griffin Team Ras Mumhan E 58 4:01:56

2 Gary Dodd Sigma Sport E 47 4:02:24

3 Danny Axford Stilton-Parrot Print E 49 4:02:24

4 Brian Kenneally Team Ras Mumhan E 57 4:02:24

5 David Berkeley Sigma Sport E 46 4:03:55

6 Nick Kenwright Energy Cycles 12 4:03:55

18 Adrian Hedderman Team Ras Mumhan E 62 4:04:56

55 John Horgan Team Ras Mumhan E 60 4:07:33

60 Andy Roche Team Ras Mumhan E 61 4:07:33

65 Timmy Barry Team Ras Mumhan E 59 4:09:06

August 15 - 19, 2002 - Evans Cycles Surrey League 5 day - GC after stage 2

Pos Name Club/Team Cat Race # Total

1 Paul Griffin Team Ras Mumhan E 58 7:54:11

2 Gary Dodd Sigma Sport E 47 7:54:11

3 Danny Axford Stilton-Parrot Print E 49 7:54:39

4 Brian Kenneally Team Ras Mumhan E 57 7:54:39

5 Nick Kenwright Energy Cycles 12 7:55:51

6 Andrew Young Team Scotland 1 63 7:55:57

Mountains Leader – Brian Kenneally (Team Rás Mumhan)

Points Leader – Gary Dodd – Sigma Sport RT

Barry fifth in Surrey 5-day.

Timmy Barry finished in fifth place on stage one of the Evans Cycles Surrey League 5-Day on Friday 15th August. After only six miles of racing a confident Barry instigated the stage-winning break as the bunch reached the top of a long drag up to the village of Rusper.

Barry was quickly chased by a number of riders including Justin Hoy (Evans RT), Rob Enslin (Prestige VC) and Gareth Jones (Energy Cycles) to make a leading group of eight, who quickly built a lead of over a minute.

A small group led by Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport RT) managed to detach itself from the bunch and quickly crossed the gap to the leaders with the bunch slowing to give the leaders a 2:40 advantage.

In the run in to the finish it was Jones and Dodd who proved the strongest by gaining nine seconds on Barry’s group with Jones taking the stage and leaders yellow jersey. Justin Hoy took third place and the points jersey.

A large group including Brian Kenneally, Paul Griffin and Andy Roche had picked up the pace in the closing stages and finished 28 seconds after the winner. John Horgan and Adrian Hedderman came home safely in the main bunch.

Stage 1 Provisional Result

Friday August 15th Newdigate stage.

Gareth Jones (Energy Cycles) 99-miles; 2, Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport) st; 3, Justin Hoy at 9 sec; 4, Matt Melville (VC St Raphael); 5, Timmy Barry (Team Rás Mumhan) st.

Mountains - Nick Kenwright (Energy Cycles)

Points – Justin Hoy (Evans RT)

Barry leads Munster team in Surrey 5-Day

The Irish team travelling to the Surrey League 5-day starting on Friday 15th August is looking even stronger after a change to the team roster which has also resulted in a team name change. Timmy Barry leads the Team Rás Mumhan of John Horgan, Brian Keneally and Paul Griffin but the line up has been completed by Andy Roche and Adrian Hedderman. Although the weather in the UK gas been cooling of late, the riders will undoubtably face temperatures of between 28 and 32 degrees C already forecast for the weekend. Conditions last weekend saw only 26 riders finish the Havant GP event in Sussex won by 42-year-old Malcom Elliott.

There has been success for Irish teams in recent times when Paddy Moriarty won the event in 2001 with Barry taking victory on stage two and finished third overall.

Last year the British national endurance squad dominated the race when they fielded two strong teams and provided all of the stage winners and overall winner. The main challenge for the Munster team in this year’s event will come from the top domestic teams of Sigma Sport, Prestige VC, Parrot Print RT and the Evans Cycles RT.

A number of these team riders will know about the Irish riders capabilities since their ride in the FBD Milk Rás this year. Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport), John Veness, Justin Hoy (both Evans RT), Roger Morgan (Parrott Print RT) and Dave Worthington (Prestige VC) rode for a Surrey League team but their teams will be bitter rivals for rewards here.

Chistian Varley (Isle of Man) may find the ‘mountainous’ terrain to his liking after finishing 10th in the British under-23 road championships in similar surroundings but the nineteen-year-old could find the lack of team support a major problem over five days. James Flanagan (Team Milton Keynes) is another promising youngster who has shown his ability on tough courses by winning the Central Division Championship in England in June.

The race moves around the counties each day and each stage uses three separate circuits of varying difficulty but the race gets progressively more difficult.

After two tough stages on Friday and Saturday, the race moves to its most southern point on Sunday.

The racing on Sunday starts in Goodwood with a morning 2.4-mile individual time-trial around the motor racing circuit. Riders will be hard pressed to beat the previous best set by Chris Newton last year in 4:31. Danny Axford (Parrott Print RT) will begin as favourite after winning the stage in 2001 with a time of 4:58 and showing great form by taking fourth place in the UCI ranked Havant GP on Sunday 10th August.

In the afternoon’s road stage many breakaway attempts will be thwarted as the tough course saps the riders strength and tests their resolve. A small breakaway group may slip away as the peleton returns for five laps of the exposed motor racing circuit.

Monday’s Herstmonceux stage is the longest. The race used the same 100-mile course last year where the ‘auto-bus’ finished over 24 minutes down.

There’s nowhere to hide on the Tuesday multi KOM prime stage. The route eventually brings the riders up the category one ascent of ‘the wall’ on the finishing circuit where the ability groups are quick to form and it may be tough enough to select the stage and overall event winner.

• Stage 1 Friday, based Newdigate; 

• Stage 2 Saturday, based Staplefield; 

• Stage 3a Sunday, Goodwood motor circuit ITT; 

• Stage 3b Sunday, based Goodwood motor circuit; 

• Stage 4 Monday, based Herstmonceux; 

• Stage 5 Tuesday, based Crowborough.

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