Hi folks,
we hope you enjoyed your weekend. It was a bit quieter last week after the excitement of the previous weekends big race with the Visit Nenagh Classic.
We had a few members take part in the Limerick league on Tuesday night.
On Thursday night we had Road Race 2 on the racing calendar. This weeks route was a longer one at 45km. We had a fine turn out of members on the evening. At the start line they were put into their handicapped groups, 3 in total and we had the usual pleading with the race committee about being placed in too hard a group which all seemed to fall on deaf ears… 😉 We even had one poor fellow who wasn’t suffering enough, Owen Hynes, who chose to upgrade to the scratch group on the night! The start line was the far side of the Motorway bridge heading towards Toomevara. Group 1 were set off and worked well together and stayed working together for the entire race with all finishing very close together. Group 2 was set off with a 4 minute handicap but the group halved very soon into the race which proved to take too much out of everyone and this group suffered becoming splintered over the course. The scratch group started out a further 3 minutes down but had an extra man on the evening and the four worked very well together the whole way round the course. They caught the first half of group 2 between Moneygall and Cloughjordan with Joey and John managing to hold on for a short time but the pace on the drags while steady, just took too much of a tole. They then picked up the other half of group 2 just after Cloughjordan village and with only a group of 2 for so long Rob just couldn’t manage to hold on and unfortunately got caught out on a drag just before they caught up to the first group, a little further Rob and you could have latched onto the first group back to the finish. Malachy had a great race and was the only one who managed to hang onto the scratch lads the whole way to the line so questions are already being asked about his promotion 😀 Well done Mal!! The enlarged scratch group were working very well and caught and passed group one before Borrisokane. From there they set a steady pace the whole way to the finish line with Eoin Woods trying for a long sprint and going first forcing the rest into action early and Owen and Pat putting down a fantastic sprint for the line and definitely the closest finish we’ve had for some time with Pat taking it by little more than a tyre, and Liam just about took the final podium spot from Eoin and Mal!! Next up, the first group managed to pretty much stay together to the line with young Joseph Donnelly’s strong form continuing to shine with him taking that group sprint. All in all it was a fantastic night’s racing and a huge well done to everyone for coming out and taking part. Congratulations to Pat on the win and also a big thank you to all those who helped out and took pictures on the night, Jan, Conor, Mike, Selina, Vic and Tracy. See you all next week for the next instalment!! We’ve some great photos of all the action uploaded to FaceBook here and here.
Saturday we had a few lads taking in a good few hills around the area, well pretty much all of them!! so well done lads it was a fabulous day for a spin.
Also on Saturday Eva Moynan was in action at the Sundrive track in Dublin. She was taking part in the Junior track championship. She took part in four events on the day, firstly a 200 metre sprint, a 2km pursuit, a 500 metre sprint and then the 7.5km scratch race which consisted of 16 laps of the track. Eva did fantastic placing 5th in each of her races and she was quite close to the winner so she was really delighted with the result. Very well done Eva, fantastic stuff out of you. Here are a few photos Eva sent on to us of her day at Sundrive.
Sunday we had 20 out on our morning club spin. The fine weather is enticing everybody out. The weekend saw the group head over the Clare side to cycle a loop taking them through Portroe, Killaloe, Ogonnelloe, Tuamgraney, Broadford, O’Brien’s bridge and back to Nenagh via Birdhill. As they were cycling along the lake for a time Sunday they enjoyed the scenic views of Lough Derg in the sunshine. The group split into two groups in Newtown and we were informed we had a new lady join our spin on the morning so very well done to you. They covered a distance of 93km. Well done to you all and we will see you next weekend.
Open racing
We had one club member in action Sunday in the Boohermeen CC Waller Cup A2 race in Co. Meath. David Kyle. Here is a brief summary of his race.
Club Tour
Keep this date for your diary folks it’s fast approaching now. Our annual Tour of Lough Derg. We always have a fantastic day with great atmosphere, we meet lovely people, enjoy great cycling and enjoy good food. We would love to see you all there… Spread the word.
This week’s Club Training spins are as follows:
Tuesday: Club training spin leaving from Moynans bike shop, Nenagh at 6pm sharp. Route decided by the group.
Wednesday: Club evening spin leaving from Moynans at 7pm.
Thursday: Club road race 3: Sign on will be at Moynans bike shop, Nenagh at 6.15pm and start time is 7pm. We have the same starting point as last weeks race just after the last roundabout off the Motorway bridge heading towards Toomevara. Route: Toomevara side of last motorway bridge heading towards Toome – Roscrea roundabout – Back to the start point, 50km.
Friday: NTW Open Time Trial no.4. Sign on is in Birdhill at 6:30pm and entry is €5. The course is Birdhill – Five Alley roundabout – Roundhill, 24km.
Saturday: intermediate cycle 40/50km in distance, leaving Woodies at 7.30am. Anyone who wants to is very welcome to join in on this spin. You can contact William on 086 2447888 for more details.
Normal club training spin will be leaving from Woodies car park at 9am. The route will be decided on the morning by the group. Keep an eye on WhatsApp for details closer to the time.
Sunday: Usual spin leaving from Moynans bike shop at 9am. This week we are going to cycle around the lake in preparation for our upcoming Tour Of Lough Derg, which is on the 15th of May. This will also be beneficial for anyone who is also training for the clubs Mizen to Malin spin in August as we need to start ramping up the mileage now with only a little more than 3 months to go! We will have a coffee break on the way out of Portumna at the petrol station just over the far side of the bridge on the right hand side of the road. Bring a few euro with you on the day. Distance will be a little under 120km and for anyone struggling or under time pressure, they can return via Borrisokane, cutting off about 8km and a lot of climbing.
