Full Results, Podiums and a Report from Scott Orwell Wheelers CycloCross Race 2018 in GAP Glencullen.
Media
Photos: Luke Potter (Podiums & A-Race) | Barry Mooney (A-Race) | Simon Smith (Women & A-Race) | Give it Socks (Women) | Give it Socks (A-Race) Part 1 | Give it Socks (A-Race) Part 2
Videos: The Swift Cyclist (B-Race & A-Race)
Full Results: All Races (Google Sheets).
The first page is the Sub-Categories, and the other pages are the Overall race results.
Thank You
Thank you all for attending.
Thank you to Team WORC for leading the way in the CX in Leinster over the last number of years, from the days when Chris Juul-Jensen was winning U14 MTB Support Races at the Nationals. Shout outs to the old school DCCX crew too.
Thank you to Andy Layhe (Off-Road Commission CX, Trail Demons), Sean Ó Tuathail (Bray Wheelers), Robin Seymour (Team WORC) and Terry O’Neill (EPIC MTB) for their advice in the organising process and answering our myriad of questions.
A massive thank you to our own Club Members in helping to organise the race today, prepping the last three Saturdays, and those who helped with the Club CX Championships over the last few years. Special mention for, our Treasurer, Yvonne, who we asked a lot of, especially during AGM Season.
We hope to see ye all next year,
Luke
If you have any feedback on the race, or unreturned chips, please e-mail Race Organiser, Luke Potter, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Areas I know need improvement are; Pit Placement, Double Pit, Lap Length, Accepting One Day Licenses in Pre-Entry.
A-Race - Sponsored by The All-American Launderette
Rocket Man Conroy on another Planet
David Conroy (Scott/Eurocycles.com) has only been under pressure once this season, that was in Navan, where he was battling back from 6th place. He showed that his recent Spanish sojourn did not slow him.
From the off in this race, the other riders were left wondering about Conroy’s shoe hygiene, as he showed them a clean pair of heels. Only Sean Nolan (Navan RC) could try to go with him, but that gap was ever expanding. Sean Nolan snapped a chain about a hundred meters from the pit. The incident cost him in the region of twenty seconds on the opening lap.
Robin Seymour and Gavan O’Connell (both Team WORC), finished the first lap twelve seconds down on David Conroy.
Ronan O’Flynn (Scott Orwell Wheelers) and Tim O’Regan (Team WORC) were fourth and fifth on the opening lap, with a gap of seven seconds to the Conroy Chasers. Ronan was focusing on bunny-hopping the barriers for a second race, after his Oldcastle podium last time out. He quickly became a fan-favourite, as the assembled spectators got to see his successful and unsuccessful attempts ten times.
In the next pack, Eoin Ahern (Scott Orwell Wheelers) and Niall Somers (Team WORC) were joined by Unplaced M40 Battlers, Evan Ryan (Team WORC) and Sean Ó Tuathail (Bray Wheelers). Ahern started to slip back and needed to retire with a strained Achilles that he didn’t want to inflame further.
Eric Downey (Scott Orwell Wheelers) was trailing that group by five seconds.
In the M50s, John Dorris (EPIC MTB / Expert Cycles) had a lead of eighteen seconds on lap one, over Michael Jordan (Tallaght Wheelers Cycle Superstore)
As the race wore on, Conroy extended the gap to Seymour. By lap seven, it was out to forty seconds. Then Robin started to claw some time back and had reduced the gap by seven seconds on lap nine. On the last Conroy, and Scott/Eurocycles.com, had an excellent finish. David and Alan Cody crossed the line at the same time. Conroy in first and Cody in tenth.
Seymour crossed the line in second, almost forty seconds back.
Gavin O’Connell, in third, was in No Man’s Land, with one minute forty to, team mate, Seymour, and twenty-eight seconds to Sean Nolan.
Unplaced Junior went to Sean Nolan, who would’ve surely put O’Connell under pressure for third, if he didn’t have the snapped chain. Nolan wasn’t leaving anything to chance with O’Regan on his tail. He finished with a vicious sprint that seen him freewheel around most of the start finish area.
Unplaced M40, Evan Ryan, held off the challenge of Ó Tuathail. Whereas Ryan, was consistent in his lap times, Ó Tuathail haemorrhaged time on the last two laps.
Niall Somers finished seventh, and was the second WORC man in No Man’s Land with almost thirty seconds gaps either side of him, to sixth and eighth.
Highest placed Club Man, Ronan O’Flynn, had many battles, with competitors and the wooden boards that he, himself, hammered and drilled into the ground. Solid workmanship from O’Flynn both on and off the bike. On the second last lap, Ó Tuathail gained a place on O’Flynn, after the latter man slipped off this bike after the upper sandpit. Ronan regained the place and held off the challenge by putting thirteen seconds into the Bray man on the final lap.
Unplaced M50 and Eleventh overall, John Dorris matched Michael Jordan’s lap times on the remaining laps, to maintain his first lap advantage. Eric Downey, in twelfth, split the two M50s.
Overall
1 David Conroy Scott/Eurocycles.com
2 Robin Seymour Team WORC
3 Gavin O'Connell Team WORC
Unplaced
Junior Sean Nolan Navan Road Club
M40 Evan Ryan Team WORC
M50 John Doris Epic MTB / Expert Cycles
Women’s Race - Sponsored by Joe Daly Cycles
Klaudia says Bye-olek in Long Farewell to O’Donnell
The Scott/Eurocycles.com team had a very successful Sunday. David Conroy and Alan Cody did very well in the A-Race, with first and tenth. Up North, new signing Asia Bula, won the Xmtb round of the Ulster Cyclocross Series. She also wrapped up the overall victory in that series. Their successful day was kick started by Klaudia.
From the start of the race, Klaudia Bajolek (Scott/Eurocycles.com) has a big gap on her competitors. She finished the first lap, and fastest lap of the race, five seconds ahead of her lone persuiter.
Lucy O’Donnell, of the famed O’Leary Stone Kanturk stable, made up her lost five seconds on the second lap.
The duo rode wheel to wheel for almost the entire race.
Reigning Under-Fourteen National Champion, Annie Roche (Scott Orwell Wheelers), was running in third, although she was in a different race to the others.
Stephanie Roche (Scott Orwell Wheelers) had a tough task on her hands. With Junior rival, O’Donnell, up the road (or, on this course, up the hill) battling Bajolek, Stephanie had to contend with Mary Dawson (Bray Wheelers). Both riders were either battling for a Podium or their respective Unplaced Prize, Junior or Masters.
Behind the top five there were more tight clusters of Senior riders. Trading places throughout the race were; Aideen Keenan (Dublin Wheelers CC), Niamh Stephens (TC Racing), Aileen Flynn (VeloRevolution), Beata Golczas (Unattached) and Aishling O’Connor (Scott Orwell Wheelers).
After lap one, the remaining Masters Women were in two packs, Orla Hendron (Scott Orwell Wheelers) and Tara Kerins (EPIC MTB), who put in sub-6:40 laps, and Deirdre O’Toole (VC Beckwood) and Caroline Martinez (Inspired Cycling), who were thirty seconds down.
Under-fourteen, Katie Reilly (Scott Orwell Wheelers) was in the gap between the two groups of Masters riders.
Orla Conroy (Bray Wheelers), aiming for the Unplaced U23 prize, spent the first lap battling O’Toole and Martinez and a number of other Youth Riders.
That youth pack contained Eve Furlong (Racing794), Emma Smith, Zoe Shakespeare ( both Navan RC) and Aine Reilly (Scott Orwell Wheelers).
Fiona Gyo (TC Racing) was battling as a senior rider in her second ever race.
Dave Tansey, of Women’s Race sponsor Joe Daly Cycles, was on hand to wave the chequered flag.
Through trees we could see that Bajolek was leading O’Donnell on the off-camber and onto the straight, slightly downhill finish. Klaudia’s seated acceleration proved too much for Lucy and she took the win. This coming Sunday, Bajolek returns to Russborough House, as the leader, albeit a narrow lead, of the Bike7 SuperCross Cup, she won this round last year and will be looking to cement the series.
Lucy O’Donnell, in second was also the first Junior. Such strong performances from a Junior bodes well for the future.
Stephanie Roche claimed third and was second junior. She eventually put distance between herself and Mary Dawson.
Mary Dawson, in fourth and winner of the Unplaced Masters prize, was super consistent with her lap times.
Of the remaining Senior riders, what started as a game of seconds, evolved into a matter of minutes. Aideen Keenan’s late race consistency proved too much for her competitors and she eventually triumphed by over a minute from Niamh Stephens, who gapped Aileen Flynn by a minute, who beat Bea by a minute.
Aishling O’Connor and the remaining Masters; Hendron, O’Toole, Kerins and Martinez, were also separated by minutes.
Reigning U14 National Champ, Annie Roche put in a barnstorming performance. She was running third overall for most of the race. Alas, as an Under Sixteen, her racing is capped at thirty minutes. She won the Unplaced U16 Prize.
Eve Furlong and Emma Smith were second and third respectively.
In the Under-14s, Katie Reilly rode very strongly. She can look back on her progress this debut season with pride. She’s now beating riders who beat her in Kilternan, back in September. There’s still five or six races left this season for her to progress further.
Zoe Shakespeare was second U14. She was chasing her clubmate, Smith and had Fiona Gyo read to pounce on any mistakes.
Orla Conroy won Unplaced U23. She was part of a day of podiums for her club and family.
Aine Reilly, third U14, was always going to have a tough day ahead of her. She bravely signed up the the U14 race, despite racing under a U12 license, to race against competitors, some four times her age. Most of the Under-12s who raced the Youth course didn’t want to do a second lap. Aine did four of the senior course laps which featured much more climbing, a second sandpit and uphill and downhill hairpins.
The Scott Orwell Members involved in the Youth Section of the club, can be very proud of their work over the last number of years.
Special mention to Head Brownie Chef, Aine Reilly. I stress-ate three of them and they kept me going for the B-Race and A-Race. Luckily I was quick, as the two lunch boxes of Brownies were devoured (Sean Kelly Voice) at a real fast rate.
Overall
1 Klaudia Bajolek Scott/Eurocycles.com
2 Lucy O'Donnell O'leary Stone Kanturk
3 Stephanie Roche Scott Orwell Wheelers
Unplaced
Masters Mary Dawson Bray Wheelers
U23 Orla Conroy Bray Wheelers
U16 Annie Roche Scott Orwell Wheelers
U14 Katie Reilly Scott Orwell Wheelers
B-Race - Sponsored by BikeFittingIreland Aidan Hammond
Clarke Brays “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”
Bray Wheelers were like a postal service, in the way that they took home many envelopes this Sunday. Two in the Women’s Race and one in the B-Race.
Only five men put in a sub-five minute lap in the B-Race; Anthony Clarke (Bray Wheelers), Daragh Denning (St. Tiernans Cycling Club), and the three Under-Sixteens, Dylan Hayes (Bikeworx), Ruairi Byrne and David Forbes (both Scott Orwell Wheelers).
Clarke went on to dominate the race and won by a minute and fifteen seconds. In terms of him racing the A-Race, he would’ve just been inside the Top 40, of the 47 rider field. His insane first lap time, 4:41, was all the more impressive considering that he started ungridded, behind fifteen of his peers and a batch of U16s.
Fearghal Regan (Murphy Surveys Kilcullen CC) was second. He lost most of the defict to Clarke on the opening two laps. Their remaining six laps were extremely similar. Fearghal was gridded number one in this race, and he is riding at the top in the B-Race Classification in the Bike7 Supercross Cup.
Ian O’Connell (Team WORC) was third. He was in a chasing pack on at the end of lap one, but his lap times remained consistently in the mid-five minute mark, whilst his rivals times drifted by a few seconds.
Billy Sheill (Unattached) was fourth overall and first M50. He matched O’Connell for most of the race, impressively regaining twenty-five seconds lost on the first lap, but ended up one second off the podium.
Gabriel Blanco (Unattached) help off Cormac Keogh (Murphy Surveys Kilcullen CC) for fifth place. Keogh was another man who battled back from a deficit on the first lap to get close to the podium.
Philip Hayden (Bray Wheelers) finished seventh. He showed mega consistency with his lap times on laps two, three, four and five with solid 5:33 times.
Alan Killian was eight overall, and first M40. He had the unenviable position of having Marcin Worbel (Irish Cycle Sport) hot on his heels on the final lap. Worbel pulled back five seconds on Killian on the final lap. Killian’s opening lap six second lead seen him remain ahead of Marcin.
Keogh, Hayden, Worbel and Killian had a tight four-way battle in Navan recently.
Daragh Denning (St. Tiernans CC) rounded out the Top Ten. His opening lap was enough to see him finish ahead of, highest place Scott Orwell Wheeler, Michael Hanley. Hanley took big bites out of Denning’s lead, with ten and twenty seconds recouped on laps four and seven. The Hanley Fan Club were stationed at the hairpin before the boards.
In the M60s, there was a good chase. It was the second most entertaining battle of the race. Lloyd Moore (Scott Orwell Wheelers), showed no ill-effects of yesterday’s sandpit cleaning, by biding his time until the last two laps, before closing the fifteen second gap on rival Terry O’Neill (EPIC MTB). O’Neill gained all this time on the opening two laps, before Moore reeled him in, slowly, slowly and then all at once.
The title of most entertaining battle of the race, went to the trio of Under Sixteens riding wheel to wheel. Hayes, Byrne and Forbes, noted above for their sub-five minute first lap time, battled each other tooth and nail over the course of thirty-six minutes.
When the dust settled, Hayes came out on top. Hayes had a very strong B-Race in Navan recently, where he finished second to a Man of the Rás. Hayes dropped his two competitors on the second last lap, before soloing home on lap seven.
Ruairi Byrne was closing gaps to the two riders. At one point, at the bottom of the descent, he was two bike lengths behind. Forbes and Hayes bumped into each other on the uphill hairpin allowing Byrne to pass them. Byrne also tried to go with Hayes on his sixth lap attack, but was unable to hold on. He did, however, succeed in establishing a gap to Forbes.
Fourth placed U16 was debutant, Ronan O’Connor (Scott Orwell Wheelers). Ronan, who is strong on the road, will improve and, if the ground is firm in Navan in a few weeks, it could suit him.
Cian Lenehan (Navan RC), was sixth U16. He matched O’Connor on the opening salvos, but started to drift on the second lap.
I reckon that, Under-14, Ryan Fox (Scott Orwell Wheelers) could've also gone sub-five minutes on the first lap. He was impeded by the Under-Fourteens starting at the back of the grid. Undeterred, he was like a hot knife through butter and he dispatched more than forty riders during the race. His lap times would’ve put him solidly in the Top-30 Overall. Alas the Youths race for 30 minutes, so he had to be content with 1st U14.
The rest of the U14s acquitted themselves very well. They got respectful overall placings too. Oisin May (Scott Orwell Wheelers) was 2nd U14. James McDonald (Bespoke Cycles) rounded out the podium, in 3rd U14. Joseph Mullen (Navan RC), Christopher Marshall (Scott Orwell Wheelers), Cillian Fox, Tim Cronin (both Navan RC) and Callum Byrne (Scott Orwell Wheelers) got the minor placings in the U14 race.
Special shout out to Barry Mooney (Scott Orwell Wheelers), he pulled out at the end of lap four with a Shoe Mechanical, realising that he couldn't unclip as he approached the boards. Barry was instrumental in all of the course strimming that needed to be done over the previous two Saturdays. He was joined by Paul Kane and Valdis Andersons in taming the unruly course.
Overall
1 Anthony Clarke Bray Wheelers
2 Fearghal Regan Murphy Surveys Kilcullen Cycling Club
3 Ian O'Connell Team WORC
Unplaced
M60 Lloyd Moore Scott Orwell Wheelers
M50 Billy Sheill Unattached
M40 Alan Killian St. Tiernans Cycling Club
U16 Dylan Hayes Bikeworx
U14 Ryan Fox Scott Orwell Wheelers
Underage Races
U12 Girls
1 Greta Lawless WORC
U12 Boys
1 Luca Holmes Scott Orwell Wheelers
2 Ben Fitzsimons WORC
U10 Girls
1 Maria O'Shea IMBRC
2 Jeanne Lawless WORC
3 Anna Cobbe Scott Orwell Wheelers
U10 Boys
1 Kevin Randall Scott Orwell Wheelers
2 Fionn Crinion IMBRC
3 Max Brady Scoil Bhride Spokes
