Thomas Third in League Opener
Dorey's Forge, Co. Meath, 22 February 2009
Graham Thomas was best of the Orwell riders with a fine third place finish in last Sunday's busy Inter-Club League opener on the Dorey's Forge circuit in Meath.
Thomas escaped in the closing miles with race winner Daniel Kirwan (Usher IRC) and Frank Billings (Staggs Lucan CRC) and the three stayed clear to the line after a hectic series of attacks and chases fragmented the remaining riders into a series of small groups.
Orwell contributed just over a third of the 91 starters who signed on at Dunboyne AFC with Aidan Collins, Barry Browne and Ivan McAvinchey taking part in their first race. All three acquitted themselves well wit McAvinchey leading in the first bunch behind the breakaways for a fine top 15 finish.
The 59km race took place in damp, muddy conditions that made cornering treacherous, particularly at the right turn onto the Mullagh at the start of the first of two laps of Dorey's Forge. The conditions led to numerous punctures and a couple of crashes, thankfully without serious injury.
The first of four groups away was the one containing the Limit riders who enjoyed a 3m15s advantage over Semi-Limit with 3m30s to Semi-Scratch and five more minutes to Scratch.
Apart from a few breakaways hanging on in front, the whole field converged on the climb up Dorey's Forge on lap one with 30km completed. After that the action in the second half of the race was frenetic before the order asserted itself in the closing miles with the top ten finishers all emerging from the Scratch group.
Kirwan led Thomas and Billings clear in the closing stages and their cause was aided by a crash which delayed the chasing group on the wind assisted, downhill dash to the Hatchet Pub.
Meanwhile Odhran Connors showed the value of a busy winter on the bike with a strong eighth place finish that bodes well for his season.
The opening round featured a fifth club entering the fray with six riders from UCD Cycling Club enjoying the competition on the first day's action in Leinster's most popular Inter Club league. Orwell Wheelers would like to extend a welcome to UCD and look forward to plenty of jousts out the road in the coming months and years.
Results
1. Daniel Kirwan (Usher IRC)
2. Frank Billings (Staggs Lucan)
3. Graham Thomas (Orwell Wheelers DTC)
4. Neil Delahaye (Usher IRC)
5. Paul Dolan (Usher IRC)
6. Shane Baker (Usher IRC)
