Gráinne Coghlan got the results off to a flying start this week in Corkagh Park, and this continued into the weekend, with Pat O'Brien sprinting in for 8th on the final stage of the Wexford 2 Day, putting himself into 10th overall. Darragh Long featured in the Junior Champs, taking the bunch gallop and helping his NRPT squad to the team prize.

Naas CC were hosting this week's Corkagh Park round, and the weather was kind to the riders despite the constant threat of rain most of the rest of the week. Gráinne Coghlan and Isabel Cogan were flying the Orwell flag, and Coghlan, having already taken a placing at the venue in July, repeated the feat to again take 3rd in the B race, marking her as one to watch for the final two weeks.

Coghlan on her way to the win (courtesy of Brendan Culleton)

For the weekend, the Junior Champs took place in Omagh, with a strong Nicolas Roche Performance Team in action, including our own Darragh Long. The strong team worked well together, with Fintan Ryan taking the title and Danny Bruton in 4th. Darragh Long then won the bunch sprint, wrapping up the team prize for NRPT and placing yet another feather in the cap after silver in the TT the previous day.

There was a large contingent of Orwellians in action for the newly relaunched Wexford 2 Day. Strong wind and heavy rain combined with a constantly rolling course to make the first stage a gruelling one, but all riders finished safely thanks to the excellent marshalling.

In the A4 event, Donnacha McCormack and Brian Doyle acquitted themselves well, with Jules Cantwell racing Stage 1 before work commitments forced an abandon. For the A3/A2 race, the likes of Ed O'Mahoney, Neal Hudson and Cormac Bracken pushed determinedly through the sufferfest, and on the final stage Orwell were particularly active, with Rás veteran Odhrán Connors and Wexford native Jamie Busher in a couple of moves, but it was Aidan Collins who was most aggressive.

First Collins got in a two-man move at the head of the race, accompanied by a Comeragh rider, lasting about a lap. When the latter was dropped, he was then joined by Ger Dunne (Navan RC) and Geoff Robinson (Bray Wheelers). Those three worked well together for a lap, but were joined and then over-hauled by a four-man move, and a couple of chasers.

On the final lap, Wexfordian Pat O'Brien bridged to what was now a small group of about eight riders, and took that small sprint with ease. He made his move with about 350 metres to go, passing each competitor in turn, and timing his jump to the line perfectly. His reward was 7th place on the stage, which boosted him to 10th on GC for the final prizes. Those results will have earned him his long overdue upgrade, becoming the club's fifth A1 rider - congrats Pat!

O'Brien just after his 8th place, with O'Mahoney (courtesy of Brian Mc)

Busher, Bracken, McCormack and McArdle before the start of Stage 3 (courtesy of Jamie Busher)

Meanwhile current A1 Brian McArdle put in a decent TT to take 5th on Stage 2, but he may have set a club record for packing on the road in Stage 3, giving up the chase after just 9.5km. The overall title still belongs to one of the other A1s - Dan Whiting - for packing after sign-on at Mondello, before the race had even begun. Sean McKenna, who spent his time as a junior in the Orwell ranks, took the overall in Wexford from the small A1 field, after two superhuman efforts on the road.

Coming up this week is the final round of the club league. The spreadsheet on the front page has been updated for the current points, and Eric Downey can be congratulated in advance, because he's won the league whether or not he shows up on Thursday! There will be prizes for top ten overall, and they'll be awarded after the race in the Blue Light, from about 8pm.

The club is taking the opportunity to have a social night for all members, with a barbecue out the back - put your Child of Prague out on Wednesday evening! All club members are welcome along, the more the merrier!

Corkagh Park Ladies Racing - R10

A Race
1 Mary Costello (DID Electric)
2 Roisin Kennedy (Adamstown Cycling Team)
1 Siobhán McNamara (DID Electric)

B Race
1 Lisa Neary (Cuchulainn)
2 Rebecca Heaney (SERC)
3 Gráinne Coghlan (DTC Orwell Wheelers)

Full results from the Wexford 2 Day and the Junior Champs were not available at time of publishing.