Eddie's stroll in the park

By Declan Quigley

Paddy Sullivan Memorial, Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin, Tuesday 28th April 2009

Midweek racing returned to the Phoenix Park on Tuesday with the Paddy Sullivan Memorial and Orwell Wheelers celebrated in style by providing three of the top six finishers including the winner Eddie Lynch.

The new Khyber Pass circuit introduced for the first 'Park Gallop' of the season proved popular with most in the field of almost 200, and not least with Lynch who crested the rise at the end of a frantic 47 minutes to take the chequered flag just ahead of clubmate Stephen McNally.

The Orwell duo were just beginning to celebrate their one-two finish when Brian Ahern led in the bunch for sixth place just behind the five man break from the veteran's group from which Lynch and McNally had emerged.

The break developed when McNally skipped across to a duo dangling ahead of the V/J/W limit group on half distance and the lead three were soon joined by Lynch and Seamus Kelly (Usher IRC). This quintet opened up a gap of 40 seconds as the V/J/W group slipped back into the clutches of the scratch led bunch with one and a half laps of the 4km circuit remaining.

The lead five had the race to themselves approaching the drag to the finish line at the top of the Khyber Pass. Lynch often uses the hill for his interval training sessions and nothing was going to stop the ace sprinter as he played out a finish that he has been practising for years.

The climb up to the Pope's Cross turned into a road to calvary for the other four but Lynch had time for a two hands victory salute with McNally clear in second and applauding his teammate's finishing effort on a fine evening for Orwell.

Michelle Geoghegan was prominent throughout and survived the torrid pace with apparent ease to take another category prize in a select group of women racers.

Ahern was equally satisfied with his powerful finishing effort to take sixth and the best of the rest award on a night when the scratch men just failed to beat the handicapper. The huge bunch included a large contingent from Orwell in each of the groups and there was universal satisfaction at the return of midweek racing to the centre of Dublin.

Results

1. Eddie Lynch (Orwell Wheelers Dundrum Town Centre)
2. Stephen McNally (Orwell Wheelers Dundrum Town Centre)
3. Seamus Kelly (Usher Irish Road Club)
4. Tony Brabazon (Sorrento CC)
6. Brian Ahern (Orwell Wheelers Dundrum Town Centre)

First Unplaced Woman

Michelle Geoghegan (Orwell Wheelers Dundrum Town Centre)