Cycleways Cup, Sunday Mar 7th, Navan, Co. Meath

emtroche

The Cycleways Cup will take place on Sunday 7th of March. The headquarters is as usual in Navan Rugby Club, sign on will be from 10.15 in the Rugby Club, there will be dressing rooms and there will be showers available after the race. The premises will be closed from 1-3pm when the races are taking place, cyclists are requested to leave their valuables in a safe place.

The Cycling Ireland calendar is incorrect in the published start times, the three races will start at ten minute intervals from:

• 12.50 pm for A+,A1 and A2
  
• 1.00 pm for A3
• 1.10 pm for A4.

The start times are in the same order as previous years however due to extensive roadworks on the circuit and traffic diversions there are a number of changes. The races will start on the Kingscourt road at Proudstown and cyclists will assemble in the wide layby 100 metres the Kingscourt side of the regular finish line. The races will proceed out the Kingscourt road to Kilberry and then turn right onto the regular circuit.

The A+,A1 and A2 race will do 3 laps of the regular circuit of Kilberry-Slane Hostel- Woodtown-Cassidys Cross -Kiberry totalling 106kms (66 miles).
The A3 race will do 2 laps totalling 71kms (44 miles).
The A4 race will do 2 laps totalling 71kms (44 miles).

Because of the traffic diversion due to the closure of the main Navan- Slane road and the subsequent increased oncoming traffic on the Kilberry-Slane part of the circuit cyclists are advised to exercise caution.

The finish of the race will be held on the Navan side of Wilkinstown on the uphill straight 600 metres after the level crossing, this is being done because of safety concerns due to the large volumes of diverted traffic that will be present at the traditional finish. All team cars will be directed left and must turn left before the finish as there is no parking available on the road at the finish, there is parking 300 metres before the finish at Wilkinstown school. Race personnel are requested not to park in front of private residences at the finish line.

To see a map of the race circuit click here

Any queries contact Emmet Roche at emtroche@gmail.com

Chips Lovell

Any results yet?

zzzzzzzz

el tonto wrote: »

Any results yet?

1. Andrew Armstrong
2. Neil Delahaye
3. Sean Lacey

A3 race was tough. 2 blokes got away in the closing stages and hung on til the finish. Not sure who though.

Chips Lovell

Who's Andrew Armstrong?

Lacey's in great form. One win and two podiums in the first two weekends.

How did the Blorginator do?

Chips Lovell

Just heard that Blorg came 4th in the A4 race. Craig Arrigan, who's only 15, came third.

Blorg will be A3 before he knows it.

Caroline_ie

el tonto wrote: »

Who's Andrew Armstrong?

Lacey's in great form. One win and two podiums in the first two weekends.

How did the Blorginator do?

4th as per Orwell twitter

Well done to the Blorgmeister!!!!!!

Lumen

el tonto wrote: »

Just heard that Blorg came 4th in the A4 race.

A great weekend for the Blorg.

el tonto wrote: »

Craig Arrigan, who's only 15, came third. Blorg will be A3 before he knows it.

...where he can get presumably get down to the serious business of losing out to 16 year olds.

More seriously, does that mean Arrigan beat Blorg in a sprint with junior gearing? Imagine the cadence!

Chips Lovell

Well, we don't know if it was a sprint yet. But I've done a few races with Craig Arrigan now and he's been seriously impressive. One to watch.

Raam

Nice one, Blorg. You are giving us all something to aim for now Well done!

Diarmuid

Raam wrote: »

Nice one, Blorg. You are giving us all something to aim for now Well done!

yeah, his back wheel

shaungil

Great work Blorg, when are we shot of you? No fair you're too good!

anyone know how upgrading works btw.

DirkVoodoo

Wow, well done Blorg, +1 to all the comments above.

blorg

I had happily relaxed last night, dinner, wine, happy with my placing, safe in not having a lift to today's race, when the call came from Dave Tansey, I had a lift. Wasn't so thrilled then, I had planned a nice easy Sunday, but happy I went now.

I had no expectations whatsoever with the legs tired from yesterday but thought it would be good experience and let’s give it a go.

Started near the back. Massive crash near to the start right in front of me; I heard around 10 riders went down, if I had been one rider forward would have been me. Heard a few creaks and knocks and then the entire peloton in front of me just seemed to implode. Swung hard right, just got around it, and resolved to ride up the front for the rest of the race.

There was a break on the second lap, after the downhill and sharp corner into an uphill. I had been badly positioned for the corner and lost a lot of speed but got back up near the front and let a few go but when it got to four or five riders I went after them and bridged. By the time I got there I was too fecked to contribute for a fair while. I ended up doing rotations I think with the guy who came second, who was up the front a lot, but we were caught.

I knew there was a hill and resolved to get over this early, more from the point of view of having a nice clean descent than any plans for a break. I was first over on the first lap and second wheel on the second, enjoying a nice 60-65km/h descent with no other bodies impeding the cornering. While done in an effort to avoid being in a bunch descending at speed, on the second lap with the other rider it turned into a bit of an effort to break but were caught after a few km.

Once it was clear a break was not going away the pace dropped to near nothing. Last 14km after the hill we were under 35, in the last 10 we were at points under 30.

The sprint at the end was crazy. Nothing happend until 1,000m to go, we were literally pootling along the previous 10-15km. I knew where the finish was but was in a bad position too far back and on the very left side of the road. I knew it was a bad position but didn’t see any obvious way of getting over. So I reckoned, maybe I’ll get up the left, that would have worked yesterday.

Then all hell broke loose. My plan of getting up the left was foiled by guys who weren’t moving forward while the sprint was progressing quick smart up the right side of the road. I ended up quite literally off the road to the left, trying to work up on the gravel (you can see back right of the photo!), Paris-Roubaix style, which amazingly actually worked. I then had the problem of how to get over to the right, where I reckoned I might have a shot at getting forward. I have no memory whatsoever of how I did that but I ended up on the extreme right hand side of the road on the wheel of another junior (an even smaller one, EuroCycles blue tights, who came 6th) who was pushing like crazy. He got me up to the point where I was clear to peg it to the line for 4th just behind Craig who rode a phenomenal race constantly up front and from the photos had a far harder sprint than myself who happily wheelsucked most of the way to the line.

I’m on the extreme left of this photo, half of me in the frame. Then right- Eurocycles junior, Craig, 2nd and 1st.


Patrick was out on his first race today, on a classic with down tube shifters no less, and did phenomenally well, spent a crazy amount of time up the front. A wheel to watch in the club league for any of you doing that!

alfalad

The race passed about a mile from my house near Kilberry and I didn't even know about it! Very sorry I missed seeing it!

Well done to Blorg and every one else, some of the roads are not the nicest round there, some quite rough. The finish was beside my old primary school as well!

sy

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

1. Andrew Armstrong
2. Neil Delahaye
3. Sean Lacey

Well done Home:Ballyhoura! A rising star, that was an impressive performance.



Also congrats to blorg.
I know these roads very well.

zzzzzzzz

sy wrote: »

Well done Home:Ballyhoura! A rising star, that was an impressive performance.



Also congrats to blorg.
I know these roads very well.

I'm fairly sure that's not H:B

blorg

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

I'm fairly sure that's not H:B

I don't think so, H:B is Limerick CC AFAIK. And has a different name Only H:B could confirm!

victorcarrera

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

I'm fairly sure that's not H:B

Thats Sean Lacey ( The Edge Racing )

H:B's race name rhymes with "Lance".

Caroline_ie

victorcarrera wrote: »

Thats Sean Lacey ( The Edge Racing )

H:B's race name rhymes with "Lance".

2nd in line there?

blorg

Caroline_ie wrote: »

2nd in line there?

I've seen that bike before. Who is this person riding H:B's bike?

sy

My mistake, slightly misled by this post. It is Sean Lacey and not HB. Maybe next year:). Was surprised as didn't hear him say he was racing in Navan. Thanks all

E@gle.

Good ride yday blorg

emtroche

On behalf of Navan Road Club i'd like to thank everybody who was there yesterday, whether you were there to help, spectate or were one of the nearly 300 people who signed on to race. Also a huge thanks to the Gardai and the Civil Defence who did great work.