Stephen Roche GP

buffalo

Happening next Wednesday 26th June, open races for youth and A1/2/3. Sign on for all races runs from 6.15pm to 7.15pm.

Youth: sign on is on the green, with races beginning at 7pm. http://goo.gl/maps/nEvik

Seniors: sign on, parking and changing facilities are at Balinteer Community School (http://goo.gl/maps/QTnyb). Please don't park or warm-up on the circuit. That race starts at 7.45pm.

If you don't want to race, or can't, come along to watch! It's a very spectator-friendly circuit - the bunch flies by every two minutes - and you can watch the race unfold.

Further details at http://www.orwellwheelers.org/racing/20-open-racing/506-stephen-roche-gp-2013.html

Here's a couple of photos from last year: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianmca/sets/72157630218858602/

buffalo

Just a bump that this is happening on Wednesday. Forecast is looking alright so far, so bring the families for an evening's entertainment!

morana

buffalo wrote: »

Just a bump that this is happening on Wednesday. Forecast is looking alright so far, so bring the families for an evening's entertainment!

will see you there

2011abc

Might wander up with kids for a look.Best place for early (near!)parking and possible early departure ?Best place if arriving later ?

Hmmzis

The Nurgrove SC car park is never full and is about a 5min walk from that place.

Zyzz

might cycle over and bring the camera

buffalo

2011abc wrote: »

Might wander up with kids for a look.Best place for early (near!)parking and possible early departure ?Best place if arriving later ?

You can park in Ballinteer Community School on the night, whether arriving early or late: http://goo.gl/maps/QTnyb

There'll be no problems getting in or out of that car park, and it's a 2min walk to the circuit,

CramCycle

I missed this last year, what is the circuit?

Just looked at the videos from last year, I presume thats Meadow Mount/Meadow grove in the loop.

buffalo

CramCycle wrote: »

I missed this last year, what is the circuit?

Just looked at the videos from last year, I presume thats Meadow Mount/Meadow grove in the loop.

http://app.strava.com/segments/1604802

C3PO

Always wander up for a look at this race - hard work and not for someone who has trouble "holding a line"!

buffalo

Total prize fund is over €1,000!

As well as the prizes on the line, we've 6 primes. They're good targets if you're an A3 rider - go from the gun!

On top of those we've:
- first eight overall
- first two unplaced A2s
- first two unplaced A3s
- first unplaced junior
- first woman
- first Orwell rider

21 prizes, if my maths is correct! We might be affluent, but we're generous too! :P

buffalo

Here's some of last year's action btw, thanks to Mr Hobbs Coffee.

trad

I Commissaired this event back in the day when Dalby and Sheehan dominated the race. Great event and a great spectacle.

Carpenter

Any news on the crash ???

Hmmzis

Was a great race to watch (was marshalling on the first left hander), great weather and great company .

Congrats to the winner (UCD guy Con Collis?), he was working very well in the last break and to get the better of a full time pro (a PSN guy) is some going.

Will be back next year, either watching/marshalling or racing myself

luapenak

That was great entertainment for a Wednesday evening.

Hope the guy in the crash is alright. Looked nasty from where I was.

Zyzz

Cycled over to have a gander for a short while, was pretty freakin cool. Serious pace, sweet bikes and some calves that make mine look like a woman's arse :pac: Hope that guy who crashed is ok, saw him being loaded into an ambulance as I was leaving!

Think I spotted a boards jersey aswel, white hybrid/commuter?




(original - http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3830/9147063686_affcb2f521_o.jpg)

Sorry bout the crap quality, only had my phone!

buffalo

Carpenter wrote: »

Any news on the crash ???

The word when I left was that he was okay, sitting up and talking.

Jebus that hurt. So close to the winning break, but just couldn't close it. Some workout though, Sallygap here I come!

Hmmzis, sorry for stealing your KOM on the way out!

Hmmzis

buffalo wrote: »

The word when I left was that he was okay, sitting up and talking.

Jebus that hurt. So close to the winning break, but just couldn't close it. Some workout though, Sallygap here I come!

Hmmzis, sorry for stealing your KOM on the way out!

Well done on surviving that one, buffalo! Which one did you take, haven't got an 'Uh-Oh' email yet.

ROK ON

Mark Dowling had some rave tonight. He and one DID rider spent about seven laps bridging over. They eventually bridged over to the main group. Within two laps Dowling and co had a 10 second lead over the group.
He was driving the pace all night long.

buffalo

Hmmzis wrote: »

Well done on surviving that one, buffalo! Which one did you take, haven't got an 'Uh-Oh' email yet.

Rathfarnham Hill - the lights were with me coming through the crossroads.

ROK ON wrote: »

Mark Dowling had some rave tonight. He and one DID rider spent about seven laps bridging over. They eventually bridged over to the main group. Within two laps Dowling and co had a 10 second lead over the group.
He was driving the pace all night long.

It could've been meeeee! Ah well, happy with the ride. Nice to meet you btw ROK, your face has eluded me for some time! ...in a non-creepy way.

Dowee

Carpenter wrote: »

Any news on the crash ???

It was a lower back injury. He was talking and saying he was ok but was in a lot of pain and wasnt able to move much. All pre cautions were taken due to the back injury so he was stretched off and taken to hospital etc. He was taking some gas for the pain as well.

He was able to move his legs, toes etc but he'll be in a lot of pain tomorrow I imagine.

C3PO

Dowee wrote: »

It was a lower back injury. He was talking and saying he was ok but was in a lot of pain and wasnt able to move much. All pre cautions were taken due to the back injury so he was stretched off and taken to hospital etc. He was taking some gas for the pain as well.

He was able to move his legs, toes etc but he'll be in a lot of pain tomorrow I imagine.

I was standing very close to the crash .... he hit the lamppost very hard! It was a great relief to see him starting to move again! Get well soon!

colm_gti

Went out to watch with herself, wasn't up for racing this eve so decided to bring the camera instead. Fantastic race to watch. Was standing directly opposite the crash as it unfolded, bray rider went over the handlebars, straight onto the cerb and into the photographer, looked like a nasty tangle but surprised there was only one casualty given the size of the bunch!

Fair play to Con Collis, super performance!

Got a few snaps to upload!

ROK ON

Good race Buffalo - you were out there for a long time.

Hmmzis

buffalo wrote: »

Rathfarnham Hill - the lights were with me coming through the crossroads.

Ah, I see, that's a nice little one, that pace might have set you up nicely for the evening .

Btw. You were just 2sec off for two laps from the 3 guys chasing the PSN and UCD guys. Was trying to shout the time gaps but I'm not sure if it was actually possible to hear that with all the wind rush going on.

Was it Halpin or Dowling in the break? Ryan and the other guy were firmly doing their duties in the main bunch by covering breaks. And who was that Bohermeen guy? It looked like he made a lot of people very miserable in the bunch by driving the pace up early and keeping it there for quite a long time. I think he was doing some damage also at the end of the race.

ytareh

Crash looked awful !Only one rider went down (JUST exiting the 'u-turn' before finishing straight) but a photographer ended up on the deck too and hit his head .Initially HE looked in worst shape but rapidly became clear that Bray cyclist was in a BAD way .He seemed to hit a tree or lamp post or both (and back got twisted ?)Dont recall ever seeing a cyclist so 'immobile' after a crash in a domestic race .Scarey!I dont know if anyone nearby rang 999 but three fairly casual lookin John's Ambulance teens wandered down after what seemed a VERY long time .At this stage some bystanders had yer man covered in a blanket etc !An ambulance was parked up at finish .
Was a bit unimpressed to be honest ,borderline whether race should have been stopped ...God forbid someone else crashed into HIM .Event seemed excellent otherwise...Any news on the poor fella.No doubt in A + E till God knows when !

dermo1990

Race photos (PM me if you want the full res versions of any of these): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201393471220052.1073741828.1272494099&type=1&l=cef5c4e184

superlav

Hmmzis wrote: »

Was it Halpin or Dowling in the break? Ryan and the other guy were firmly doing their duties in the main bunch by covering breaks. And who was that Bohermeen guy?

It was Dowling in the break, with Con Collis from UCD, and Cris Reilly is the guy from Bohermeen, who bridged across with myself and Timmy O'Regan of DID.
Great evening for the it, really enjoy this race. was delighted to get away as i would have been no where in d bunch gallop behind.
Got 5th on the night. Was relieved to find out when I got home that there are only points for the first 3 in races under 50km. 1 point would have meant an upgrade to A1 and that would have meant no Newry 3 Day this weekend

http://app.strava.com/activities/63070517

buffalo

Results: http://www.orwellwheelers.org/racing/20-open-racing/509-stephen-roche-gp-2013-results.html

ytareh wrote: »

three fairly casual lookin John's Ambulance teens wandered down after what seemed a VERY long time .At this stage some bystanders had yer man covered in a blanket etc !An ambulance was parked up at finish .
Was a bit unimpressed to be honest ,borderline whether race should have been stopped ...God forbid someone else crashed into HIM .

The race was pretty much neutralised going through that corner for the next few laps, but someone else mentioned delay in getting the first aiders down. It'll be raised at the next committee meeting and we'll see if there's anything that can be done in future to prevent that sort of thing happening again.

buffalo

Hmmzis wrote: »

Btw. You were just 2sec off for two laps from the 3 guys chasing the PSN and UCD guys. Was trying to shout the time gaps but I'm not sure if it was actually possible to hear that with all the wind rush going on.

oh, didn't hear them at all, but thanks. I followed Reilly's attack, and O'Regan was on my wheel for a bit, thought we could bridge together. But when he came through he flew off - might've just been regular speed for him, but it was too fast for me. Once I lost the wheel, and the three lads grouped up, it was never going to happen really, but you have to try!

Carpenter

Any news on him today that CORNER should be taken out off the race
He was on the ground so long if it happened again @ the same corner there would have being a major pile up on top of him .

C3PO

Carpenter wrote: »

Any news on him today that CORNER should be taken out off the race
He was on the ground so long if it happened again @ the same corner there would have being a major pile up on top of him .

Can't really see how the corner could be removed from the race and it makes for great spectating! However I would suggest that some fairly substantial padding on the post/tree at the exit is called for - something like they use for rugby posts would have made a difference last night in my opinion. The bikes are not really travelling all that fast at that point.
I would agree that the reaction in terms of getting medical assistance to the injured rider was incredibly slow last night - the marshals didn't seem to have a system in place to contact the organisers/ambulance to call for help and they were only a couple of hundred meters away.

DirkVoodoo

There is an awful lot of pedal strike on that corner too, one guy smacked his pedal and went into a motoGP wobble in the middle of the bunch.

Somehow he stayed up even though he unseated himself and the only person he took out was a lucan rider who he sent into the grass.

Dowee

There is no way to take that corner out of the race. Using the road at the other end of the green would cause chaos.

The ambulance was contacted immediately. The staff just took a while to show. Don't know why.

The rider wasn't moved because it was a back injury.

Carpenter

Dowee wrote: »

There is no way to take that corner out of the race. Using the road at the other end of the green would cause chaos.

The ambulance was contacted immediately. The staff just took a while to show. Don't know why.

The rider wasn't moved because it was a back injury.

chaos why

Dowee

Carpenter wrote: »

chaos why

Look at the route map. The left turn before the bend where the crash happened is a far more dangerous corner to send riders through due to the fact it is a blind corner and its angle.
Then they'd be just recovering from that (on a narrower road) and they'd immediately have to negotiate a T junction.

The bend where the crash happened is a wide open bend which is a lot safer IMHO.

dave2pvd

Dowee wrote: »

Look at the route map. The left turn before the bend where the crash happened is a far more dangerous corner to send riders through due to the fact it is a blind corner and its angle.
Then they'd be just recovering from that (on a narrower road) and they'd immediately have to negotiate a T junction.

The bend where the crash happened is a wide open bend which is a lot safer IMHO.

It's a criterium.

Criteriums have turns.

Dowee

dave2pvd wrote: »

It's a criterium.

Criteriums have turns.

The discussion is about the difference between two turns!! I fail to see your point. I think we all know criteriums have turns.

Peterx

Great race, thanks to all involved. Get well soon to the Bray Wheeler.

All those turns are good fun and watching the savage strength and ability of the top lads from the shelter of the bunch is good fun too!

MartMc

Does anyone know if the lad from Bray is alright?.

J Madone

MartMc wrote: »

Does anyone know if the lad from Bray is alright?.

He is ok, bruised, cuts and very sore but nothing broken thankfully

dave2pvd

I remember watching this race. It was a few years ago now. Someone mentioned Dalby and Sheehan earlier - that was the year. Sheehan claimed at the time that he was the best sprinter in Ireland. Humble sort of fellow, if I recall.

I also have fairly vivid memories of the bad turn. I sat on the grass on the inside of the bend and counted the pedal strikes. And yes, there was a crash.

I believe that 2 lads from either WORC or MAD raced on mountain bikes with slicks. Robin and/or Joe possibly.

doozerie

dave2pvd wrote: »

I believe that 2 lads from either WORC or MAD raced on mountain bikes with slicks. Robin and/or Joe possibly.

I wonder if that was the same year that I watched it, in or around 1993 at a guess. I rode with MAD at the time and I remember some of the guys doing it on slicks that year. Small world!

(I haven't been back to watch the race since then, despite it being pretty much on my doorstep for the few years that I lived in the area. So despite it being a small world I was clearly too lazy to walk or cycle even a tiny portion of it to spectate.)

dave2pvd

doozerie wrote: »

I wonder if that was the same year that I watched it, in or around 1993 at a guess. I rode with MAD at the time and I remember some of the guys doing it on slicks that year. Small world!

(I haven't been back to watch the race since then, despite it being pretty much on my doorstep for the few years that I lived in the area. So despite it being a small world I was clearly too lazy to walk or cycle even a tiny portion of it to spectate.)

Small world indeed!

Although, if it was '93 that the MTB folks turned up, I have 2 editions of the race combined in my not-so-stellar memory. Sheehan and Dalby would have been '89. Has to be, because I raced the Coca Cola crit in Bray that year as a Junior - Sheehan crashed right in front of me. That was his 'best sprinter in Ireland' year, IIRC. The MTBers turning up must be memory #2 - 1993, as you say.

Carpenter

Dowee wrote: »

Look at the route map. The left turn before the bend where the crash happened is a far more dangerous corner to send riders through due to the fact it is a blind corner and its angle.
Then they'd be just recovering from that (on a narrower road) and they'd immediately have to negotiate a T junction.

The bend where the crash happened is a wide open bend which is a lot safer IMHO.

OK possibly you are right but some body will have a bad crash there and that will end there racing days .
Even well padded protection would help is the idea not to finish the race in 1 piece .

buffalo

Carpenter wrote: »

OK possibly you are right but some body will have a bad crash there and that will end there racing days .
Even well padded protection would help is the idea not to finish the race in 1 piece .

Speaking personally, I think the idea is to win.

You can take all the precautions in the world, but the best padding in the world won't stop a touch of wheels and a rider hitting the tarmac.

It was an unfortunate accident, and we will look at ways to avoid it and mitigate it in future - padding will definitely be considered for next year.

But ultimately, if a race is dangerous and riders feel they're truly at risk, they don't have to race.

ytareh

buffalo wrote: »

Speaking personally, I think the idea is to win.

You can take all the precautions in the world, but the best padding in the world won't stop a touch of wheels and a rider hitting the tarmac.

It was an unfortunate accident, and we will look at ways to avoid it and mitigate it in future - padding will definitely be considered for next year.

But ultimately, if a race is dangerous and riders feel they're truly at risk, they don't have to race.

Nevermind 'the best padding in the world ' a few bales of straw WILL stop a rider twisting their back around a tree/pole and crashing into a spectator who hits their head off the ground on a bend with an almost 100% chance of a crash .I wouldnt have laboured the point but the quote above does Orwell Wheelers no favours .

Lumen

ytareh wrote: »

Nevermind 'the best padding in the world ' a few bales of straw WILL stop a rider twisting their back around a tree/pole and crashing into a spectator who hits their head off the ground on a bend with an almost 100% chance of a crash

It's a criterium round a housing estate, a hazard rich environment.

Isn't the route the same every year? This race has been going on for donkeys years.

ROK ON

Simply another form of nimbyism

buffalo

ytareh wrote: »

Nevermind 'the best padding in the world ' a few bales of straw WILL stop a rider twisting their back around a tree/pole and crashing into a spectator who hits their head off the ground on a bend with an almost 100% chance of a crash .I wouldnt have laboured the point but the quote above does Orwell Wheelers no favours .

That's why I said tarmac, and not tree/pole.

And I said I was speaking personally, not on behalf of the club - please allow for that distinction, or it really restricts what I can say here if every post is taken as the opinion of the club, and I really enjoy being able to share my every whimsical thought and rant with the world.