Open Racing

Orwell are very active on the national scene - see all the results and reports from open races here.

There's a touch of déjà vu about the results this weekend, with both Conor Murnane and Chris Mollaghan taking the only Orwell placings. That did wonders for their ranking points, with Murnane topping the Juniors for a day, and Mollaghan making his way into A3. The snow in Navan was the only thing on people's minds though, with five Orwell women making their débuts in the cold! Read on to see how they fared!

The first of our reports from the open races for 2015 sees results across the Juniors and Seniors, and men and women! Conor Murnane opened the club's account in Monasterevin, and the second weekend witnessed Chris Mollaghan and Ciara Kinch clock up two more placings in the senior categories.

Two races in early September saw two A4 performances of note - one a regular racer, the other almost a complete novice. David Maher got his long-overdue upgrade to A3 with a 3rd at the head of the bunch sprint in Laragh, while Chris Mollaghan made a impression at his first stage race, with 12th in the TT and 5th in the final stage, narrowly missing out on a top ten overall spot. Plenty more racing action below!

After catching up with the women's incredible haul of medals, it's time to turn our attention to the feats of the (mostly) men, with Neal Hudson getting on the A2 podium in the Wexford 2 Day, then grabbing gold in the Leinster Hill Climb. Conor Murnane brought home bronze for the Junior cat in that event, while back in Wexford Stephen Barry put in a great hill climb to take 4th in the A4 event. There was also a haul of medals from the track league, thanks to Fionn Sheridan, Stephen McNally, David Swift, Uisneach Sheridan - and also Naoise Sheridan (who obviously doesn't belong in the men's category, but all the medals look well together).

While we try to catch up on some neglected cycling reports, we'll start with Bryan Geary's account of this year's A3 champs, held in his native Cork. Along with Jamie Busher, Ronan Grimes and Ed O'Mahoney, he put in a solid performance and was unlucky to finish outside the prizes on the line. Have a read of his day below...

The races came thick and fast over the weekend, with Kilmessan hosting two days of events for Ciara Kinch and Orla Hendron to take envelopes home from, and the Ballinrobe 2 Day taking place out west, with Pat O'Brien, Neal Hudson, Ronan Grimes and Aideen Keenan all putting in strong performances, and Keenan winning the women's prize there. This all followed the club TTT, won by a team featuring Colum Bradley, Daniel McElroy, and Sean and Conor Murnane.

Last weekend in Donore, two riders from different ends of the spectrum both got themselves on the podium. Ciara Kinch continued her winning streak with silver in the women's race, while Garry Blair matched her result to take his first ever open points! Read on for the details from both riders...

At last we come to the catch-up on the open action! Ciara Kinch's win in the women's race at Moynalty was the only result of note on the road that weekend, but last weekend we had a host of Orwell placings, including Rachael Kaye-Mellor's First Woman prize at Sorrento's 10TT, and Keith Harte's 3rd in A4 in the Seamus Kennedy Memorial, prompting his upgrade to A3. Monica Marconi also netted 3rd for the women on the day, with Tom Blennerhassett taking home an unplaced A2 prize.

Last weeks league crit saw a repeat win for Conor Murnane, and Liam Rowsome taking a maiden triumph from a break, while the weekend was packed with results - Barry Dace winning in the vets, Neal Hudson taking silver on the road, and Orla Hendron an actual silver on the track. Fionn Sheridan also won bronze, and Ciara Kinch placed in the National League race.

It was a week for the testers, as the Club 10TT Champs clashed with the Nationals, with some outstanding results in both - Dick O'Brien dominating the former, and Claire McEntee setting a blistering time in the latter. Corkagh Park saw first a Horan haul, then an Orwell clean sweep, while three of the men completed the National Road Race Champs on Sunday.