In a superbly managed event run by Cúchulainn CC up Jenkinstown Hill, competitors faced a 1.8km climb, averaging over 8%. The course has a long-standing record of 4'20", while the Louth champs were won here in 2011 with a time of 5'08".
The Orwell team arrived early to recce the course, which was deceptively tough. Ahern advised to start out easy, then "stick it in the big ring for the last 200m".
Rachel went off hard in her borrowed skinsuit, slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter. Brian Mc was next up, reluctantly ditching his saddle bag last minute. Ahern was the very last rider on the official roster, and powered his way up. We're not sure if he managed to find that big ring, but whatever gear he used was obviously the right one.
Before the event kicked off, Ahern finally received the cup from his Beechmount GP win three weeks ago. That reminder of his previous success galvanised Ahern into setting a blistering time of 4'49", beating Chris Reilly (Bohermeen) into second place by nine seconds. Third was local man Ray O'Shaughnessy, who won the Louth Men's Championship.
The Beechmount GP was Ahern's first outright win of the open season, building on his earlier form displayed in the Rás, when he was first county rider on stage 7. He also successfully defended his club champ title this year, and smashed the course record for league hill climb.
That same night, another course record was also broken - Rachel Glendon set a new women's time of 16'05". Fresh from her top five placing at the Irish half distance Triathlon Championships, tonight she beat local rider Annette Dawe by 14" to finish in 6'14". Third place went to Róisín Kennedy (Adamstown CT). Glendon described herself and Ahern as "Orwell's Dream Team", having been a key pillar in his support team on the way to Rás success. And now the pair can add Men and Women's Leinster Hill Climb Champs to the dream team accolades - they'll surely be eyeing up the Nationals.
Last, and definitely least with his third place, Brian McArdle brought down the tone of night with his bronze medal. His original goal of making top ten was realised on the start line, and the medal was a pleasant bonus. McArdle has been bereft of results in the latter half of the season, a placing eluding him since mid-June. He blames this deficit on too much time spent talking about himself in the third person, but was happy with his medal.
To conclude, a big thank you to Cúchulainn CC for their smooth running of the night, and congratulations to all the podium placers, especially our gold medallists. Medals listed below, full results and times available at http://www.cuchulainncc.com/?p=612.
A1 Championship
1 Brian Ahern (Orwell) 04:49
2 Chris Reilly (Bohermeen CC) 04:58
3 Ray O’Shaughnessy (Cuchulainn CC) 05:07
A2 Championship
1 Aaron O’Donohue (South Dublin CC) 05:03
2 Andrew Stanley (Dublin University CC) 05:10
3 Richard Felle (South Dublin CC) 05:25
A3 Championship
1 Neil Long (Dublin Wheelers) 05:05
2 Niall Somers (South Dublin CC) 05:20
3 Brian McArdle (Orwell) 05:26
Women’s Championship
1 Rachel Glendon (Orwell) 06:14
2 Annette Dawe (Cuchulainn CC) 06:28
3 Roisin Kennedy (Adamstown Cycling Team) 06:30
Vet’s Championship
1 Phil O’Flaherty (Swords CC) 05:40
2 Gary Gorman (Stamullen RC) 05:4
3 Raymond Fedigan (Cuchulainn CC) 06:34
Junior Championship
1 Aaron McCann (Cuchulainn CC) 06:30
2 Jordan Flood (Cuchulainn CC) 06:50
