Aideen Keenan proved herself no flash in the pan with a dominant win in Bohermeen at the Waller Cup yesterday, followed up by Rachael Kaye-Mellor in 4th and Orla Hendron in 6th. Keith Harte took 8th in the A4 race, while Diarmuid Collins earned a fine 3rd unplaced A2 at the Shay Elliot in Wicklow yesterday. We’re also covering last weekend’s one day results, with Gavin Dodd 5th in Rás Chonamara and Rachael Kaye-Mellor top Junior in Ros an Laois.

It was yet another day of racing in blazing sunshine in Bohermeen for the 2014 edition of the Waller Cup, with a sizeable Orwell turnout across the women’s and A4 races, and another few in the A3 and A1/2 events. It was the women who brought home the bacon though, with Ned Flanagan victor Aideen Keenan claiming the overall title.

Keenan broke away early with Lakeside Wheeler Sonja O'Mahony and local woman Geraldine Gill on the 16km circuit, with the trio working well together to put nearly a minute into the bunch at their farthest ahead. At one point, Keenan came down in a collision with a straggler from the men’s race, landing heavily on her left side. She remounted despite her road rash, and tore after her two breakaway companions - successfully rejoining them after a 10km chase.

On the last lap, the gap to the pack tumbled to 20 seconds as O'Mahony's legs tired and she was distanced. Gill also seemed to be flagging, so Keenan gave the pace an urgent boost from the front, towing Gill for the final kilometres. Fearing she might be undone in the sprint, she kept the speed high for the ultimate climb, not even slowing to raise her hands as she crossed the finish line.

Keenan has been on an upward trajectory since starting racing with Orwell this season. While she won in Monasterevin amongst the A3 men, she had thus far failed to realise her full potential in the women’s events, but yesterday’s result demonstrates her strength in the female field. After energetic riding in a flat Clonard, and a solid result in the hilly Des Hanlon, the adventure racer clearly has strength and depth, and with placings in both the Orwell StickyBottle crit league as well as the club league, she’s hotly tipped to represent Leinster in the upcoming Bedford 3 Day.

Update: Keenan has been announced as part of the Leinster team, see womenscycling.ie for details.


Keenan on the podium, with Ger Gill and Aisling Flanagan

Back in the bunch, Ann Horan put in a forceful pull on the front to allow the club’s sprinters to sit in and keep their legs fresh for the gallop for 3rd. That tactic paid off wonderfully, with junior Rachael Kaye-Mellor taking a classy 4th overall behind bunch leader Aisling Flanagan (Lakeside Wheelers), and Orla Hendron in a fine 6th. That’s a great addition to Kaye-Mellor’s top junior award from last weekend in Ossory CC’s Ros an Laois. Much like Keenan, she suffered a crash during the course of the race, but got back in the saddle to bag the stickybottle.com junior prize.

Back in the present, the A4 event in Bohermeen ended in an inevitable bunch sprint, with Keith Harte nipping in for the last of the prizes in 8th place. Following a couple of capable showings in the club league, Harte was pleased to get his first points on his licence. He’s knocking on the door of Semi-scratch, and now that he's starting notching up open points, he'll be working his way toward A3 as well!

In the A3 race, the break soaked up the placings, but both David Halpin and Jamie Busher were at the pointy end of the bunch sprint, with Halpin taking second behind a Wexford Wheeler.

On Saturday the weather was in stark contrast to sunny Bohermeen, with dismal and dreary conditions for Bray Wheelers’ Shay Elliot classic. With an A3 event for the first time, there were determined and courageous performances by many Orwell riders on the gruelling climb in the cold and wet, but it was Diarmuid Collins in the headline event who got himself in the prizes.

While he missed the winning break, he did escape on the KOH climb and descent with two others, picking up several stragglers on the run-in to the line. He opened up early for the final uphill gallop, with only two riders being able to get around him in the last 50m. That left him with 3rd unplaced A2, a great result for a hard day out, Collins’ form clearly on an upward swing after Rás Mumhan.

Finally, one result from last weekend was overlooked amidst the two stage races taking place in Gorey and Kerry. The Rás Chonamara was this year downgraded to a one-day event, taking place on Easter Sunday. Our own Gavin Dodd was holidaying out west, and brought his bike to squeeze in some training. That decision worked out handsomely, as he was able to take 5th in the A3 race.

A six man break went early, shedding two members in the final kilometres. Dodd launched himself from the bunch along with three others to race for the 5th spot, and it came down to the wire, with Dodd pipping the other two in a tight three-way sprint. We can only assume that only elevated Dodd’s holiday mood, with the race taking place in similarly sunny conditions as Rás Mumhan.


Dodd winning the tight sprint

Overseas, Lydia Boylan has been busy winning Stage 1 of the Nigel Measom 2 Day for her VelosportMontegrappa team. This followed 10th in the prologue TT, and preceded a 4th place on Stage 2, resulting in a fantastic 9th overall on GC. Read her blog for more details, and an insight into the life of a top sprinter.

Also from a recent spin, here's a great shot of some of our youth riders enjoying themselves around the Dublin/Wicklow mountains:


Youth group

 

Joe Daly Cycles Women’s National League R2

Ros an Laois, Rathdowney (20/4/2014)
1 Sarah Piner (DID Electrical Racing Team)
2 Michelle O’Halloran (Lakeside Wheelers)
3 Amy Brice (DID Electrical Racing Team)
4 Aisling Flanagan (Lakeside Wheelers)
5 Niamh Stephens (UCD CC)

Stickybottle.com Junior Prize
Rachel Kaye Mellor (Orwell Wheelers)

 

Rás Chonamara, Galway (20/4/2014)

A2/A3 Race
1 Daire Feely (Donamon Dynamo)
2 Donal Kelly (Galway Bay CC)
3 Conor Hennebry (Iverk Carrick)
4 David Nugent (Seven Springs)
5 Gavin Dodd (Orwell Wheelers)
6 Jim O’Rourke (Tuam CC)

A4 Race
1 Cathal Dillane (Galway Bay CC)
2 Warren Blackburn (SLCC)
3 David O’Malley (Covey Wheelers)
4 Will Hennebry (Iverk Carrick)
5 Noel Gibbons (Western Lakes)
6 Paraic Donahue (Seven Springs CC) all same

 

Shay Elliott Memorial, Wicklow (26/4/2014)

A1-A2 Race
1 Damien Shaw (Aquablue)
2 Eddie Dunbar (O’Leary Stone-Kanturk CC)
3 Danny Bruton (AC Bisontine)
4 Paddy Clarke (Fitscience-Liquidworx)
5 Greg Swinand (UCD CC)
6 Ali MacAuley (Cycling Ulster)
7 Marc Potts (Cycling Ulster)
8 Javan Nulty (DID Dunboyne)
9 Stephen Shanahan (Limerick CC)
10 Dylan Foley (Aquablue)
11 Angus Fyffee (Omagh Wheelers)
12 John Mannix (Killarney CC)  

Unplaced A2s
1 Shane Scully (Nenagh CC)
2 Brendan Cassidy (Killarney CC)
3 Diarmuid Collins (Orwell Wheelers)
4 Jeff Robinson (Bray Wheelers)
5 Stephen Byrne (Navan Road Club)
6 Joseph Breheny (UCD CC)
7 Nail Doggett (Navan Road Club)
8 Alan Geary (Cuchulainn CC)

King of Hills
1 Damien Shaw (Aquablue)
2 Eddie Dunbar (O’Leary Stone Kanturk CC)
3 David Walsh (VeloRevolution)

A3 Race
1 Michael O’Loughlin (NRPT)
2 Darnell Moore (Caldwell-Omagh)
3 Aaron Swan (NRPT)
4 Daire Feeley (Donamon Dynamos)
5 David McCarthy (NRPT)
6 Ronan O’Shea (Team Bike)

Unplaced Junior
Conn McDunphy (Lucan CRC)

Unplaced Bray Wheeler
Richard O’Hanrahan

King of Hills
1 Michael O’Loughlin (NRPT)
2 Darnell Moore (Caldwell-Omagh)
3 Daire Feeley (Donamon Dynamos)

 

Waller Cup, Bohermeen (27/4/2014)

A1/A2 Race
1 Alastair Macauley (Phoenix CC)
2 Eoin Morton (UCD CC)
3 Mark Reilly (Lucan CRC)
4 Mark Dowling (DID Dunboyne)
5 Niall Doggett (Navan RC)
6 Colm Laverty (Stamullen MDonnelly)
7 Craig Sweetman (Stamullen MDonnelly)
8 Aidan Crowley  (VeloRevolution)

Unplaced A2s
1 Ronan Killeen (Lucan CRC)
2 Alan Burke (Murphy Surveyors)
3 Michael Devins (U/A)
4 Darragh Zaidan (Adamstown CC)
5 Gary Shields (Cuchulainn CC)
6 Alan Brosnan (Dublin Wheelers)
7 John Lyons (South Dublin CC)
8 Sean McInerney (Galway Bay CC)

A3 Race
1 Eoin Lynch (DID Dunboyne)
2 Ronan McDonald (Dublin Wheelers)
3 Cathal Clarke (Newry Wheelers)
4 Daragh Campbell (Novo Nordisk)
5 Paul Jezowski (Henry J Lyons)
6 Mark Nicolls (Lucan CRC)
7 Adam Swirydowicz (Swords CC)
8 Colm Bracken (Murphy Surveyors)

Unplaced Juniors
1 Dermot White (Lucan CRC)
2 Daire Feeley (Donamon Dynamos)
3 Graham O’Brien (Shannonside)

A4 Race
1 Stephen Conroy (Lucan CRC)
2 Shane Quinn (Longford CC)
3 Michael Green (Phoenix CC)
4 Fergal Murray (Moynalty CC)
5 Paul Doherty (Swords CC)
6 Alan Bingham (Cuchulainn CC)
7 Paul Hunter (Swords CC)
8 Keith Harte (Orwell CC)

Women's Race
1 Aideen Keenan (Orwell CC)
2 Geraldine Gill (Bohermeen CC)
3 Aisling Flanagan (Lakeside CC)
4 Rachel Kaye Mellor (Orwell Wheelers)
5 Krishna Rutkauskaite (Lucan CRC)
6 Orla Hendron (Orwell Wheelers)
7 Niamh Stephens (UCD CC)
8 Elaine Rowley (Castlebar CC)