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.

Some women at Moynalty were fazed at the thought of mixing it up with the A3 men, but Ciara Kinch seized the opportunity to gun for glory. Around the lumpy circuit in Meath, Kinch slipped away from a quality field to finish top woman, and the only Orwell member in the prizes for the day. Her form followed through the week, giving her 3rd a few days later in the vets' race over Dorey's Forge.

Kinch on Dorey's Forge two weeks ago (photo thanks to Brendan Culleton)

The following weekend, Rachael Kaye-Mellor kept the women's winning streak going, netting the first woman prize at Sorrento CC's Danny O'Shea Memorial event. The 10 Mile time trial saw a new event record and a UCD sweep of the podium, while two of Orwell's strongest testers - Dick O'Brien and Fionn Sheridan - finished in the top 15.

The Seamus Kennedy Memorial was to prove a far happier hunting ground for the club, with four separate riders being awarded envelopes. First man over the line was Tom Blennerhassett in the headline event. While he missed the big break of the day, Blennerhassett kept his nerve in the bunch while the majority of the move was reeled back in. In the end, it was a gallop for 6th for the peloton, with Blennerhassett boxed in and unable to do more. A likely top 15 placing meant he went home with the 2nd unplaced A2 envelope, a fine return to open racing. Philippe Bourdarias likewise found himself unable to get into the prizes; his attempt at a top ten placing frustrated, the A1 came around 11th.

The A3/Junior/Women's race was next to finish, with David Halpin moving up through the large bunch to contest the bunch sprint, and making it look "effortless" according to one other competitor. Also putting on a good show was Conor Murnane, who rode an aggressive race and made most of the short-lived moves that were neutralised by the negative tactics of the A3 bunch. Murnane has enjoyed great success in the league, and we're looking forward to seeing that same flair in the open events. Once again the women were mixing it up with the men, and this time it was the turn of Monica Marconi to get in the prizes, landing on the bottom step of the podium with a very decent performance - more so given her lack of racing this year.

Finally, Keith Harte was obviously on a high after 2nd place in the league last week. The A4s stayed together around the course, and Harte pushed hard to get into the front 20 on Ash Hill (about 3km from the finish line), and then picked his line from the final roundabout. A flat out bunch sprint was the culmination of 60km of racing, and Harte shot off with a few hundred metres to go. A possible win slipped through his fingers when he began to fade, but 2nd place was still within his grasp when he was pipped on the line by an Emyvale rider. A fine 3rd place, and an upgrade to A3 to match his upgrade to Semi-scratch. Harte will be well able after showing his strong legs throughout the season at the Waller Cup and the Roundwood GP.

Away from the road, the Sheridans have been lighting it up on the track, with Fionn Sheridan putting in great performances over a weekend of racing at the International Track GP in Sundrive. While we've already said thanks to the many volunteers, we should once more applaud Jen Sheridan for the enormous amount of work she did in making the Track GP a huge success, all while simultaneously supporting Fionn as he raced. Fionn beat such luminaries as Ryan Mullen and a national representative from Belgium in some events (though never managed to best Martyn Irvine), and finished a very decent 10th overall.

Younger brother Uisneach Sheridan followed in his footsteps (wheel ruts?) at the Youth National Track Championships last weekend, competing in the U14 Boys category. While there was no silverware for the youngster, he made great improvements in each events, and the sibling rivalry may become more serious in the near future!

Elsewhere, out of the Orwell colours, Darragh Long was competing in the Junior Tour for the Nicolas Roche Performance Team. Although he personally was fighting illness, the team finished with three riders in the top ten, and Long with a high of 16th on the last stage - not too shabby for a sick man! The squad also went home with the Points jersey, and second in the Team GC behind the Irish representatives (which included regular NRPT member Michael O'Louglin).

International Track GP, Sundrive Road (12-13/7/2014)

Results available on stickybottle.com

Moynalty Grand Prix, Monalty (13/7/2014)

1 Eoin Morton (UCD)
2 Ryan Sherlock (u/a)
3 Danny Bruton (AC Bisontine)
4 Greg Swinand (UCD)
5 Craig Sweetman (Stamullen M. Donnelly)
6 Ken Tobin (Swords)
7 Conor Murphy (Caldwell Cycles)
8 Sean McKenna (UCD)

A3 Race
1 Craig Rea (Phoenix)
2 Sean Reynolds (Bikeworx)
3 Niall McEnhill (Omagh Wheelers)
4 Craig Arrigan (South Dublin)
5 Laim Moloney (Dublin Wheelers)
6 Declan Reid (Newry Wheelers)

Women's Race
1 Ciara Kinch (Orwell Wheelers)
2 Siobhan Sheehan (Moynalty)
3 Emer O’Reilly (Towers CC)
4 Fiona Guihen (DID Dunboyne)
5 Jodie Wright (Phoenix)

A4 Race
1 Ronan Fitzpatrick (Breffni CC)
2 Paul Kelly (Moynalty CC)
3 Garteh Morton (Cuchulainn CC)
4 Declan Gollogly (Newry)
5 Eddie Egan (Shannonside)
6 JP Hilliard (DID Dunboyne)

Unplaced Juniors
1 Kevin Martin (Shannonside)
2 Cillian Whelan (DID Dunboyne)

Danny O'Shea Memorial 10TT, Kilpeddar, Wicklow (19/7/2014)

1 Colm Cassidy (UCD CC) 19.22.68
2 Greg Swinand (UCD CC) 19.40.61
3 Ian Richardson (UCD CC) 19.41.39
...
11 Dick O’Brien (Orwell Wheelers) 21.54.59
...
14 Fionn Sheridan (Orwell Wheelers) 22.26.74

Unplaced Vet
Declan Kinch (Slipstream) 21.37.44

First Woman
Rachael Kay Mellor (Orwell Wheelers) JW 26.37.27

Seamus Kennedy Memorial, Kilcloon (20/7/2014)

1 Sean McKenna (UCD)
2 Alistair Macauley (Phoenix)
3 Liam Dolan (Cuchulainn)
4 Robin Kelly (Aquablue)
5 Paidi O’ Brien (Osborne Meats-Edge Sports)
6 Aiden crowley (Velo Revolution)
7 Colm Bracken (Murphy Surveys)
8 Ken Tobin (Swords)
9 Joe Fenlon (Aquablue)
10 Mark McGauley (MAD) 

Unplaced A2s
1 ?
2 Tom Blennerhassett

A3 Race
1 Keith Hughes (Bikeworx Celbridge)
2 Sean reynolds (Bikeworx Celbridge)
3 Declan Reid (Newry)
4 Fintan McCormack (Newbridge)
5 Paul McKenna (Murphy Surveys)
6 Cathal Dillane (Galway Bay)
7 David Halpin (Orwell Wheelers)
8 Joe Henry (UCM)

Unplaced Junior
Barry Talt (Murphy Surveys)

Women’s Race
1 Lisa Darley Ronan (Towers CC)
2 Ann Dalton (DID Electrical)
3 Monica Marconi (Orwell Wheelers)

A4 Race
1 JP Hilliard (DID Dunboyne)
2 Jonathon McKenna (Emyvale)
3 Keith Harte (Orwell Wheelers)
4 Paul Kelly (Moynalty)
5 Donal Clavan (Trim)
6 Andrew Fay (u/a)

National Youth Track Championships, Sundrive Road (20/7/2014)

Results available on stickybottle.com