Scott-Orwell Wheelers had a very successful weekend with victory in the A4 Lucan GP and in A2 Des Hanlon. Ronan O'Flynn took victory in one of the epic one day races on the Irish calender. Scott-Orwell's Brian Ahern supported the riders on the day and reports back...

Des Hanlon Memorial

Best result of the season for me was in the car draw for the A2 cavalcade. I was number 2 – that will do nicely thank you! Being closer to the action enables you to get up to your riders quicker should they require assistance and you also get to see more action from the race.

We had an exceptionally strong A2 group racing with a mixture of the old brigade of Diarmuid Collins and Odhran Connors, the recent upgrades from A3 of Brendan Lawless, Stephen Barry, Jamie Busher and Ronan O’Flynn and our experienced Spaniard Manuel Fontan.

Scott-Orwell Wheelers from the A2 and A3 races (photo with thanks to Sean Rowe)

I had Stephen Barry’s brother, Simon for company in the car and I insisted he did his stretching exercise routine before getting into the car so he was ready for action to aid any riders who required assistance!

There were a few early efforts off the front of the bunch and after about 5kms we saw Diarmuid Collins disappear into the distance. Confirmation came over race radio that Diarmuid and a machine from Newry had quickly opened up a 50s gap. Attempts to close them down were infiltrated by Connors and hesitation in the bunch ensued.

The gap went out to over the magic minute which allowed me to overtake the speeding peloton. Some craic!

Race situation after 10 kilometres. Break of two with one minute lead, 142 brutally hard kilometres remaining. Ambitious, to say the least! We arrived up to the break and roared some constructive abuse and gave them the time check. Diarmuid replied “I think I have just made a terrible mistake!” - The banter was mighty.

Attacks such as this are not always in vain. It can often be good tactic provided you have a few more riders for company. It can enable a few riders to get over the first few climbs and hope that a small chase group would catch you. It also allows teammates to infiltrate chase groups and not contribute to the chase due to the “I have a man up the road” line which is universally recognised as a valid excuse.

The gap to the peloton hovered around the 2 minute mark for the first 40 kilometres before a chase group started to eat in to the breakaways lead. The gap tumbled to 30seconds and we gave the breakaway lads the news and we also fed them. We told them to ease up and take a breather......... there’s a group of 11 coming across with Orwell’s Ronan O’Flynn who should have had a handy ride across because he had a man up the road. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?

We pulled over, allowed the break to pass and slotted in behind them. The gap from the break to the peloton hovered around the 2min mark for most of the day with the break working well together over the brutally hard, hilly terrain. Everybody stayed honest which was great to see. Unfortunately for Diarmuid, his terrible mistake came back to haunt him and he cracked out of the break. His early exertions took their toll but it was a job well done by him.

There were no kamikaze attempts to go for a long break and the attacking up front only started with approx 15 kilometres left to race. It was clear that a few of the lads were cooked after a brutally hard 130 kilometres in the saddle. How would this one play out?

After a flurry of attacks the one that stuck was when O’Flynn and Stevie McKenna of Omagh got a gap of 7s lead over another group of two with the groups splintering behind.

It turned into a pursuit race with four guys chasing two. O’Flynn and McKenna were on a mission. Both of the guys put the hammer down and eventually the elastic snapped and the gap went up to 30s with 5 kilometres to go. We got the nod over race radio to move forward and follow the leading duo. This was exciting!

McKenna was first to play his card when he launched a massive attack just outside the 1km to go banner. O’Flynn reacted quickly and managed to pull him back, but not without working hard to do so.

O’Flynn then kept a remarkably cool head for a guy of relative inexperience and sat on McKenna for a few hundred meters. Not wanting to leave it to a sprint, he went early and launched a devastating attack with 500m to go. He opened up a five metre gap, took the last corner in style and he had it in the bag, crossing the line with his arms in the air! BOOM!

Ronan O'Flynn takes victory in the A2 Des Hanlon (photo with thanks to Sean Rowe)

This was a superb team performance and finished in style by O’Flynn who earned his upgrade to A1. It will be interesting to see how his career develops over the coming months. It was a brilliant day out and it was a great buzz driving behind the race.

Ronan O'Flynn with Orwell legend and former National Champion Noel O'Neill (photo with thanks to Sean Rowe)

A2 Race (152km)

1 Ronan O'Flynn		        Scott-Orwell Wheelers 
2 Stevie McKenna		Omagh Wheelers
3 Daniel Merriman		Waterford RC
4 Shane O'Neill		        Aqua Blue
5 Martin Cullinan		Comeragh CC
6 Diarmuid Kavanagh		Dunboyne CC