Des Hanlon

Ann Horan provided support to racers Emily Brick, Breda Horan, Monica Marconi, Orla Walsh, Yvonne Doran and Aideen Keenan (photo with thanks to Ann Horan)

The Des Hanlon in Carlow was the first race in our National league and attracted riders from far and wide.

It was also our first outing as a team with our new coach Stephen and Ann in the support car.

The first part of the race was quite subdued but we tried to up the pace by doing a few line ups. Around the 20 km mark I found myself progressing uphill and was pretty quickly riding solo towards two Lakeside riders, Ashling and Sonja, that had made an earlier move.

Scott-Orwell Wheelers, captained by able Aideen, kept the pace high and whittled down the bunch to fewer riders by the time they hit the first real climbs of the day.

Meantime, it wasn't until after the KOH that I caught and passed both Lakeside riders and rode on on my own a little bit longer as I had noticed that a couple of other riders were making progress up the road. As it turned out, Claire McIlwane from Phoenix CC and Orla Montague, from Dublin Wheelers appeared and I was quick to jump on a wheel as I knew that if that pair were let go, I'd never see them again.

Monica Marconi in the winning break in the women's race at the Des Hanlon Memorial alongside Orla Montague and Claire Mc Ilwaine (photo with thanks to Sean Rowe)

The road went up and down with very little respite and by the time we started descending towards the last 15 or so km, I kept looking back for any Orwell riders that might be trying to bridge across.

After the turn, the road was pretty flat and fast on the straight home: at the last km mark I even tried to take a flyer but bungled it at the last roundabout as I wasn't quite sure which way to go.

They always say how you need to check the last km into the finish line and this doesn't just go for a sprinter, as I found out on Sunday.

In any case, both Claire and Orla had the legs to sprint for the line as I trailed in third position.

Looking back I think my early move might have played to Claire's advantage as Orla tried to pip her on the line.

Well done to Aideen who captained the team and came 6th overall and third in the sprint of the first gruppetto that eventually followed. Breda wasn’t too far behind. Emily crossed the line with the the next group. It was a baptism of fire for Yvonne who hadn't raced before, but as Ann said to her about the races, they don’t come much harder than this. And she did well.

It was a good day for Orwell: we’re in very capable hands with Stephen and Ann. Ann, in particular, must feel vindicated in her doggedness to get more women to race.

Women's Race (57km)

1 Claire McIlwaine		Phoenix CC 
2 Orla Montague		        Dublin Wheelers
3 Monica Marconi		Scott-Orwell Wheelers
4 Michelle O'Halloran		Lakeside Wheelers
5 Grace Young			De Ronde van Cork CC
6 Aideen Keenan		        Scott-Orwell Wheelers