The latest round of the club league took place on a bright and sunny evening, with all groups taking part in a single handicap race. The Limit groups hung on until the close, with Jules Cantwell taking a flying victory.

Riders signed on in Black Bull in glorious sunshine. The Scratch groups were depleted after the Rás, with some staying at home nursing colds and sore throats. Others were abstaining ahead of the Rás Dhún na nGall, though there were plenty there to train for Sunday's Boyne GP.

Making his debut for the year was Brian Ahern, on the recovery after an injury forced him to sit out the early season and miss this year's Rás. He compensated by showcasing his fine journalistic skills on StickyBottle.com in a series of columns. Based on Thursday's performance, we might see those columns again next year! But we wish him the best of luck in recovering his regular flying form.

In the previous road race, Scratch took nearly all the placings, so organisers gave a generous handicap this time around. The Limit group took full advantage, in particular Isabel Cogan, Mark Mulcahy and Lucy Soden, who quickly established a break and kept a gap back to the bunch for nearly the entire length of the race.

Scratch managed to catch Semi-scratch, but they crossed the line far behind the winner. Jules Cantwell had been pushing the pace at the front of Semi-limit to close down the five minute gap to Limit, and eventually broke away with Ronan Grimes. They caught the Limit break with less than 500m, and Cantwell took a breather in their shelter before jumping past to grab a fine win. He was chased hard by two of the breakaway, Mark Mulcahy and Lucy Soden, who crossed the line in close succession behind him.

The rest of the placings were eaten up by the Semi-limit bunch, as Jim Carey passed Ronan Grimes, who was fading from his earlier efforts. Ian O'Keefe rounded out the top six. Monica Marconi took home the unplaced woman prize, with Isabel Cogan's legs failing her after working hard in the break.

Cantwell's win is his first since his TT category win in Round One, though he has managed a string of placings in the intervening rounds. Originally a soccer player, he's built up his form through sportives and trips to the Alps.

He's only started racing this year, but has already earned himself an upgrade to Semi-limit, and with this result he should be top of the league. On 84 points, he's on the top step of the podium above Gavin Dodd (78) and Peter Gerrard (77).

Orwell League R8: Black Bull CP

1 Jules Cantwell (SL)
2 Mark Mulcahy (L)
3 Lucy Soden (L)
4 Jim Carey (SL)
5 Ronan Grimes (SL)
6 Ian O'Keefe (SL)

Unplaced Woman
Monica Marconi

Apologies for the late report, the Internet connection is patchy at best!