It almost felt like summer - the sun shone strongly on Corkagh Park as 55 riders signed on for the fourth round of the Orwell League. A three man break featured strongly in each race, with Eric Downey winning from the move in SS/S, but in SL/L, Brian McNally came past them to take the win.

First off were about fifteen Limit riders, with a similar sized Semi-limit group chasing. Paul Kane, Julian Moore and youngster Timothy Kaye-Mellor attacked from Limit, forming a break and working well together lap after lap. Behind them, Semi-limit caught Limit, and the bunch were constantly chasing, but the breakaway men kept the gap at about ten seconds for most of the race.

Kane, Moore and Kaye-Mellor riding strongly

It was only in the closing stages that they were caught, but even then Kane and Kaye-Mellor held off the majority of the chasers to take second and third respectively. Moore had to ease off slightly, but powered through a stitch to take a very fine fifth. He was edged out by Donal Brady, while sixth went to Brian Doyle.

Grabbing the win from the break was Semi-limit man Brian McNally. He surged from the bunch in the last lap, passing the break just before the final corner to steal a fine victory. This is his second win of the season after placing first SL in the opening TT, so McNally is clearly a force to be reckoned with. If he's still in SL for the round six road race, he'll be a man to watch.

McNally storming home for the win

For the second race of the evening, fifteen or so semi-scratch riders were given a twenty second handicap over six scratch riders. Scratch rode hard to make the catch in ten minutes, and after a couple of attempts were reeled in, Brian McArdle attacked hard out of the lead group. Though he stayed away for two laps solo, his lead never extended beyond ten seconds. He was glad to be eventually joined by Eric Downey, and when Diarmuid Collins bridged across the three pushed on to widen the gap.

They stayed away to contest the sprint, and Downey won out by half a wheel from Collins. McArdle rolled over for third, with Pat O'Brien stealing the bunch gallop from established finisher Peter Gerrard. Pat Conlon once again rounded out the placings, a truly consistent rider!

Downey and Collins sprinting for the line

Corkagh Park had yet to bear witness to Downey's greatness before tonight, but now he has shown that he is well capable of riding strongly in a criterium. Another line to add to his resumé of climbing and road racing abilities.

Next week we'll see how he fares in the 10km TT - he was top Orwell finisher in a time of 24'18" last year, but many other testers have been honing their skills since then. Keep an eye on the forum for details of round five.

All photos are courtesy of SwimCycleRun.com, with more available on Facebook.

Orwell League R4: Corkagh Park Criterium

Race #1 (L/SL)
1 Brian McNally (SL)
2 Paul Kane (L)
3 Timothy Kaye-Mellor (L)
4 Donal Brady (SL)
2 Julian Moore (L)
6 Brian Doyle (L)

Unplaced Woman
Monica Marconi

Race #2 (S/SS)
1 Eric Downey (S)
2 Diarmuid Collins (S)
3 Brian McArdle (S)
4 Patrick O'Brien (S)
5 Peter Gerrard (SS)
6 Pat Conlon (SS)