Club Notes 10th September

Racing

On Saturday, 4 of the racing team headed to Charleville for the Charleville 2 Day. This was the first stage race for Pat Bergin, Liam Callaghan, Tommy Hanrahan and Julie White and it proved to be a challenging yet enjoyable experience. The rain started bucketing down just as the 2 groups were about the leave the hotel for the first of 3 stages, a 76km undulating route, and it was a sign of things to come for the rest of the day. There were mixed fortunes for the team in the A2/3 race with Tommy puncturing early on, he fought hard after losing almost 5 minutes and caught a chasing group to finish 96th. Pat and Liam finished in the main bunch in 45th and 48th place respectively. All great placings considering the size of the starting field of 160 riders. In the A4 race, Julie lost contact with the main bunch after around 50km on the climb out of Newmarket and battled on to finish 65th from a field of 90 and was first women to cross the line. The lads headed back to Nenagh for the night, however Julie had her time trial that evening in wet, windy and almost dark conditions. Julie put in a solid ride and finished 52nd in the TT and was once again, first woman on the board.

Thankfully the rain had gone on Sunday morning, however the wind had picked up by the time Tommy, Pat & Liam were out on the time trial course. There were some fast times set early on that morning, however the lads put in great performances with Tommy taking 26th, Pat 45th and Liam 49th.

Stage 3, the mountains stage, kicked off at 1pm with the A2/3 bunch hitting the hills first. Tommy, Liam and Pat put in great rides on this tough course to finish 39th, 41st and 50th respectively. Unfortunately for Julie, her position as first woman slipped away as soon as she hit the first 8km climb and was unceremoniously spat out the back of the bunch and finished 57th.

The final GC positions were Pat 43, Liam 44 and Tommy 58 in the A2/3 Race and Julie 60th in the A4 and 2nd Woman. Well done all and a big word of thanks to Rene from Visit Nenagh who supported the lads over the 2 days.

Good luck

 

The club would like to wish Sinnead Oakes the best in Ras na mBan which kicks off tomorrow (Wednesday) and runs until Sunday 15th. Sinnead will be racing with the Munster Development Team for this 5 day, 6 stage event which is based out of Ennis. Good luck Sinnead, we know you’ll do great, hope you enjoy the experience.

Sunday Spin

A number of Wheelers supported the Triclub end of year spin on Sunday meaning numbers were low for the usual Sunday spin. 4 of the Intermediate Group did a 60km spin from Nenagh to Portroe, Ballina, O’Brien’s Bridge, Birdhill and home. Average was 27km/hr.

Don’t forget the All Together Spin on Sunday 22nd. Please attend if you’re available and keep spreading the word!