Club notes
We’re sorry for the delay in posting this weeks notes, it’s been a manic weekend of cycling in Nenagh!! We hope you all enjoyed all of the cycling festivities happening around the town and had a great week! Hopefully you were all able to get out on the bikes and enjoy the spell of nice weather we’re enjoying at the moment.
Tuesday evening 14th we had our normal summertime club training spin that left Moynans at 6.30pm and we also had some of our racing club members take part in the first race of the Limerick CC Summer League. All in all, some quality training miles were had by all that turned out.
Wednesday evening 15th we had our club leisure/intermediate training spin. The group cycled from Nenagh to Cloughjordan, on to Moneygall and then back to Nenagh and maintained an average of 25kph. Very well done lads and keep it up.
Thursday evening 16th saw the first of our road race league take place and you can read the full report here. After a great bunch sprint, the podium was made up of Peter Moynan 1st, Duncan Hodgins 2nd & Owen Hynes 3rd. Winner of the Ladies category was Eva Moynan (5th overall) Very well done all!!
On Saturday 18th, all thoughts turned to the Gas Networks Ireland Visit Nenagh Classic and the Team time trial. We had the great pleasure of entering a team once again in this excellent event and every year we learn more about this very specific style of event and the tactics involved in getting a team across the line in the least time possible. We had a savage effort put in by all 6 of our team and we managed a very respectable 7th place out of 12 teams with all the lads having got so into it that they all thought there was more to be got!! Race report here. So till next year guys, we’re sure the team will progress even further! A huge well done to you all for giving up your legs to put together a team for the event and promote our club even though 3 of the team were involved in the race the next day. Thanks very much indeed! (To be fair it didn’t seem to hurt any of you as the performances ye put in on Sunday were fantastic!!! 😉 )
On Sunday 19th the whole town of Nenagh was taken over by cyclists from all over the country taking part in one of the biggest (and toughest!!) races on the calender. This is promoted as a “classic” race and for those of you that don’t know what that means… basically hills, pain and anguish!! I think the race organisers have successfully found the toughest hills around the Nenagh area… and included all of them!!! 🙂 Definitely one of the toughest races on the calender so we should be so proud of our members who all showed some great form and did so well in such a tough event!
We had representation in all the male categories with no fewer than 9 members taking part in the A4 category. They were Kevin Byrne, Joey Donnelly, Charlie Hogan, Owen Hynes, Joe O’Connor, Martin Quigley, Gary Rowan, Nanno Vuyk and Eoin Woods. All the guys put in some fantastic performances and did the club very proud. We had about 5 of the lads up near the front most of the way around and giving warnings to the other clubs about known hazards to keep the going safe which really helped everyone keep the rubber side down! There was one incident heading to the Silvermines where a puncture occurred and some inexperience led to a pileup and a group split. Most of the lads were up near the front and managed to just avoid the incident thankfully. Gary was keeping with the lead group climbing from Dolla when unfortunately his chain came off and caused him to lose touch with the main group for a few moments but in a race like this if you lose touch it is near impossible to get back on as the pace was so strong. I think he might be doing a little retail therapy today to help him get over it and is probably looking up chain catchers as I type… 😉 Overall there was a really impressive performance put in by the lads with 6 of the 9 lads crossing the line within about 5 mins of the winner and Eoin coming closest and was so unlucky to find himself coming up to the line with strong legs but in a poor position with some road furniture blocking his chances of getting involved in the sprint to the finish line and finished around 14th position. A huge well done to you all and it’s a sure sign you’re all going from strength to strength!
Tommy Hanrahan and David Kyle took part in the A3 race and both finished well. David’s form continues well and he was very happy with his performance and just losing position approaching the turn for Coum is probably all that cost him getting in the decisive group. It was won by a small breakaway but David finished well in the first chasing group and Tommy in the second. We also had Dan Hogan representing the club in the really gruelling A1/2 route. Well done lads!!
There is a great selection of photos on our Facebook page. Links to the different galleries are here: Gallery 1, Gallery 2 and Gallery 3. Many thanks to Vic Nott and Selina Hynes for giving up their time and getting some fantastic shots of the racers in action on both days!! It’s fantastic to have these mementos of such a great event.
Many thanks to all the club members who turned out to help with marshalling over the 2 days and also helping with the family fun cycle on Sunday morning. Without all of you giving up your spare time and helping out, this type of event could not be held!! It is very much appreciated!
This week:
Monday evening 20th We have our new club kit supplier coming to do a fitting evening with us in Una Powell’s from 6pm – 8:30pm. Come in and have a look at the quality of this new gear and try it out for size. See article here.
Tuesday evening 21st club training spin leaving from Moynans at 6.30pm.
Wednesday evening 22nd leisure/intermediate spin leaving Moynans at 7pm.
Thursday evening 23rd is club race day. Road race 2 this week. Route details will be posted during the week on our Website, Facebook page, Twitter and Google plus pages.
Saturday morning 25th Race training spin leaving from Woddies carpark at 9am
Sunday morning 26th club spin leaving from Moynans at 9am.
For any more information on club events or membership please contact our club chairperson Pat Bergin on 087 6744400.