Club Notes 23rd March 2014
Tommy Hanrahan picking up points at the weekend (third from right)
North Tipperary Wheelers: Youth Programme – Now Open for Business. The first of our four introductory Youth training spins was held on Saturday morning last with a good turnout despite the pretty difficult conditions. It was great to see the enthusiasm of those present and the ease with which they took to the sport. We are now “open for business” with Youth cycling in the Wheelers and would love to add to this group over the next 3 Saturdays. Once these introductory spins are complete we will develop a programme appropriate to the needs of the group. Please spread the word among your friends, neighbours colleagues etc. More details of the training programme are available here. A poster and or flyer of the training event for your place of work or a nearby shop, clubhouse etc please email northtippwheelers@gmail.com
Club Racing: In racing, the club was represented this week by Tommy Hanrahan (pictured 3rd from right) and Julie White at the Des Hanlon Memorial Classic in Carlow. One of the toughest one day races on the Irish calendar, it always attracts a large field of top class riders. This proved true in the A3 race with a sign on of almost 150 where Tommy lined out with most of the top juniors and senior A3s in the country. Racing started shortly after midday and after approx 10kms Eddie Dunbar attacked and rode the remaining 110km solo to take the win. Later in the first lap a group of 5 juniors followed suit and formed a formidable chase group which also succeeded in staying away from the main bunch however didn’t catch Dunbar.
Tommy reports “I got dropped along with a dozen others on the last climb of the first lap but organised everyone and we reconnected with the main bunch before the climbing started again in Castlecomer. Plenty of climbing later a group of about 20 including myself broke off the front and headed for home. In a high paced finish the sprinters lined up but I went for broke about 500m out and went for a solo finish. I got caught 50m from the line and finished 12th“. This is Tommy’s third top 12 finish in as many races. With 8 juniors finishing ahead of Tommy, Tommy secured the forth A3 position adding to his tally of points for the season which was a nice consolation after narrowly missing out on points in Carrick on Suir last week.
For the first time ever, there was a separate Women’s race at the Des Hanlon which attracted a nice field and some of the country’s top riders. Julie White lined out in this with the aim of finishing the race having been absent from training all week after last weeks crash at the Boyne GP. “I knew the course wouldn’t suit me and sure enough I was dropped on the climb out of Castlecomer. I formed a chase group with a few juniors, however one of them struck a dog on a fast descent so I waited for the ambulance with her. I finished out the race with a group of A3s doing a fast rollover session – great training for me”. Fran Meehan from Aqua Blue broke on the climb out of Castlecomer and took the solo win.
Upcoming Club EventsThe date of the Annual Club Tour of Lough Derg has been set for May 25th 2014. Further details available here.
Club Training: Training spins took place on both Saturday and Sunday with a 100+km ride on Saturday at race training intensity and a 60+km ride on Sunday. Both rides followed similar routes but starting in opposite directions taking in Borrisokane, Cloughjordan, Moneygal, Borrisoleigh, Upper Church and Dolla on Saturday and Monegal, Cloughjordan and Borrisokane on Sunday. Club training continues this week including, Saturday and Sunday mornings, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings catering for all levels. Further details are available on the club website northtippwheeelers.com and on facebook/northtippwheelers. The leisure/sportive calendar has also commenced so this is the perfect time of year for leisure cycling members to return to weekend training. Club membership is free to new members. For further information on the club or about any of the above events please contact Pat Bergin on 087 6744400.