The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Strong peloton for Drumm Cup
THE 53rd annual John Drumm Cycle race will take place in the Kerry village of Currow on Sunday. As always a very exciting programme of racing has been planned by the host club Currow CC who take pride in putting on racing for all categories from the elite riders to the under 12 race. In fact it is the underage riders that kick off the days racing with their events at 10.30am with the Senior events following then at 12.30pm.
The feature event is seven circuits of the now familiar circuit that takes the riders from Currow Village, to Castleisland passing by Davy Roche’s cross and returning to Currow on the main Killarney Road from Castleisland totalling 108.5km. The finish line is 800 metres at the Castleisland side of Currow and spectators are reminded there is no parking at the finish area so please allow enough time to walk to the line if you wish to do so.
As an event, that was first held in 1966 almost a year after the untimely death of Johnny Drumm who was tragically killed in an agricultural accident, it has produced a list of winners that is as impressive as any in Irish cycling. This goes back to the first winner Gene Mangan, a RAS Tailteann winner where he is not unique in winning both events.
There were many more famous names to be added to the cup through the years such as the Lonergan brothers, Johnny and Joe from Tipperary, Colm Nulty of Meath, John and Denis Mangan of Killorglin and Adrian Byrne a Dublin based Garda.
The 30th race in 1995 was won by German Patrick Rives Maye who was a student at the University of Limerick at the time and a former junior champion of West Germany. Séamas Kennedy of Meath won the event as did Mick Cahill of Banteer, Bobby Power of Tipperary, John O’Sullivan of Kanturk, Batty Flynn and Jack Lacey of Kerry.
There was a unique result in 1972 when the event resulted in a dead heat between Limerick man Gearóid Costello and Anthony O’Halloran of Kerry.
John Blackwell, Billy Reidy and Paul Griffin won the race more than once to again keep the cup in Kerry but in recent years Corkmen Mick Fitzgerald, Richard Hooton and Paidi O Brien have won the race. Tipperary man Simon Ryan added the Drumm Cup victory to a very successful season in 2015 and will be aiming to win this race again for the Strata 3 Rev el out ion Squad in 2018. Eoin O’Connell the 2016 winner will be back sporting the colours of Blarney CC who are always prominent at this event. Limerick man Mark O’Callaghan was a very worthy winner last year and has since moved to Italy where he races with the US Fausto Coppi Gazzera team having won the event in the colours of the Aqua Blue Academy Team.
This has always been a race that cyclists really wanted to win and many competitors going on to be professionals with Sam Bennett winning the race three times and is now competing successfully with the world’s elite cyclists. Eddie Dunbar was second in 2014 and has since gone professional having a massive win at the Tour of Flanders U 23 in 2017.
Michael O’Loughlin is no stranger to the roads of Currow and maybe one day he could emulate his father Martin in winning the race with Michael also now embarking on a professional career.
The Viner Caremark Pactimo squad will want to add this title to their impressive start in 2018 and will include Kerry men Sean Lacey in their team as well as possibly the recent Kerry Group RAS Mumhan winner Conor Hennebry.
The Kerry clubs will also be to the fore on home roads. Cathal Moynihan always does well in Currow where he had his first victory as an A4 when he was a newcomer to the sport.
Cormac Daly is another flying the flag for Kerry and he is having a very good season already this year having won in Newcastlewest recently. Killarney will be lead by Richard Maes and Conor Kissane to name a just two but any one of their squad is capable of victory. Other Kerry clubs will also travel with a strong squads in their bid to win the cup with the likes of Manor West, Killorglin, Lee Strand, Sliabh Luachra as well as the host club Currow also competing.
Sign on opens for all Categories at 9.30am with the Underage racing starting at 10.30am and the Senior events at 12.30pm. Race HQ and Start is the Currow Hall with the finish line being approx 800m on the Castleisland side of the circuit for the Senior Events