WHEELERS RIDING HIGH
LAST weekend saw the Drogheda Wheelers club take on the busiest weekend in the Irish race cycling calendar - and they enjoyed plenty of successes along the way.
Wheelers, under the watchful eye of Race Director Gerard Campbell, ran a total of 18 races across the weekend bonanza of racing, including the country’s largest youth stage race - with 155 competitors setting off from Bellewstown Hill on Saturday morning in their attempt to be crowned the Skoda Ireland Rás na nÓg champion.
The young girls and boys took on three stages around Bellewstown and the surrounding areas, being supported by the hundreds of excited onlookers outside the racecourse.
The North East success story began with Tim Soroos from Navan RC taking the third place in the Under-11 event on stage 3 and Navan’s strong performance was continued by Duleek native Sean Lenehan who managed a very respectable top-10 finish on stage 2. Bohermeen duo Johnathon Foster and Callum Owens both finished in the top six on stage 3, amongst the best in the country.
Amidst the onerous task of hosting such a volume of youth cyclists, Gerard Campbell and the whole Wheelers crew promoted two senior races, both of which remember dearly missed club members.
The senior racing kicked off on Saturday evening with laps of the Donore village circuit, before finishing outside the house of the late Wheelers chairman who the race is held in memory of – Peter Bidwell.
Donegal man PJ Doogan was first across the line and crowned the Peter Bidwell Memorial champion for 2018, while Drogheda Wheelers powerhouse Barry Hughes sprinted to second place in the A2 category and his teammate Andy O’Brien took home the same placing in the A4 category, just behind Cuchulainn’s Ian Clarke.
Sean Landers from Stamullen RC put in a strong performance to take first A3 across the line, following on from his efforts in the Tour of the North at Easter.
Once the youth cyclists had finished their racing, the senior racers set off from Bellewstown for the Coombes Connor Memorial 2018.
Very early into the A4 race, Eoin Ferriter from Drogheda Wheelers broke off into a solo lead and hoped to take his second win of the season after his triumph in Slane in March.
Ferriter was joined by another rider from Laois, and after a battle to the line he rolled across to take second place and gain his A3 upgrade. Ben McCourt Lenehan continued the good results for the Wheelers when he took the junior prize in the A3 race, with Ballyboughal native Cian Delaney - in the colours of Stamullen RC - finishing seventh in the A1/A2 race.
Speaking after the race, Ger Campbell thanked everyone who helped and congratulated everyone who took part in the events across the weekend, making special note to mention the several visitors to the race from across the water in Britain. Campbell also offered his gratitude to Skoda Ireland and Cycling Ireland for their sponsorship of the race, as well as all the club sponsors.
This coming weekend will see the promotion of the Waller Cup races in Bohermeen, and with many North East riders coming into good form moving into spring, their results could be worth watching out for.