20 May 2008

Northern Ireland Youth Cycling Championships

Lurgan girl Ciara Mulholland (Clann Eireann-Linen Green) spoiled a Juiced-Orchard clean sweep of Gold medals in last weekend’s Northern Ireland & Ulster Youth championships in Bangor. Promoted by North Down CC and supported by North Down Borough Council, the event saw a large turnout of tomorrow's stars from across the province.

Ciara was on top form in the Under 12 race, timing her effort to perfection to cross the line with 10 seconds to spare over defending champion Mark Downey (Banbridge) Keeping the medals in the family, Ciara`s brother Declan took the Bronze ahead of Old Bleach`s Ryan Orr. In the Under 14 race Robert Anderson (Juiced-Orchard) took a solo win ahead of Ards newcomer Ian Inglis, and Newry`s Cormac Clarke taking third spot. In the feature Under 16 race, all eyes were on the Orchard lads, with everyone guessing as to which one of their dominant trio would take Gold. Midway through the 30 mile race Mantas Spirgius and last year’s Under 14 Champion, Jack WIlson (East Antrim), broke clear to open up a useful gap over the bunch. With the Orchard men back in the bunch, there was no concerted chase and the duo maintained their 40 second advantage to the finish. With the deceiving climb of Orlock Hill to be tackled for the 7th time in the final kilometre, Wilson had nothing left for the sprint which saw Spirgius take a well deserved win. His team mate Nathan Mehaffey led a chasing quartet to claim the Bronze medal. North Down’s Nathan McLeer rode strongly and came home in 8 position.

Cycle Skills Event

The Cycle Skills Event tonight (Thursday 22nd) has attracted a mammoth entry from all over the borough. The event which is organised jointly by North Down Cycling Club and North Down Sports Advisory Council seems to grow in popularity year upon year.

As with previous years, the range of events include both skill and fun. For example, the children will be involved in a slow bicycle race where the slowest competitor, not the fastest, will win. Clearly this is fun, but it also requires balance and bike control as the riders are not allowed to put their foot to the ground and must always be in a forward motion!

Everyone taking part will also be invited to present their bikes for a free MOT type test by experienced cyclists, who will check the bikes for safety and identify areas which could possibly cause a hazard. After the skill event there will be a barbeque and prize presentation. Every child taking part will receive a certificate and there will be lots of other prizes and gifts. However, the most important aspect of the night will be the desire that children will be able to ride their bikes a little more safely in the future.

Club 25

The first 25 mile time trial of the season was held last week on the Portaferry Road. Matt McInerney is quickly climbing back to the sort of form that made him one of the best riders in the country a few years ago, and he took the laurels with almost 30 sec to spare over Paul Ferguson.

In the pace maker challenge Mark Hodgins was within 15 seconds of his prediction and scores 15 points, moving him clear of Matt McInerney, within 30 seconds, earning 10 points. Des McCoy joins the competition with a 10 pointer.

Coastal Challenge

Places are quickly filling up for the Coastal Challenge. It seems that the cap of 700 will once again be reached before the event. Club members are requested to keep themselves free on the day so that the can act as stationary or mobile marshals.

Club Clothing

The long awaited club clothing has now arrived. Mark Coyle plans to organise a distribution night in the clubrooms.