Henry – Northern Ireland Young Sports Person of the Year

North Down Cycling Club was delighted when it was announced that 17 year old Stuart Henry had been selected to represent Northern Ireland at the OCS Young Sports Person Awards 2008, in London later this year.

When asked what his reaction was he replied: ‘I’m really surprised.  I knew that the opposition would be really tough.  I had met most of the athletes at various training camps in recent years and knew that they were all of a very high calibre’.

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Hunting for PB’s

North Down Cycling Club’s John Hunter made yet another foray into the realms of unchartered territory when he recorded another personal best, in the Northern Ireland 25 mile time trial championships.  John’s time of 57 minutes and 59 seconds, in difficult, windy conditions, took over 3 minutes of his previous personal best time of 1hour 1 minute and 3 seconds.  Amazingly this is the tenth occasion this season when the amiable Englishman has achieved a personal best time – quite a feat!

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Cycling Through the Winter – Part Two

Last week this column focused on the recreational side of cycling and in particular the lure of the ‘grand tour’.  It seems that some North Down members decided to take a ‘long tour’ last Saturday, leaving the club rooms at 9 am and cycling to Downpatrick before taking the Marie Curie charity cycle.  According to event organiser, Terry Nicoletti, the whole affair was a great success, with thirty club members completing the trip. 

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Cycling Through the Winter

Noel Boyce this week launched the first part of his programme which is aimed at maximising the North Down Cycling Club’s clubrooms during the long winter months.  In addition to the customary meetings and social get togethers, Noel has planned a series of bicycle maintenance classes, which will be available to all members and will be of interest and value to everyone, regardless of their expertise.

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McKenna – Northern Ireland Hill Climb Champion

North Down's Neil McKenna proved his worth last week when he lifted the gold medal in the Northern Ireland Hill Climb Championships. The event hosted by North Down Cycling Club and sponsored by the North Down Borough Council, attracted a large number of competitors to the Croft Road circuit, with riders travelling from all over the province. In fact, although the gold stayed in the borough, the silver was shared by riders from Carrickfergus and Omagh.

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