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Former Olympian Wins Thriller
The final round of the FPM Accountants Summer Cycling League, the Hill Climb Championship, started on Thursday last. This part of the league is held over two rounds. First up is the longer climb of the Long Woman's Grave. This climb starts at the petrol station in Omeath and the first 300m is brutally steep. It then levels off and even has a short downhill section before kicking up again for the final km. The second climb that forms the championships is the Jenkinstown climb, which starts with a steady 750m section that while definitely testing isn't overly steep. However the second part of the climb has some really steep sections requiring riders to get out of the saddle and grind their way up. It is an ongoing debate as to which is the harder, but when your racing up them the old question comes to mind "Would you rather be beaten with a piece of steel or a piece of wood?". Either way your going to be in pain!
With defending Champion Colm Quinn on holidays a new winner would be declared. The quickest time on the night was set by Bohermeen's Chris Quinn who crossed the line in just under eight and a half minutes. First club man home was Alan Bingham, a former winner of the Hill Climb Championships. Completing the podium was Newry's Ross Collins who just beat out Paul Dagg by the narrowest of margins of only one second. Celine McPhilips was the first lady home in a very respectable time of just over thirteen minutes.
With the second leg to come it looks to be a two horse race between Bingham and Dagg of the Hill Climb Championships. Bingham has a 25second advantage going into next Thursday nights second round. Should Bingham take the win and score maximum points it should move him up to second overall in the league table.
Meanwhile on the mountain biking front, Cuchulainn organised the annual Cooley Thriller Mountain Marathon on Saturday last. This year saw a record field of over 200 riders sign on for the 52km trip around the Cooley mountains, starting and finishing in Carlingford. Two time Olympian and seven time national cyclo-cross champion Robin Seymour was the event winner, completing the course in two hours and forty nine minutes. In second position, just four minutes back was loacl man Raymond O`Shaughnessy and Joe Mc Caul in third. Melanine Seplate was the first lady home. Cuchulainn had two winners on the day with Gary Shields winning the Sport Category and Johnny McCabe, edging out brother Declan, for the Super Vet Category. The club also had winners in the short course event with Celine McPhilips winning the female event and Ciaran Gormley the male event.
Friday last saw the club host a fund raiser event in Courtneys bar, in an effort to raise funds for the upcoming Mizen to Malin head trip, which commences this Friday with the riders rolling out of Mizen en route to Limerick the first night and Cavan the second. Almost €3,000 was raised on the night and special thanks goes to Sherli Muldoon for her organising of the event and to the brave cyclists who stepped up to have the legs waxed, in particular Kevin Hamill who went the extra mile with the waxing just to get a few more euro in the pot.
