Traders Cup March 27th

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On Sunday last Cuchulainn Cycling Club promoted the annual Traders Cup
on a new circuit encompassing the Carlingford road, Ravensdale & with
a finish on the Old Newry Road, a 17km circuit.

The main race of the day completed 5 laps of this circuit with a
5minute gap between the A3 riders a bunch comprising of the A1 and A2
riders. Cuchulainn had 7 riders competing in this race and it was a
successful day with Bryan McCrystal crossing the line in second place.
Bryan was part of a group that escaped from the second bunch, bridged
the cap to the first bunch and still managed to break away from this
group. In the sprint for the flag Bryan was just pipped by the more
experienced former Irish International from Athlone Simon Coughlan.
Peter Williams, riding for the Sport Active club, rounded out the
podium in 3rd place.

In the A4 race, where the riders completed 4 laps of the same circuit,
the club had 10 riders sign on. Dundalk men were rode very
aggressively throughout the day and featured in every move. One of he
Dundalk riders was Padraig Kelly, making his return to competitive
cycling after a 17 year absence. As the group approached the finish
line all were still together and the Cuchulainn riders massed at the
front of the bunch in order to contest the sprint. It certainly looked
a case of not if a Dundalk rider would win, but more which. However
disaster struck less than 1km from the finish when a touch of wheels
meant a large number of riders came down, including a number of
Cuchulainn riders. Mark Rafferty and Kevin Trainer who had been riding
superbly throughout the race both crashed heavily and required medical
attention. Cousin of Kevin, and former league winner, Aidan Martin
also took a heavy fall. While badly shaken and a number of bikes
damaged all riders will be ok. Meanwhile the sprint continued and the
club again took second place with Sean Loghran just missing out on
that elusive win. Paul McGee also had a fast finish to take 5th place.
Loughran's start to the season has been superb and it looks like it
will take no time for him to upgrade to a higher racing license.

A third race of the day was the ladies race, 3 laps of the course &
for the first time in recent memory Cuchulainn had a number of ladies
racing. Newcomer to the club Sonia Rae & the Dawe sisters Annette &
Breda all signed on to complete, this being a first race ever for the
Dawe girls. All the Cuchulainn ladies were riding strongly and managed
to stay within the bunch as others fell away, misfortune was to strike
Breda as she punctured on the second lap. The race was won by Usher's
Gillian McDarby, with a well known in the Dundalk league, Bohermeen's
Geraldine Gill taking second place.

All in all it was a great day's racing, except for the unfortunate
accident. the club would like to thank all the marshals, without their
thankless work races would not go ahead, the Gadai and the Red Cross
for the much need ambulance cover. Finally to the ladies back in
Dowdallas Hill GFC Club House who fed and watered a tired bunch of
cyclists.

This Sunday April 3rd, the mountain bikers of Cuchulainn CC will be
hosting the first round of the prestigious all Ireland National Points
Series at Bellurgan Park. Riders on the day will be on for a treat as
the mountain biking committee has done extensive work on the track at
Bellurgan Park over the winter. The track, measuring over 10km in
length, now features a number of technical sections including ramps,
jumps, as well as fast flowing sections. The club will be promoting a
full schedule of events for all categories, with the underage racing
starting at 10am. The race is part of the National Series whereby
riders accumulate points over the season, county towards the overall
Championships.