Thursday last saw the return of the hotly anticipated The Bike Station Summer Cycling league, once again sponsored by Kilsaran man Ray Fedigan's bike shop. League Director Padraig Murphy & his team have come up with a great event, which will encompass 18 rounds, up 3 from 2018. A number of new courses have been added, while the main favourites, such as the finish up the Flagstaff Climb, have been maintained.
Another feature this year is individual races, so on these nights group 6 is just racing group 6, group 5 racing group 5 etc, as opposed to the normal handicapped race situation which produces just 1 winner. The 1st round, a 26km course out to Dunleer & back was held on such a format. Group 6 were fist off & averaged a blistering 46km average for the night. The race was won by Newry Wheeler's Barry McCOnvey with a perfectly timed attack to hold of Gary Gorman of Stamullen Cycling Club & Cuchulainn's Liam Dolan in 3rd.
Group 5 also saw a Newry Wheelers man win with Rob Cumming beating Dermot O`Rourke. Group 4 saw a "home" with for Cuchulainn's Donnacha Calla with Mick Sheridan in second. Donal Quin of Ventoux Club was victorious over Lorcan Kilkenny in group 3. Meanwhile in the Challenge League Christopher Reilly from Cuchulainn was 1st ahead of Andrew Flood in 2nd & Jason Boyle in 3rd.
Meanwhile on the open racing front the club has had some good results of late. The pick of these was Sé Weston's 2nd place in round 2 of the IVCA leage. Liam Dolan came 7th in the Drogheda Wheeler's promoted Peter Bidwell Memorial on Saturday last. On Sunday the action also resumed in Drogheda, with Aidan Cunningham forming part of the winning move in the A3 race, sprinting home for 6th position, after a hard 100km of riding in the wind. In the A4 event the club had 2 men in the top 10 with Gavin Greene in 7th & Dermot O`Rourke in 8th, both riders gaining valuable points as they hope to make the step up to the A3 category.