Cuchulainn team in Donegal Ultra 550km Race

It has been a busy few weeks for the members of Dundalk's Cuchulainn Cycling Club. Following on from the successful hosting of the annual Tour of Louth, the events have been coming thick & fast. One of the more unique events was when the club entered the Donegal Ultra Challenge, a non stop 550km race around the hills of County Donegal. The club entered a 4 man relay team consisting of Alan Grey, David Holland, Liam Dolan & the settled Louth man Declan Rafferty, originally from Letterkenny. The 4 man team, excellently backed up by a strong support crew of 6 people, completed the event in just under 17hours to come home as 4th place team. David Holland did a very impressive stint when at 2am of a Saturday morning he tackled the treacherous Horn Head in the lashing rain. The descent off of the head is scary at best in the daylight when try, so to tackle it under these conditions and lack of sleep was an impressive feet.

 
Club members also tackled the recent Giants Causeway Sportif, a 185km route which also went over another demanding geographical point at Torr Head, which was in part made up for with a ride through the infamous Game of Thrones` Dark Hedges. Here, as in the Donegal Challenge, it is the support crew that allows the cyclists to take part, with Kevin McCreesh driving the club van for support behind the club's riders.
 
The Bike Station summer league continues to gather pace with recent wins for Liam Dolan (Round 11), Martin Harvey (Round 10) and Donal Qunn (Round 9). As the league passes the half way stage it is Alan Gray who holds a lead, however defending champion Tomás McCabe of Ardee is closing in behind & is coming to top form, having recently won the Louth time Trial Championships.
June 2019