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XC League, Round 3 - Rain doesn't stop play
Round 3 of the Cuchulainn XC League returned to Bellurgan Park for some quality single track racing. The course a slightly modified version of the Round 1 course differed in the amount of single track and laps. 4 laps in total, 8.8km. Photographs; thanks to Brian Mulligan.
This was the first week that we have split the riders into 2 separate handicapped races within the race, effectively increasing the possibility for anyone to win the overall league outright. The handicapped start times were from 0 mins to +26 mins and as with all handicapping systems it's impossible to get it right all the time, after all it is only a guide and individual performance on the day can be somewhat better or worse than the handicap applied.
Racing from the off was incredibly tight within the majority of the handicapped groups however the 5 minute downpour halfway through the race changed just how well the course was riding for everyone, some of the riders times increased as a result of the rainfall, others just took the change in the conditions in their stride. Niall O'Flaherty was having a great race and had a lead of around 35 seconds over the field, unfortunately due to an error when negotiating the single track in the Laurels on his last lap quite literally blew his rear mech up which ended his race prematurely. Niall wasn't the only one to DNF on the night, Derek Malone, David Hoey and Shane Garvey also had mechanicals resulting in DNF's. Standing at the final corner on the last lap, the 1st 5 riders in Race 1 came over the Tombstone almost wheel to wheel, a gap of 1 min 10 secs separating the first 5 finishers and less than 6 mins separated all riders in Race 1. Jason Malone taking the win from Sean Kelly and rounding out 3rd was Colin McGeown
Meanwhile in Race 2, Torin Fleming was having a blinder out on the course and quite literally cruised in to take 1st, followed by Sean Duff in 2nd and Dean McArdle rounding out 3rd.
Congratulations to the first 3 riders in each Race:
- Jason Malone
- Sean Kelly
- Colin McGeown
- Torin Fleming
- Sean Duff
- Dean McArdle
More info: Full results here
As always a very well done to the rest of the field, and also nice to see some more new faces this week.
We look forward to seeing you all next week for Round 4 where the league will be held on an entirely new course in Bellurgan park once more before going to the open mountain for Round 5.
