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First Road win of the Season for UCD last weekend

So UCD get their first open race win of the season with the Stage 2 win by Ciaran on Saturday in the Tain Team Tour in Dundalk. The weekend started with the red carpet treatment for the teams star rider and ex captain, Niall (the banker) Dwyer.

He rode his heart out for the team on the 30km team TT which placed them 10th out of the 12 teams in the race. The rest of the team was made up of Al and Eoin who cycled the 40km to the start of the TT as if the race wasn't tough enough.

That night the dinner table was awash with excitement and discussion of tactics for the following days 100km road race. The race started off very fast and Al was suffering from some stomach issues having had an extra hour in bed and taking a late breakfast. He rode hard the night before and was participating in his first race of the season. He is truly a warrior!

The stage went well for UCD as a group got away on the half way climb and with Ciaran being the only UCD rider in it he was tactically able to sit on the group which contained teams with 2 or 3 riders in it. They had a huge incentive to keep the break clear and it ended up crossing the line with a 5 min gap. With 1km to go 2 riders broke clear and Ciaran bridged across to them, then attacked alone for the final 500m winning with fresh legs.The day featured heavy rain but it never dampened the teams spirits.

 The team enjoyed the evening and watching the Dubs win too. The next day Niall was clearly tired at breakfast from the work the day before where he and Eoin both got a top 20 on the stage. The final stage featured the Ras climb of Long womans Grave which witnessed a huge pull on the front by Eoin dropping the bunch down to 25 riders. We then got to the final climb of the day, the 7.3% 7km climb of Cooley Mtn the lead group had a 4min gap and wouldnt be caught but Ciaran was in the first group of 3 riders at the summit finish, behind the leaders. Niall came in for 18th on the stage having been aggressive throughout and attacking 10km from the climb to have a minute lead at the bottom. Overall UCD finished joint 6th in the team prize and the riders had a great weekend and another trophy for the ever expanding cabinet. We would like to thank Mil for his support on the weekends racing.

O

the prizes keep coming for UCD cycling

Ucd had huge success again at last weekend Mullingar 2 day event. Ian finished joint first overall in the A4 category and also won the TT. He went into the final stage with the leaders jersey on his back and Rob helped him defend it even though from lap 1 he had a branch caught all the way through his rear mech causing huge disruption. It was a miracle he stayed in the lead and will be delighted with his result considering it is one of his first ever races.

 

In the A2 race Anto, Niall, Louise, Fiachra and Ciaran were looking for results also. Ciaran was away in the best break of the day but only stayed away for one lap in a group of 6. It was always going to come together for a bunch sprint but a huge crash happened on the last lap where Ciaran and Louise went down with Louise having to go to hospital and receive treatment. She will make a full recovery soon. Ciaran finished the stage but was now out of contention and a bit battered too.

Anto got a strong 5th place finish in an uphill sprint going out with 300m to go. On the TT Anto rode well into third place and 5th overall. Fiachra who had 2 punctures on the first day got 15th in the TT. The after noons stage looked straightaway that it would be a bunch sprint as the Newry leader on the road had a huge team to keep it together. With Team UCD sitting and waiting till the final laps another accident put Ciaran out of the race but Anto went on to get 6th on the stage and keep his placing of 5th overall.

Another very successful weekend in the clubs history and this was followed up this weekend with Caits defence of her national title.

More success to follow this weekend hopefully.

UCD takes another national title!

Last weekend was the xc national championships, one of the biggest and
most prestigious races of the year for everyone involved. This year it
was run by Epic and held in Djouce woods in Wicklow it promised to be
one of the best courses and events of the year – and didn’t
disappoint. Although I’d comfortably beaten my competitors in several
races this year, I was feeling the pressure on the start line - I had
a jersey to defend and knew not to get complacent, there’s always a
risk of a bad day, a mechanical or crash ruining things.

We set off up the hill of the start loop and I got squeezed into the
inside line and forced out the back. It took a sprint out of the last
corner to overtake 3 people and get ahead as we hit the singletrack
climbing. From there I just put my head down and pedalled, trying to
catch and overtake the juniors who set off just ahead of us. The
course was brilliant, real mountain biking at its best. It was a long
lap with lots of climbing, mostly on technical singletrack, and each
time followed by the reward of a brilliant descent. There was plenty
of variety, some fast flowy trails, others rooty and steep, all made
slightly more difficult with overnight rain greasing things up a bit.

Into lap 2 and the others were out of sight. I was really enjoying
myself, feeling good and cruising around. Towards the end racing
against the men in masters and vets kept me entertained. The cheering
crowds and clanging cowbells up the last climb and round the
singletrack to the finish made a great atmosphere and took away any
feelings of pain that were setting in. So I finished first with a
decent gap and pretty pleased with my performance. It was a funny
race, more about being composed and riding cleanly than close fighting
and pushing myself as is usually the case. I think the prize giving
and podiums were my favourite part of the day – new jersey, a huge
trophy, a bouquet of flowers and best of all champagne to spray all
over everyone. Great fun!

A massive thanks to Richie Byrne and everyone from Epic involved in
organising the race. The atmosphere, the trails, the onsite
entertainment, the cheering spectators made the biggest and best xc
race I’ve been to in Ireland. Also thanks to Think Bike for the loan
of space wheels and fixing up my bike, and UCD for their support all
year.

Club History 2009/2010

Eóin Fitzpatrick captained the Club in 2009/2010. Alan Dunne acted as Secretary and Fiachra O’Loughlin took over as Junior Treasurer and leader of the Touring section. Ciarán Ó Conluain assumed the position of web coordinator while Robert Higgins agreed to continue to assist the Club with IT matter for another year. The role of Public Relations/ Development Officer was fulfilled by former Captain, Niall Dwyer, while former Secretary, Niamh Stephens, took over as Safety Officer. Gavin Haberlin took on the role of Equipment/ Clothing Officer and Cait Elliot was responsible for Off-road aspects of the Club. Colin Peirce again acted as League Coordinator.

The positions of Club President and Vice-Presidents remained unchanged from 2008/09 with Maoilíosa Ó Dubhthaigh again being supported by Oisín Boydell and Brendan Kilbride. Ó Dubhthaigh was elected as Honorary Secretary of the Athletic Union Council (College’s sporting body) at its AGM in October and follows in the footsteps of his great mentors Gerry Horkan and the late Dr. Tony O’Neill, the latter a former UCD Director of Sport.

Cait Elliott, a Club Scholarship student in 2008/09, was upgraded to Sports Scholarship status in 2009/10. She will have the use of the High Performance Centre as a result. Her main aim for the season is to test herself in the prestigious races cross channel and to defend her National Cross Country, National Marathon XC and Intervarsity Cyclocross titles.

The Cycling Ireland road squad for the 2010 season comprised of Anthony Walsh, Ciarán Ó Conluain, Colin Peirce, Eóin Fitzpatrick, Fergus Ryan, Fiachra O’Loughlin, Fiachra Rowan, Gavin Haberlin, Ian Richardson, John Treacy, Louise Moriarty, Niall Dwyer, Niamh Stephens and Robert Manning. The off-road team was headed by Cait Elliott. She was joined by XC rider Robert Higgins and Down Hill racers Rory Beirne and new comers Ashley Hemmingway and Colin Keogh.

The Club rented a room of Crunch Fitness and Maria Bienkowska provided weekly spinning sessions which were a thoroughly challenging yet enjoyable workout for all.

The opening round of the 2010 Irish Winter League took place on Sunday 17th January in Bree, Co Wexford with three UCD Cycling Club riders participating. The race took place on a fast but not too technically difficult course in what was described as challenging weather. The UCD contingent was led by last years Club Scholarship student, Rory Beirne. He was joined by newcomers Ashley Hemmingway and Colin Keogh. They all competed in the Senior category. Less than one and a half seconds separated the top three. Bobby St Ledger, from the Cork club 021 Racing claimed the victory in a time of 1 minute 48.870 seconds. Colin O’Leary (Wolf Sport) was the runner up with a time of 1:50.048. UCD’s Ashley Hemmingway (1:50.107) was only a fraction of a second behind in third place of the 32 starters. Seasoned UCD rider Rory Beirne finished 7th in a time of 1:55.067 while Colin Keogh was 11th in 1 time of 2:00.355.

Round one of the UCD CC Time Trial League took place on the 9.85 mile Boot Inn circuit on the 31st of January. Nine riders competed. The race was won by time trial specialist Anthony Walsh in a terrific time of 22 minutes and 56 seconds. Gavin Haberlin (26:13) and Fiachra Rowan (26:23) completed the podium. Ciarán Ó Conluain, Eóin Fitzpatrick, Robert Manning, Niall Dwyer, Ian Richardson and Fergus Ryan completed the line up.

Club Captain, Eoin Fitzpatrick, qualified for the Ireland squad for the World Duathlon Championships in Edinburgh in September on the back of his top 4 finish in the qualifying race which was held at Punchestown on the 1st of February. The course which consisted of a 3.5km run, a 20km bike ride and a 3.5km run attracted 149 competitors in what turned out to be very foggy conditions. Fellow UCD CC rider, Ian Richardson, finished in 5th and there is a possibility that he too will make the international squad later in the year.

The road section of the Club held a very successful 3 day training camp in Carlow in early February.

Sports Scholarship student, Cait Elliott competed in the National Senior Cross Country Championships in St Anne’s Park in Dublin on the 7th of February. The reigning National Cross Country and National Marathon XC Champion was hoping to add to the national titles she has already won to date while competing for UCD, but after a hard fought race had to settle for a silver medal. The race was won by Laois CC’s Francine Meehan in a time of 53:24 who had a 24 second winning margin over Cait. The event doubled as an intervarsity event and defending champion, Cait comfortably retained her title.

 A big Easter weekend was ahead for UCD cycling with GOREY AND RAS MUMHUM.

Ras Mumhan; Day one Killorglin Friday 2^nd April 6:30am Raheny

Anto, Fiachra, Gus and Colm Cassidy  (who later guested for UCD)ride the race with Stage 1 starting at 3 pm.  The gun goes off and the race goes. The race seems like one big long sprint for 4 days. Day 2 Molls gap 140km and its a dry start but after ten mins the wind and wind and rain and rain and cold and cold come flooding in. Anto spent the whole day stopping and starting with no front gears and spent it with the top riders. Fiachra was only a couple of mins down on him. Epic. South Dublin lads reckon it was harder than any Ras stage they have ever done. Stage 3 Somewhere in west Kerry 146km and anto is again in a chasing bunch of 10. All the riders finish the stage and with Anto sprinting for top 10 on stage. Fiachra was sent the wrong way by an official and after a terrific ride was penalized a huge amount of time.

Stage 4 110 K and its raining. Numerous punctures for the team and as the seasons first stage races ends on Monday for all 5 UCD riders involved. This will be huge experience for the Ras to come later in the year.

In Gorey Gav and Ciaran took part in the 4 stage, 3 day event.The race overall was "what could have been" for the UCD team. On the first day Ciaran was feeling very good and tried to get in an early break but couldn't. Finally a strong group of 3 riders got away (Including the eventual winner) and when the race hit the first KOM a short 1800m climb in Hacketstown, Ciaran attacked the bunch and made up the 30secs on the group bridging with about 6 riders making a lead group of 10 with 50km to go.

Sadly only half the group were riding but it was a strong 5 with 3 Isle of Man riders involved. One got a puncture which slowed things down and with the gap at a maximum of 30secs after about 10km the group got swallowed up. The race came to a bunch sprint and Ciaran got 11th but would have been higher had 2 lads in front not sat up. For Gavin it was Ciarans attack over Hacketstown climb that split the bunch into two for the whole day with 70lads coming in 1min 20 down, Gavin included. It was only a question of his position in the bunch that led to him being in the second group on the road. Ciaran finished the day in joint 4th on KOM after getting a 4th and a 2nd on the climbs.On the 2nd day Gavin was excited about the TT and got a time just over 8mins placing him in the top 30. Ciaran was 5 secs slower at about 40th making him 26th overall. Gavin looked very comfortable in the TT position and would have finished higher up if the TT was longer. Anto Walsh has to be thanks for the lend of the gear to Ciaran which shaved numerous seconds off his time.

The new leader, Gareth Enright had the strongest team and on the 3rd stage he let a break go away but chased them down in the closing kilometers to lead it to a bunch sprint again. Ciaran on the second time over the climb tried to attack and get across to the break but couldn't break the bunch or bring riders with him so it all stayed together. Gavin certainly learned his lesson from the day before and was riding in the front of the bunch and looked very comfortable.

With a group away all day taking the KOM points it was assumed that the competition was sealed but Ciaran actually stayed in with a chance of 2rd or 3rd in the competition going into the last day.

On last day he needed to get first or 2nd over KOM to get 2nd overall so he attacked from the gun with it being 26km out and a 3km drag to the top of it. His group of 8 riders got a 40sec gap but again only half the group was working with the rest sitting on. The yellow jersey was with us and we sadly got caught 500m from the top of the hill with Ciaran getting 4th on this and 4th overall and out of the prizes of top 3.

The rest of the Day was fast with a big tailwind and Gavin had a few fans on the course along the way. Again he was in the middle of the bunch and looking strong. Both riders got home safely with some of the fresher lads breaking clear in the final kilometers to finish infront of the main bunch.

A huge thanks to Mil for his great assistance in all cycling events the club partakes in especially the stage racing.

Stamullan GP was one of the first testing races after the Easter weekend with 4 ascents up a steep climb last almost 5mins which split the bunch to pieces. In the end only 5 A1 riders caught the A2 group and they took the majority of the prizes with Ciaran coming home in the A1 bunch for second in the sprint for 11th unplaced A2 in what was (as always) a very generous prize offering by the Stamullen road club. Anto started in the A1 group to test himself fully for the upcoming Ras. and he didnt contest the sprint but was very strong in a tough race where only about 20 A1 riders finished out of approx 50 starters. Anto was happy with his progress for the weekends training and Ciaran was happy to finish a race that he was lucky to still be in after he was involved in a crash where the other riders bike broke in half.

The following week Anthony Walsh travelled abroad and completed the British Premier Calendar race the "Cicli Classic". The 170km race is one of the biggest on the cycling calendar and UCD were represented admirably. A tougher race in Ireland and the UK would be harder to find.

One important focus for the UCD riders was the Team prize in the Corkman stage race. Team UCD arrived down to the 3 day stage race as a firm favourite for the overall prize as well as a good shot for the team prize. Antony Walsh was the agreed team leader after a strong showing in the Ras Mumhun and also the British Premier calendar race a week before and all 5 riders were committed to this task.

Stage one started in torrential rain which turned into driving hail over badly rutted farm roads. So bad in fact that Ciaran O Conluain snapped his handlebars on a fast descent in the closing stages. He did extremely well not to crash. Anto got away with Gav into a group that looked like staying clear. The team rode on the front of the main bunch to protect the lead that they had in the lead group. On the final lap of six this breakaway group was slowly coming back to the peloton. Unfortunately in the final 300 metres the sprinters caught the pair and the stage win was lost. All team UCD finished in the bunch however and no overall time was lost.However, the break was successful in splitting the bunch, with only 54 riders in our group and the next

group in 16 seconds back.

That night a new set of handlebars were sourced for O Conluain and he was back in action for the following days racing which was to consist of a time trial followed by a road stage in the afternoon. A very strong time trial by Walsh put him in the yellow jersey briefly until he was overhauled by the final few riders finishing in 6th place. While this was disappointing it put the team in a very strong position for the afternoons stage as Walsh was only a handful of seconds down on the overall lead. Very strong performances by Haberlin and Rowan put 3 UCD riders in the top 15 a few seconds off the lead. With Walsh still the designated leader but with 2 other riders a few more seconds back, any move by UCD would be a major threat to the yellow jersey.

The tactic was to use UCD riders to attack at every opportunity. Rowan attacked right from the gun and immediately formed a breakaway group of exceptionally strong riders. He decided to come back and help the assault on the overall lead. Indeed the team attacked the race leader every few minutes. He responded very strongly to his great credit and seemed to have help from other teams but eventually O Conluain soloed across to a group of 6 which formed the main chase group riding alone for 85km of the race.

This was the carrot on the stick and the bunch let them out to a 3min gap at one point. Once this was seen the chase group eased their efforts and the bunch raised theirs and when the last time up the climb Anto attacked the bunch with 4 men on his wheel and joining the chasing group.

The yellow jersey could not respond and Anto rode hard with a group of 4 to finish just behind the winners and 6th on the stage with a gap of some 30 seconds on the new yellow jersey the reward for an extremely aggressive days racing.

Stage four and with the team prize looking like a good bet, Walsh had to attack. The tactic was to use the UCD riders again who still posed a threat to the overall to "soften up" the overall leader and then set Walsh up for a once off strong attack. Ciaran and Anto were in a early move on a draggy section and an early crash held up Ryan and soon after O Conluain had the misfortune to crash out also.

Unfortunately Kanturk got 3 riders into an early break that got 35 seconds on the bunch, with a combined time of 1 min 45 seconds on us, making our 1st team position look insecure at the time. This left Haberlin and Rowan to set Walsh up. On a much flatter course this was always going to be a very tall order with the yellow jersey still very strong and all riders motivated for a sprint finish on the final day. Which is how it ended up with the break only being caught 5km from the finish. All three UCD riders rode extremely strongly but could not break the combined strength of the peleton and the sprint finish. Walsh finished 5th overall at 28 seconds with the two other counting riders Haberlin and Rowan in 13th and 15th place respectively.

Overall a great weekend for team UCD. The major goal was to win the team prize and this was achieved. A real will to win and to keep going in spite of crashes, and major mechanical issues bodes well for the Ras team late in May.

NPS Maheramorne

This race was a chance to blow away the cobwebs having finished my thesis the day before. Cait had done this course a few times before so knew what to expect – flat, a few fun kickers and drops, fast hard racing. They set off chasing the juniors, with Mel Spath quickly moving in front. She got behind, fighting her way through clouds of billowing dust that kicked up from the stony quarry, but struggled to hold her wheel and it didn’t take long for a gap to open up.

It was all fast and furious stuff, pushing as hard as possible without much chance for recovery since there were no real descents. She finished second,while also riding Irish NPS 5 – Killaloeso finishing in 2nd.

UCD Cycling team entered the Ras for the first time in many years. The 5 man team was made up of 4 current UCD riders Anthony Walsh, Ciaran O Conluain, Fiachra Rowan, Gus Ryan and one guest rider Colm Cassidy. Colm was the only rider who had previously ridden in the Ras with the other riders having previously only ridden 3 day stage races. The Ras would be 1300km over 8 days, taking in 27 categorised climbs with an average day of approx 160km or 4 hours riding.
 
The amount of work that went into the preparation of this event, both before and during, couldn’t have been done by the riders alone. They had an equal amount of support staff with Killian the Mechanic, Nic the Masseur, John the team driver and Soigneur and Niall the team Manager. The club president Maoilíosa Ó Dubhthaigh provided valuable Ras experience and was the man who helped put it all together.
The preparations for the event lasted many months and numerous team meetings and when the riders were presented at the start line on the Sunday 23^rd May in Dunboyne in front of hundreds of spectators it was a very proud moment for the boys from UCD.

The Ras is a different event for everyone. The race is made up of Professional foreign teams, International teams and domestic county teams and although each athlete arrives at the same destination each evening, the journey of each is unique. Over the course of the eight days the riders experienced a range of emotions and have stories that will stick with them forever.

One of the most enduring memories from this year’s Ras was that “grand Depart” from Dunboyne for the start of stage one against a backdrop of cheering crowds with the U2's 'Beautiful Day' resonating long into the distance. At that moment UCD were once again participating in a very significant event within Irelands sporting calendar. 

Leaving aside the fact that the Ras has become a major event on the international cycling calendar, the team were more enthralled by the historical significance of participation in an event which has lasted the test of time. 

The speed was about what the team expected, with pro riders constantly attacking at the front of the race and the peloton containing the 5 UCD riders chasing them down. The riders finished in Dundalk and the journey had certainly begun with 5 separate groups of riders coming in behind the leaders. This showed it had been a testing opening day.


Sadly stage two hosted a crash where 4 Spanish professional riders were taken to hospital and out of the race but all made full recoveries since. The last 50km of the race were neutralised after the mass of riders waited for the paramedics to attend to their duties. All UCD riders came safely into Carrick on Shannon where the crowds were again huge.

The next day saw the riders head for Oughterard where the race split up after what was described as the “fastest day ever” in the Ras by men who had ridden it numerous times. The riders were now going into unchartered territory of 4 consecutive days racing and this time the distances and standard of opposition were far greater than they had ever experienced.

The following days had more crashes with 3 UCD riders coming down in one large crash which caused Anthony’s bike to be completely written off. Ciaran also had to ride with severe bruising and cuts for the rest of the week. Everyone on the team had an incident that would hamper their race but all got on with the job at hand and rolled into the packed Skerries main street for the final sprint to the finish. Testament to the preparation and support the team received that despite huge obstacles being put in front of them all 5 riders came through the toughest challenge of their lives to receive their medals for becoming “Men of the Ras” and adding to the small but very successful list of UCD riders to have completed the toughest race Ireland has to offer.

UCD continued their successful season when they gained 3 separate prizes only 3 weeks after the Ras finishing. Anto started the week off with a great result coming 3rd A2 in the Leinster TT championships adding to his collection of TT medals. It shows the mans ambition when he was actually disappointed not to win the event. He also followed this up with a great ride in the Paddy Flanagan 2 day race feeling very strong in the lead group of 10 riders which would have contested the win until he punctured 10km to go.

Also in that race was a 4th place by Ciaran in the 3rd stage Crit around Kildare village. The roads were filled with spectators as the field got whittled down as the pace started very fast and remained so until the sprint finish. Ciaran placed behind some of the top sprinters and ahead of one of Irelands most talented french based riders Aaron Buggle.On the women's front, Cait had an excellent result showing off the UCD colours in the inaugural Halfords city centre Crit. The race based in the heart of Dublin city centre was a great stage for Cait to show off her road racing skills and she came an incredible 4th place sadly missing out on a podium place. She looked strong throughout and was only a couple of bike lengths from taking the victory from the top riders in Ireland.

Cait was racing again for UCD in round 6 of the mountain bike NPS  last weekend on a tough course with lots of short climbs and little chance to recover. Finishing 2nd in the race secured 2nd place in the NPS series for the year.

That same weekend More success came to UCD campus with great performances on both Saturday and Sunday on the bike. On the Track bike on Saturday Anto got a 3rd place and a 4th place in the Sneem Hotel International Track Grand Prix in Eamonn Ceannt Stadium, Sundrive Road. Up against Irelands best, Anto also had to face foreign riders. As always, these are long days and Anto was there from 1030 am-7pm but it paid off with some good results and his preparation is going well for the Track Nationals coming up soon.
On Sunday Anto, Niall, Fiachra and Ciaran were in action again in the Mark Hammond Memorial race in Carlow run over a tough 30km circuit 4 times. The wind seemed to always be facing the riders and it the race blew apart on the second lap with Anto being in a strong chase group behind the 3 leaders and a bunch of only 10 riders chasing behind them. The bunch swelled as riders got dropped from the fast moving chase group and eventually Anto was swallowed by the group having done so much work to get the chasing group moving.

Ciaran rode strong on the front on the last time up the long drag and with another rider opened up a gap and did a "2 up" to the finish line where Ciaran outsprinted the strong Navan rider for 11th overall and first A2 which resulted in him being awarded the Paddy Coleman memorial cup. UCD RAS rider Colm Cassidy continued his strong form getting 5th overall in the race and Anto was unlucky not to be contesting the win and surely would have been fresher if he hadnt performed so well the day before.

Niall rode very solidly in the A3 race and although he missed an early break he was in a chase group that was caught back. He again went away but was caught 1km from the finish which would have gotten him a top 10 prize.

The former skipper was still on hand to give Ciaran his cup for first A2 in the race.
On the Leisure side of things the UCD team spinning instructor and Leisure cyclist Maria Bienkowska completed the annual Ring of Kerry 180km cycle in a time of 7h 20mins. A great feat for someone who just bought their first racing bike 2 weeks ago.

Tough race but great result for Cait last weekend.

Cait was racing for UCD in round 6 of the mountain bike NPS  last weekend on a tough course with lots of short climbs and little chance to recover. Finishing 2nd in the race secured 2nd place in the NPS series for the year.

"We flew off at the start, with Mel Spath quickly taking the lead and setting a blistering pace. The ground was super dry and the course almost all grassy or dusty singletrack, with a few sharp rocks to catch you out. I had to work hard to stick to Mel, and with one short hard climb after another there was little chance for a break. The first half of the lap was mostly climbing and I was able to cling on, but after that it flattened out and I began to drop back.

On lap two I still felt I was going like a lunatic but struggling to keep the pace up, it was such hard work! By the end of the lap I’d lost sight of Mel and had to slow down a bit, my legs didn’t feel like they were firing on all cylinders, and I was stuck out racing by myself for the next lap or so. Between all the nasty little climbs, there were a few nice descents, particularly some super tight dusty switchbacks off the top off the hill that you could take really fast, and a couple of steepish rocky sections. By the fifth lap I’d had enough and couldn’t wait to finish, there definitely seemed to be more pain than enjoyment going on."

Another successful weekend for UCD

More success came to UCD campus this weekend with great performances on both Saturday and Sunday on the bike. On the Track bike on Saturday Anto got a 3rd place and a 4th place in the Sneem Hotel International Track Grand Prix in Eamonn Ceannt Stadium, Sundrive Road. Up against Irelands best, Anto also had to face foreign riders.
As always, these are long days and Anto was there from 1030 am-7pm but it paid off with some good results and his preparation is going well for the Track Nationals coming up soon.


On Sunday Anto, Niall, Fiachra and Ciaran were in action again in the Mark Hammond Memorial race in Carlow run over a tough 30km circuit 4 times. The wind seemed to always be facing the riders and it the race blew apart on the second lap with Anto being in a strong chase group behind the 3 leaders and a bunch of only 10 riders chasing behind them. The bunch swelled as riders got dropped from the fast moving chase group and eventually Anto was swallowed by the group having done so much work to get the chasing group moving.

Ciaran rode strong on the front on the last time up the long drag and with another rider opened up a gap and did a "2 up" to the finish line where Ciaran outsprinted the strong Navan rider for 11th overall and first A2 which resulted in him being awarded the Paddy Coleman memorial cup. UCD RAS rider Colm Cassidy continued his strong form getting 5th overall in the race and Anto was unlucky not to be contesting the win and surely would have been fresher if he hadnt performed so well the day before.

Niall rode very solidly in the A3 race and although he missed an early break he was in a chase group that was caught back. He again went away but was caught 1km from the finish which would have gotten him a top 10 prize.

The former skipper was still on hand to give Ciaran his cup for first A2 in the race and the team will once again be well represented with 8 riders wearing the UCD colours this weekend in Mullingar.

On the Leisure side of things the UCD team spinning instructor and Leisure cyclist Maria Bienkowska completed the annual Ring of Kerry 180km cycle in a time of 7h 20mins. A great feat for someone who just bought their first racing bike 2 weeks ago. Much will be expected of her next year!