The 1995/96 committee was committed to building on the efforts of the previous year. Membership rose to 51. Club Captain Maoilíosa Ó Dubhthaigh and Club Secretary, Dermot Lynch and Club Treasurer, Noel McGlynn were instrumental in securing external sponsorship for the Club in the form of the First National Building Society. This extra cash enabled the club to purchase club clothing and equipment for the racing section. The close season Club League was again repeated and the Ó Dubhthaigh brothers again occupied the top spots with Maoilíosa this time managing to capture the title.
The Club again successfully participated in various pre-season novelty events. This time it was the turn of Louis Twomey and Helen Kerrane, who best predicted their finishing time for the annual 12-mile Bray Wheelers two-up Christmas event. For the record, they posted a time of 44:52 having predicted a time of 45 minutes. In the fastest time category, Noel McGlynn and Kieran Keane clocked 33:16, which was good enough to take second place behind a team led by former U.C.D. student David Peelo (Sorrento C.C.), who recorded 32:59. Hasse Andersen and Maoilíosa Ó Dubhthaigh finished third.
The club registered 10 members with the F.I.C. They were as follows: Maoilíosa Ó Dubhthaigh, Noel McGlynn, Helen Kerrane, Kieran Keane, Louis Twomey, Hasse Anderson, Cormac Ó Dubhthaigh, James Walsh, Niall Fanning, and Jason Crowe.
It was to prove a magical year for the club. The season started brightly with a number of riders getting placings at races.
An experienced UCD team travelled to Limerick to defend their Universities title, and again returned home victorious. The team was as follows: Maoilíosa Ó Dubhthaigh, Noel McGlynn, Helen Kerrane, Kieran Keane, Hasse Anderson, Cormac Ó Dubhthaigh, James Walsh, Niall Fanning, Colm Farrell, Brian Lennon, and Patrick Moriarty. Dermot Lynch managed the team. In the men’s race, defending ‘varsity champion, Patrick Moriarty finished 2nd. UCD’s Brian Lennon, Niall Fanning and Cormac Ó Dubhthaigh finished 3rd, 5th, and 8th respectively. Meanwhile in the ladies event, Helen Kerrane (U.C.D.’s only female competitor), despite crashing on the opening lap, powered away from her rivals to record an astonishing 17 minute victory over her rivals over the tough undulating 45-mile course. In doing so, Helen became the first U.C.D. student to win an Individual Road Race Title.
This was followed the very next day when the club recorded its first individual success at F.I.C. level when ‘varsity absentee Jason Crowe provided the club with this much sought after breakthrough by winning the Des Hanlon Memorial in Carlow. Jason produced a solo performance of great class. After attacking from a leading group of seven on the final climb of ‘The Butts’ after 60-miles, he successfully covered the remaining 10-miles by himself to cross the line with 40-seconds to spare over his nearest rival for a superb win.
The other highlights of the season were Niall Fanning’s 2 outright wins. He emerged victorious in both the Naas Festival and the Swords Grand Prix S123 races. The Club recorded 7 S2 (second category) race wins with Niall crossing the line first in the Ben McKenna Memorial, Kanturk GP, Currow GP, Ballygrenane Hill Climb, Sweeney Cup, Listowel, Garristown Festival Race. Jason Crowe won the FJ McCormack race at Dunboyne.
The 3 S3 wins included the before-mentioned Des Hanlon Memorial, Noel Hammond Memorial, and Waller Cup, Bohermeen. Also Hasse Andersen was narrowly beaten into second place in the Shay Elliot Memorial Classic.
Niall Fanning and Jason Crowe carried the hopes of the Club into the National Senior Road Race Championship, which was held in Portglenone in County Antrim. They finished 14th and 29th respectively. When one considers that all the top continental based Irish riders returned home for the 98-mile event, this was a truly unbelievable performance by Niall, in particular, who was then just 18 years old.
On the basis of his fantastic season Niall Fanning, with 10 individual wins to his name, was deservedly awarded the ‘Club Rider of the Year’ award. Brendan Kilbride introduced mountainbiking to the Club for the first time and deservedly won the inaugural ‘Mountainbiker of the Year’ award. Following Helen’s incredible ride in the intervarsities, it came as little surprise that she captured the Ladies Achievement Award for the second time.
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