Cover photo. Courtesy of Fergal Murray.
We returned to Drewstown House, which was the site of two round in 2019. Thank you to all for attending. Thank you Oldcastle Cycling Club for hosting.
Robin Seymour (Team WORC) took the win in the Men’s A-Race. It’s always great to see a legend of our sport pick up the win. Robin started a few rows down on the grid, and carved his way through the field.
Niall Davis (Biking.ie), making his season debut, had journey from the back of the pack as he rode to second place. It was a case of heart break for Sean Nolan (EvoPro Racing) as he finished third. Sean was leading the race until a mechanical seen him drop almost two minutes.
Ronan O’Flynn (Orwell Wheelers) was fourth and unplaced M40. Kevin Keane (St. Tiernan’s) was fifth. Leinster League Leader Niall Somers (Team WORC) retained his lead courtesy of a sixth place. Orwell Race winner, Gavin Carroll (Unattached) wheelied over the line to seventh. Adam Gilsenan (Club Ciclistico Canturino) was Unplaced Junior and eighth. Race Organiser, Frank McDermott (Oldcastle CC) was ninth. With Evan Ryan (Team WORC) rounding out the top ten.
In one of two sprint finishes in the A-Race, Johnny McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) beat Colm McGarvey (EPIC MTB/Expert Cycles) for thirteenth place and he also picked up the Unplaced M50 prize.
The other sprint finish seen Paul Kane (Orwell Wheelers CC) narrowly beat Mark Kidd and, last week’s B-Race winner, Johnathan Boyle (Unattached) for 32nd.
After not having any juniors in Leinster CX in 2019, it was great to have seven on the startline in Oldcastle.
The Women’s Race unfortunately had an issue where the Junior Women were incorrectly pulled after 30 minutes. Essentially splitting the race into two.
We can only apologise. We’re still developing this league. We’re improving behind the scenes and pushing for uniformity. The Rules Page seen many updates this week clarify race lengths for our Commissaires and Host Clubs.
Series Leader Stephanie Roche (Scott Quanta Racing) won the Senior Women’s Race. Stephanie matched her sister, Annie’s lap times, except for on lap two, where Annie was able to pull out a ten second lead. We hope to see more close racing between the two in the coming rounds. Niamh Stephens (Team Giant Dublin) was second. Leah McCarthy (Team Giant Dublin) rounded out the podium in third.
Again we seen a good battle between Helen White (Stamullen RC) and Mary Dawson (Bray Wheelers) for both fourth place and the Unplaced Master’s Prize. The two traded lap times as the advantage swung back and forth. In the end Helen was able to maintain consistency in her lap times, and she took the spoils.
In the Junior race, Annie Roche (Scott Quanta Racing) was leading the combined race by 12 seconds before being pulled. She finished first.
Katie Reilly (Orwell Wheelers CC) was second Junior, after battling with Leah McCarthy before the end of the Junior race. Ellen Murray (TC Racing) was third. Aoife Mooney (Navan Road Club) was fourth.
The Men’s B-Race was won by Leo Doyle (TWC TEMPO Veldhoven). Congrats Leo, one for your ProCyclingStats Page.
Samuel Monaghan (Unattached) was second. Fergal McCabe was third. Samuel got almost a minute lead on Fergal on the first lap, but Fergal started reeling him on lap two onwards. The gap at the end was just ten seconds.
This week we’re promoting the podium, as has been in the Rules, from the B-Race to the A-Race. The three of them are strong riders, with third place almost a minute ahead of fourth place. Their lap times would have them in the Top 30 of the A-Race.
There was a full slate of Underage racing too.
There were some very fast lap times from our top U16s and U14s, that would’ve seen them competitive in the Men’s and Women’s Senior Races. Fantastic to see.
In the U16s, Greta Lawless (Team WORC) picked up her third race win on the bounce. Faith Robinson (Bray Wheelers) was second. Rhiannon Dolan (Cuchulainn CC) was third. Oisin May (Orwell Wheelers CC) won the Boy’s race. It’s his second race win in a row, after his win in Navan last week. Sean Tolan (Drogheda Wheelers) was second. Noah Harris (Bray Wheelers) narrowly outsprinted Luca Holmes (Orwell Wheelers) for third.
In the U14s, Ryan Daly (Scott Quanta Racing) won his second race of the season. Rian McCrystal (Bellurgan Wheelers) was second, just four seconds behind. Jack Woods (Carlow RCC) was third. In the Girl’s race, Aisha Gannon (Breffni Wheelers) took the win. She was followed by the Cuchulainn CC trio of Ffion Dolan, Holly McCaffrey and Grace O’Rourke. With Shannon Doyle (Unattached) in fifth.
In the U12s, Katie Turner (Orwell Wheelers) picked up her fourth race win in a row. Eire McCrystal (Bellurgan Wheelers) was second. Naoise Byrne (Carlow RCC) was third. In the boy’s race, Eoin Davis (Bohermeen CC) won his third race of the season and second in a row. James Cunningham (Orwell Wheelers CC) was second. Craig Ennis (Bohermeen CC) was third.
Results
See you on November 20th for Rd. 6 Bellurgan Wheelers – Big Red Cloud CX League 3.
Standings
A-Race Standings Change
After five rounds, Niall Somers (Team WORC) extends his lead the Men’s A-Race standings to 29 points. Frank McDermott (Oldcastle CC) defends his second place. Johnny McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) retains third.
Sean Nolan (EvoPro Racing) moves up from eighth to fourth, courtesy of this third place. Sean’s strong results will see him be a contender once the Best 6 of 8 Rounds are taken into account.
In the Unplaced M40s, Evan Ryan (Team WORC) takes over the hot seat. Ronan O’Flynn (Orwell Wheelers) is 14 points behind. Frank McDermott is also a looming threat if he is knocked off the podium.
In the Unplaced M50, Fearghal Regan (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospatial) looks to be in pole position. Similar to the M40s, Johnny McCabe is on the podium, and could come into the reckoning if he is displaced. Johnny has a 40 point buffer over Fearghal. Gerard O’Donnell (IMBRC) will also be a man to watch as the Best 6 of 8 rounds are brought into consideration. The current gap between Fearghal and Gerard is 13 points. Gerard’s head-to-head results have been similar to Fearghal’s this season, so it could be tight between them when the Best 6 of 8 rounds are adjusted for.
B-Race Standings Change
Jude Joseph Roche (South Dublin CC) retains top spot again. Paddy Daly (Scott Quanta Racing) is de facto second. Kieran Sweeney (Blanch Wheelers) is in third.
Although the competitors will have to overhaul the points tally of promoted riders Lukasz Oleksiewicz (Team WORC), Ben Malone (Unattached) and Fergus Craddock (Dublin Wheelers) with three rounds remaining, this should be possible.
We’ll be promoting the B-Race Podium Riders every week. The normal indicator of a B-Racer is finishing them 2 laps down in the A-Race regularly.
Women’s Race Standing Change
For the Women’s League points, I attempted to reconcile the difference between the Juniors and Seniors. I think it worked out well, as the time gaps were big enough. Any questions or issues, please let us know via Facebook or Instagram messenger.
For the fifth round, Stephanie Roche (Scott Quanta Racing) retains top place. Stephanie’s lead is now 65 points. Niamh Stephens (Team Giant Dublin) overtook Doireann Killeen (Orwell Wheelers) for second.
Mary Dawson holds Unplaced Master position and fourth place. Helen White (Stamullen RC) is not just one point behind and also in fifth place. Laura Banfield (McNally Swords CC) is 26 points behind but could still come into the reckoning.
Annie Roche (Scott Quanta Racing) overtakes Ellen Murray (TC Racing) in the Unplaced Junior position and moves up to sixth place overall. Katie Reilly (Orwell Wheelers) third junior.
Underage Standings Change
The Underage Series continues to reward consistency.
The U16 Boys standings has Callum McCaffrey (Cuchulainn CC) continues on top of the standings. Cillian Fox (Navan RC) retains the second place he commandeered last week. David Harrington (Orwell Wheelers CC) jumps Tim Cronin (Navan Road Club) in their to and fro battle.
In the U16s Girls, Faith Robinson (Bray Wheelers) leads for a fourth week in a row. Mya Doocey (Navan Road Club) is still in second place. Greta Lawless (Team WORC) secured the third place that she took last week, as she looks to move up the leaderboard.
In the U14 Boys, Rian McCrystal (Bellurgan Wheelers) is still in hot seat. Jack Woods (Carlow) is in second, 13 points behind. Daithi Killeen (Orwell Wheelers) continues to hold third. Ryan Daly (Scott Quanta Racing) and Conor Regan (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospatial) are within 10 points of the Podium.
The U14 Girls Cuchulainn CC form a podium lockout. Holly McCaffrey (Cuchulainn CC) is still in first place. Grace O’Rourke (Cuchulainn CC) is in second. Ffion Dolan (Cuchulainn CC) has taken third.
The U12 Boys leader, Eoin Davis (Bohermeen CC) extends his lead over everyone courtesy of his second victory in a row. James Cunningham (Orwell Wheelers CC) holds onto second. Noah Byrne (Carlow RCC) is still on the third step of the podium. Michael O’Rourke (Cuchulainn CC) is in fourth, 5 points behind Noah.
The U12 Girls, has Katie Turner (Orwell Wheelers) sits atop the pile and extends her lead to 35 points. Eire McCrystal (Bellurgan Wheelers), in second. Naoise Byrne (Carlow RCC) tightens her grip on third.
Current Standings
We’re more than halfway through the season. Things will get more interesting in the upcoming rounds, when the Best Six of Eight rounds are taken into account on the last day of the season. The Leinster CX Champs will not be counted in the Series Standings like they were in 2019.
Link: The Leinster League of CycloCross 2021/22 Series Points.
Media
Photos:
- Give it Socks: Under 8s | Under 10s | Under 12s | Behind the Scenes | Women and Youth | Men’s A-Race 1 | Men’s A-Race 2.
- Donal Kelleher: Podiums | Underage | Youth | A-Race Wood Exit.
- Fergal Murray: Women and Youth 1 | Women and Youth 2 | Men’s B-Race 1 | Men’s B-Race 2.
The Leinster League of CycloCross 