|
|
Post by johnmcg on Nov 18, 2013 22:25:05 GMT 1
Anyone looking at the pictures from yesterday at Ormeau will immediately understand that conditions were difficult, testing even the best CX riders to the limit. You will then understand why after riding a warm up lap why I seriously considered putting the bike back in the car. It will be a long time, if ever, before I could ever hope to call myself an off-road rider with any semblance of skill, and I worried that I would either spend the entire race running with the bike, or falling off it. I just about managed to muster the courage to start, but had a cunning plan that if the race went the way I thought it might, that I could fake a problem and sneak off early to the food tent. So if I looked worried on the start line, that is because I was.
So anyway, the race starts and there is the usual mad dash to try to get a good start, with everyone trying to find the best way to get traction and therefore some speed. It wasnt long before the first main bottleneck, with most riders opting to dismount and run up a very muddy hill, and true to form I lost a lot of places here as I slipped and slid my way ungainly to the top. We were now in the section amongst the trees that was badly cut up with lots of mud, roots and a few very tricky descents. I hate all these things ! I think I walked most of this section in practice, but when in a race it is different, and I was able to negotiate my way through and out into the grassy section without incident.
Now I could use my power ( dont laugh ) as less skill was required in this section, or so I thought. It was now also badly cut up and when trying to force through it as quickly as possible the bike tended to have ideas of where it wanted to go, and it was seldom where I wanted it to go. It was entertaining to say the least.
As the race progressed beyond the mid-way point I couldnt believe that I still hadnt yet hit the dirt, although there had been numerous moments that were touch and go. In the twist and turns in the main field I could see the riders in front, especially taking note of where Richard was :-), but as the laps progressed I could see that I was making no headway into catching them. There were a couple of riders not far behind that normally finish in front of me, so I couldnt ease up even though the running sections had drained my legs almost completely.
On the 2nd last lap the eventual winner passed me, which meant that this now became my last lap...yeooo. I rode a controlled lap and finished the race with both myself and the bike all in one piece. The initial elation of having managed to survive was soon dispelled when I was told that if I didnt fall off today, then it was because I wasnt riding hard enough. Ah well, there's always the next race.
That is now my 4th CX race and with each race I am enjoying the whole experience even more. Now all I have to do is get better at it.
|
|
|
|
Post by manuel6b on Nov 27, 2013 19:22:26 GMT 1
|
|
|
|
Post by barryvankellett on Dec 2, 2013 13:06:31 GMT 1
Larne - When do you go there? When you're leaving on a ferry and when you're racing cyclocross. Great race yesterday. Very fast course. I wouldn't say it was a "roadie" course, I would say it was a "cyclocrossers" course! Great bends and corners, and a lot of straights to get the power down on too. The weather was very kind for the second year in a row here, even better than last year. In my own race I had a decent enough old start, leading for half a lap before Roger Aiken decided enough was enough, and Ronan McLaughlin got excited and gave chase. Phoenix First year Junior, Rory Maguire put in a big effort so I sat on him for a while but decided to let him go thinking I could close it up again after a little recovery. In fact I thought i had done so but it turned out it was a Phoenix B racer being lapped very early on. So I was riding around thinking I was 3rd, when I was 4th. School boy error. Trying to protect my position from Alex and Cathal chasing hard behind rather than going after the flying machine in front. Probably wouldn't have got him anyway the speed he was going at! Some good performances by club members and Great to see yet another lamb to the slaughter as Mike B began his cyclocross career. Plenty of men battling it out in the B race now in the club colours. Fanastic progress. Welcome to the cyclocross race reports Mike:  DMCV7657 by thebelgianproject, on Flickr |
|
|
|
Post by manuel6b on Dec 2, 2013 16:29:07 GMT 1
Great report Barry, hard luck on missing out on teh podium place but you were flying on that "roadie" course. lol
Well done to all the DCC riders. A great course at a super location. Many thanks to the hardworking (small) team at Team Madigan.
I was happy to get round. My role was mostly as sweeper ;-)
|
|
|
|
Post by johnmcg on Dec 3, 2013 16:41:13 GMT 1
Sunday's race was setup perfect for me to finally produce a performance worthy of my talents. A fast, non-technical course on a good day with no real need for mud tyres, this is what I was waiting for all series. I would no longer be handicapped by my lack of skills on tricky singletrack and rooty sections that suited the MTBers. I've always maintained that these sections have cost me dearly. Now I could race rather than just survive, and not a briar bush in sight !
As we lined up for the start, I didn't eye up the usual suspects that ride with me at the back of the field, but those that were consistently finishing in the top half of the field. I was determined that today I would get on a good wheel and stick with it, hopefully to get a respectable position by the end of the race.
How quickly dreams can be dashed ! The whistle blew and the sprint for the first corner saw me drift further and further back. After a few hundred yards I thought I was last, but a quick look around and there were 3 riders behind, not much consolation. The first lap was fast and furious, with a few riders taking spills and a lot of jostling for position entering the corners. I managed to pass quite a few riders during this lap, unfortunately some were able to re-pass me, so at the end of the first lap I maybe only made up 4 or 5 positions. For the next lap I had a ding dong battle with two North Down riders, but I now think they were only playing with me, as at the start of the third lap they disappeared in a hurry never to be seen again.
At the end of the race I was in my usual position, near the bottom of the pack. While I managed to beat some riders who might normally have finished a couple of minutes or more in front of me, other riders that I have beaten in the past were miles ahead. What I learned on Sunday is that for every rider that has an advantage over me on a technical course, there are equally as many riders that will gain an advantage on me in a fast open course. There is a lot of work to be done on both skills and fitness if I am ever going to move up the field.
This was probably the hardest race of the year in that there was no sections for recovery, and the pace was fast throughout. Despite the disappointment of not being able to move up the field a little, and the fact that I was total shattered at the end, it was still very enjoyable. And for a second race in a row, I didnt come a cropper.
Highlights of the day were seeing Barry lead the field with National Champion Roger Aiken and pro Ronan McLaughin hanging on ( at least for the first half lap ) Also, the Wilson's had a great day out with Diane winning the ladies MTB, Ben just missing out in the sprint for the win but claiming 2nd place in the U12's, Kelly also taking 2nd in the girls race, and Brian...well it was a good day for most of the Wilson's. There were a few other Dromara underage riders but not sure how they got on, but good to see the Dromara jerseys out competing.
In The CX B race John Shanks had his usual powerful race to claim 10th, but hotly challanged by Richard Cowan who seems to have mastered CX now ( proper equipment and tyres was always going to help ). Bart in is first attempt at CX nipped past me on the last lap and despite a tumble will be back for more I'm sure. Martin will be looking forward to more technical courses so he can utilize his skills. Lisa finished 3rd in the ladies race only a few seconds behind arch rival Gill Smith.
So there you have it, this was meant to be the day my personal report would be positive and I could write with pride about my CX ability, but that will have to wait for another few weeks ( at least )
|
|
|
|
Post by redgie on Dec 4, 2013 15:20:07 GMT 1
Reports now up on the web site
|
|
|
|
Post by barryvankellett on Dec 9, 2013 10:29:23 GMT 1
NDCX Rd 1 - Crossmarnock
Martin, Lisa and myself headed down yesterday to the North Dublin cyclocross league opener at Paddy's Hill, Portmarnock. A very fast course with no forced dismounts, not much pace change either, essentially flat out from start to finish. Martin went off in the B race at the same time as the Womens race and proceeded to sit on Lisas wheel for the first 3 laps and let her do all the work before then attacking his fellow club mate and leaving her to fend for herself up the big long hill into the gale! As ususal, the head of the B race looked to be a very tense and competitive affair. Even more so than any A race I have been involved in! Lisa had a superb result taking second, only being beaten by National Champ, Fran Meehan of team Aquablue. In the A race the numbers were down on what I was used to, with I believe 25 men turning out, but the quality was there so I was quite excited, which was to prove my downfall. No Aiken and No seymour, but riders such as Evan Ryan, Tim O'Regan, Sean O'Tuathhill etc all turned out, so it was going to be a great test regardless. Had a good start and managed to cut off all but Evan Ryan into the first corner as he took up the pacing for the first half pre lap. Into the first lap proper I decided why not give it a rattle and lifted the pace on the fast descent which caused a bit of a split in the bunch leaving 8 of us in the front group. We hit the hill and the Gale and I didnt like that much so moved over to let others take up the pace. A bit of jostling and bumping for position as men fought to stay on wheels and suddenly a clash of wheels with me and another man and I was down heavy on the tarmac and unfortunately took Tim O'Regan down too. Both of us were up fairly quickly and chased hard and managed to get back on the train. Tim getting there quickly, me taking about a lap and a bit of hard effort to just about make it. In Hindsight - attacking these guys up the hill next time round probably wasn't my brightest idea ever. Lost contact again and chased hard for another few laps, tantalisingly close but took a big dig on the 3rd last lap to actually make it on the wheel. I had about 5 seconds to relax when O'Regan on the front lifted the pace and I went straight out the back door again. Unfortunately that was my race for a podium over as I had burnt my matches getting there, so it was a case now of holding off the Ulster trio, Colm McGarvey, Jason Henry and Peter McConville behind who had the benefit of working together to close me down. I somehow managed to hold on to 5th and probably would have been happy with that at the start of the day, but I'm never happy with anything afterwards! Thanks to Martin for the lift down. Great wee day out.  Whoopsies! by barry_kellett99, on Flickr  Attacking club mates, poor form! by barry_kellett99, on Flickr  Untitled by barry_kellett99, on Flickr
|
|
|
|
Post by barryvankellett on Dec 10, 2013 10:32:48 GMT 1
|
|
|
|
Post by manuel6b on Dec 11, 2013 12:32:46 GMT 1
Martin went off in the B race at the same time as the Womens race and proceeded to sit on Lisas wheel for the first 3 laps and let her do all the work before then attacking his fellow club mate and leaving her to fend for herself up the big long hill into the gale! Barry, you paint a terrible picture of me! I was just about sitting on Lisa's wheel for the first 3 laps. Lisa then got stuck behind a rider but instead of riding past she dropped to his pace. Meanwhile I was shouting "take him, take him!". After a short period I went through hoping that Lisa would follow suit but it was on a downhill and I did have a weight advantage (!) so I opened a gap and then pushed on. I enjoyed that race. It is a nice part of the world with great views of the coast but the wind was fierce. Great ride by you Barry taking some top scalps. |
|
|
|
Post by manuel6b on Dec 11, 2013 12:34:26 GMT 1
Pre-registration for the 8th and final round of the Ulster series is open. The race is on this Sunday down at Drum Manor and hosted by Carn Wheelers. The organiser has promised a shorter, faster and more flowing course this year.
|
|
Zako
Club member 
Posts: 333
|
Post by Zako on Dec 11, 2013 23:44:34 GMT 1
Bit of a long shot here, I wouldn't mind giving the Irish CX Champs a go in the B race for the craic, and was just wondering if anyone would be nice enough to lend me a CX bike that they aren't using for that day...all offers welcome  |
|
|
|
Post by barryvankellett on Dec 12, 2013 0:13:55 GMT 1
B Race? At the Nationals? Is this a wind up!!!
|
|
Zako
Club member
Posts: 333
|
Post by Zako on Dec 12, 2013 10:13:01 GMT 1
Sorry, which ever category U23 is in |
|
|
|
Post by barryvankellett on Dec 16, 2013 10:57:34 GMT 1
ULSTER CHAMPS - Drum ManorYesterday saw the Final round of the league at Drum manor, cookstown. The race hosted by Carn wheelers also doubling up as the Provinicial championship race. Gridding was based on overall league positioning, and being the most persistent of all the racers, I found myself on the front row by virtue of attending every round so far. Take note at the back here my new fellow club cyclocrossers!! For the third week running - I managed to pull off a pretty decent start. With Holeshot specialist, Matt adair, sitting this round out, I managed to sneak into the first corner and downhill with nobody in front of me. Makes a change from my traditionally abysmal race starts of old! Happily hurtling down the grassy straight for the first corner and into the spiral of doom, but Jason Henry had other ideas, pedalling in the big ring, in the drops, no fear. I was pretty sure he was about to test the limit of grip on his tyres past the point of no return, but he somehow held it and made it in first, with Aiken also squeezing me out. Not to worry. Men of that calibre are as good to follow as they are to lead.  HOLESHOT! by barry_kellett99, on Flickr By the end of the field Mini beast Montgomery and NDCC's James McMaster had also slipped past and Phoenix Junior Rory maguire was also snapping at the heels. Graham Boyd completed our happy group as we made our way out round the back of the course. A massive pile up just behind us on the next section sounded pretty bad, turned out John Bogues was practising his superman pose over the bars. Thankfully he was ok and was able to race on. Glenn Kinning came past and so did Rory. I was just about managing to hold on to Graham as I struggled badly with the first lap pace. As the laps progressed I got round Graham and Jason and set out after Young Maguire, with the top couple of guys a wee bit too far ahead to seriously chase. Ronan McLaughlin then upset me by arriving late from nowhere. Must have been at the toilet when we started or something. Tried to draft him downhill, but that is just as ridiculous as trying to sit on him uphill. I waved as he cruised off into the distance. Caldwell cycles Junior, Darnell Moore was hot on my heels, or maybe Rory's, whatever, I was sandwiched between two children who were making my life complete agony. Quite amazingly (to myself) i caught Rory on the 3rd last lap and briefly passed him before he decided enough was enough and stuck in two astounding last laps to Gap me convincingly. Meanwhile Darnell got held up by a B racer on the climb, I tried to attack but it was pitiful at best and he was soon back up with me. Thankfully there were two "bus stop" sections on the final fireroad which was proving difficult for him and i got the time i needed there to hold him off. 7th Overall, scalped by two cubs just out of nappies but happy to hold off the 3rd of them, its all about small victories. 5th Senior. No cigar, or medal. But a good hard race. Well done to all the winners, and to all the racers in general.
|
|
lisa
Club member
Posts: 160
|
Post by lisa on Dec 16, 2013 15:49:54 GMT 1
Well done, BVK. Holeshot for me too. You can call me LvdH!!
|
|
|
|
Post by barryvankellett on Dec 16, 2013 18:05:21 GMT 1
Well done, BVK. Holeshot for me too. You can call me LvdH!! I haven't quite perfected the LvdH crouch position as you can see in that photo. Congratulations to Lisa on her Silver Medal yesterday in the Ulster Champs.Great result for the club! And also well done to all our B racers, I particularly like this photo. Apparently he caught sight of Grimley just ahead!  DMCV1044 by thebelgianproject, on Flickr |
|
|
|
Post by colinr on Dec 16, 2013 23:47:03 GMT 1
crikey! the two photos of guys riding over the tree trunk!?! that's just showing off really ....
|
|
|
|
Post by johnmcg on Dec 17, 2013 13:13:50 GMT 1
Yes Barry, Martin teased me after he passed me around lap 2, after the fast sections I could see he was within spitting distance, but through the tricky bits he would disappear again.
As for my race, it turned out to be quite eventful after having managed the last two races without much incident. I got off to a very poor start, which should actually be my strong point, but somehow every race I manage to muck it up or get caught behind the wrong train. For the first two laps we had a good wee group going with myself and Martin, Bart, Chris McCann from Banbridge and a rider from Omagh. However, I knew couldnt just sit with these guys as I knew I would lose ground in the trees so on the gravel sections I would hammer on and open a gap, only for it to be closed as I faffed about in the mud. Eventually I lost more time in the muddy turns around the trees than I could make up and a gap opened.
I didnt gave up the hope of catching back up and kept it going with the group in front still in sight. However, a few things happened to eliminate any chance of catching back on. As I tried even harder to keep the speed up on the tricky sections I had an unplanned full frontal meeting with a tree, not once but twice. The boys in front were now out of sight. Then on the 5th lap as I attempted to jump back on the bike after the dismount for the logs, it didnt quite happen. The weight of water and muck was dragging my shorts off, just baggy enough in the neither region that they caught on the back of the saddle so I couldnt get on. Hope no one witnessed this. So dismounted and remounted only to realise as I tried to sprint of that the chain was off. So off again, chain on, and eventually I get cracking.
Now I was more worried about getting caught from behind than trying to catch the boys in front. Through the tree section it was becoming more difficult to get some grip especially where there was a wee uphill bump exit, and on the next lap I came to a standstill as the rear just kept spinning, and over I toppled. It was a bit embarrassing as unknown to me Roger Aiken was on my wheel, he had to put his foot down before working his way around my spreadeagled body. Roger doesn't say much and didn't reply to my "F*ck me Roger, I'm sorry" he just smiled and went on about his business of winning the Ulster Championship.
Then I see Martin ahead again. Damn it ! I cant just ride around to the end, I have got to chase now. I could see I was getting closer but knew the catch would not be made unless Martin had a mistake, and that I had no more mishaps. But that didn't happen as i had another "off-course" moment, and so he still had 20 seconds to spare at the line, with Bart just ahead and Richard finishing a few places in front of Bart.
It was a very enjoyable race despite the setbacks and cold & windy conditions. It great racing with ( and against ) the guys from Dromara as the craic is good before and after and there is always plenty to talk about.
I also have to mention that in the ladies race Lisa picked up a well deserved Silver Championship medal and in the A race Barry rode strong from the start to pick up 7th, and now must have clinched top 3 spot in the league overall. While these two lead the way for Dromara, it would be great to see more from the club take part, even in the "bangers" race, in what is a very rewarding experience no matter what your level.
|
|
lisa
Club member
Posts: 160
|
Post by lisa on Dec 17, 2013 13:30:18 GMT 1
Great reports Barry and John. I was going to write one but the most exciting thing that happened in my race was getting the holeshot. Was pretty disappointed with myself overall, not sure why. Still I can hardly complain, a podium in every race, north and south, this season!
|
|
|
|
Post by peterbryson on Dec 17, 2013 18:00:53 GMT 1
Great reports Barry and John. I was going to write one but the most exciting thing that happened in my race was getting the holeshot. Was pretty disappointed with myself overall, not sure why. Still I can hardly complain, a podium in every race, north and south, this season! well done |
|
