Tommy Givan Road Race

[Gavin]

Great days racing at the Tommy Givan run my Maryland Wheelers today .......fast long straights and a few hills thrown in made it tough but enjoyable racing in the A4 were Ryan , Johny , Tommy , Gary B , Barry Von Kelllet , Graham B , Richard , Bruneil and Graham C .........in the A1/2/3 race was Ronnie , me and Steve Wallace ( this is not a typing error )............... and Zako representing DCC / Cycling Ulster Development ...........and Mathew Armstrong in the under 16 race


Some of the boys will fill in the details of their race but from what I heard it was fast and furious from the start...........Our off road specialist Barry decided to be a roadie today but on the first lap saw a nice trail and couldn't resist going off road to try it out ..............crashing heavily into a grass bank ........ Both bike and rider are still functional ..........the usual suspects rode hard for the team resulting in Neil Curry taking a 2nd place and Graham taking a 4th.........upgrading them both to A3 and also scratch in club events .......epic ride boys


A1/2/3 race was fast paced with the A3 getting a 2 minute handicap ......... 10 riders got off the front of the A3 from the start with the remainder of the bunch getting caught just on the last couple of hills ............ Epic ride by Stevie Wallace finishing in the bunch in his first A3 race not an easy thing to do on such a tough day with nearly the double his normal race distance .................


Also well done to Matt in the under 16 finishing in the bunch in his first open race

Great riding by all today ....well done guys



Couple of photos "............ As always many more fantastic photos on Bronagh Kirk . Co . Uk of follow Bronagh on Facebook

[Graeme]

A4 as usual started off quick, very quick. We tried to force a breakaway but the peloton was not allowing anything to go and our efforts were quickly reined back in. Unfortunately we lost Barry on the Anahilt s-bend, he took a puncture and came down quite hard. (He seemed ok when we saw him at the finish, just bumps and bruises)

The race pce continued with Graham Beckett, Tommy and Gary B setting fast paces with the rest of the leaders. There was more attacks on the hills but no one managing to get away, it was clear after the first lap that it was going to a sprint finish so was just a case of making sure we were in the right positions for the 4th lap.

fast forward to the 4th lap - lads who wanted the points were positioning themselves well for the final climb, it took off from the final part of the climb. I found myself in a good position as did Neill, eventually crossing the line in 4th and 2nd respectively. Graham B was not far behind and think finished top 10 with Gary B and Tommy D coming in not long after.

In all a great ride from the lads today in A4 - looking after each other and working well together. Neill and myself managed to get enough points to take us up to A3.

great to see Stevie W finish the A3 race today, Pretty sure Gavin took first A2 across the line!

Well done all!

[barryvankellett]

Er, thanks for that.
Leg was ok so long as I stood perfectly still. Big Thanks to Redgie for getting me home and the wife for bringing me in to A&E just to be sure. Just glad everyone else managed to avoid me, including the ambulance as i scrambled across the road on my arse. Cheers lads.

Great riding in that first 10 minutes (really!) from Gary, Graham and Graeme, turning the effort on very early on the front. Big Power and Big turns from the big men!

Was great to see Currie forgot to put his brake pads in and ended up with a super 2nd place. Graeme just behind in 4th and Graham again just outside the placings but up there tussling with the old experienced heads and looking promising.

Brilliant ride from Gavin, bridging across from the A1/2 group to the A3 lads who must have had at least a 2 minute gap going into the last lap. Very impressive leaving the rest of the group behind.

Anyone want to buy a road bike?

[peterbryson]

Great reports and results, mend well Barry

[chris]

Great results again lads,top class.by the sound of it you's were all riding strong. big congrats to Stevey in a3,no bother to you.been a great year so far keep it up.get well soon Barry

[redgie]

Great riding by all the lads at the Tommy Givan. Just so I could video the finish of the A4 race I bugged out early while trying to cough a lung out.
Web site report updated

[badger]

I was told beforehand that the pace in A3 is a "bit faster" (by the Magowans!!!) The first two laps were, how would you describe?..........BRUTAL!!l lined out from the first corner to basically the last corner before tackling the hills. Anytime I had an opportunity to glance at the Garmin the speed reading began with a 3 or a 4!!! It was only when I heard others say it was fast (including another A3 debut boy, Drew Kcc) That I didn't feel so bad. It turned out a break had gone early but when it wasn't going to be caught the speed returned to normal race speed. It was then a case of "I'll try and complete this lap". A big disappointment was thinking we were coming to the bell only to discover there was still 2 laps to go.

Hung in there, the big boys caught us as we came up the final climbs........just when I began to cramp, the higher pace and distance started to tell. I cramped in muscles on my upper leg which I didn't realise I had. Determined I was finishing with the bunch, I rode through it and crossed the line with everyone a happy boy. Well done to Zac who rode strongly all day ( and, quite rightly, proud as punch wearing his Cycling Ulster top)

The break was never caught but Gavin easily won "our" bunch sprint (not too often I can say that:) with Ronnie also in the group.

Great results in the A4 race not only for Crafty and Neill but the strong riding by the other boys.......Tommy, Gary, Graham and Redgie, only a matter of time lads. Finally, well done to Matthew....making his open racing debut on a very hard course.

Another successful day for DCC.