On the road to glory

Over 200 cyclists from all over Ireland flocked to Barefield last Sunday to take part in the annual Rás Clár cycle race in blistering hot conditions. Organisers, Dolmen Cycling Club were very pleased with the huge turn out and all four races were hotly contested.

The main race of the day was won by Richard Hooton of Visit Nenagh-Team DMG who took his first win of the 2013 season when out-sprinting Mick Fitzgerald, Fermoy CC and Clare’s Mike Storan of Killaloe Planet Tri into second and third respectively.

The Nenagh man was the strongest at the end of 110 gruelling kilometres, just having a bike length to spare over Fitzgerald and the fast finishing Storan.

Sunday’s race saw a sign-on of a whopping 200 riders, with just over a quarter of those competing in the main event. The A1s and A2s went off together and from the gun a threatening move escaped featuring Timmy Barry (Aquablue), Hooton, Paddy Clarke of Castlebar and three others.

That sextet worked well together and pulled out a gap of between 35 and 45 seconds, with Hooton ahead at the day’s first climb at Maghera

Around 10 riders rode across to make it 16 up front, with the day’s big players all present, including Mick Fitzgerald, David Brennan, Castlebar, Eddie Dunbar, Kanturk and Clare’s Mike Storan.

Several riders tried pulling away, with Clarke one of the most active.

Eventually a seven-man group escaped and that group of seven worked well together, with Dunbar doing much of the driving on the five-kilometre climb at Maghera second time around.

Hooton jumped him towards the summit to nab a second KOH for himself and by the top they had 45 seconds on those behind as they approached the last leg of the race.

In the final kilometres cramp began to take its toll, with no one intent on taking a solo run. That opened the way for Hooton and when he got on top of the big gear he was unstoppable.

In the A3 race, Dara Bailey of Roscommon (Donamon Dynamos), a first-year junior (U-18) took the honours when he got the better of Shane Power (Dungarvan CC), Stephen Shanahan (Limerick). Chris Jeuken of Tuamgraney, a member of Dolmen CC took an excellent sixth with a very gutsy performance.

Cathal O’Donovan is fast making a name for himself in the A4 category, and he won for the second week in a row, the Blarney man getting the better of Michael Martin (Coachford) and his clubmate Eoin O’Connell. Ennis men Paddy Quinn and Tony Skerritt, both Dolmen CC, took a good fourth and eight place respectively, whilst Aidan O’Grady of North Clare’s Burren CC and Shannon’s David Richardson took fifth and seventh in this race also.

John Colleran of Dolmen Cycling Club thanked all those who helped out on the day including the gardaí, Red Cross, Marshalls and Barefield Community Centre Committee for the use of the hall.

Results
A1&A2 Race: 1. Richard Hooton (Visit Nenagh/DMG); 2. Mick Fitzgerald (Fermoy CC); 3. Mike Storan (Planet Tri, Killaloe); 4. Derek Joyce (Galway Bay CC); 5. Paddy Clarke (Casltebar); 6. Eddie Dunbar (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk CC); 7. Stephen Murray (Dungarvan CC); 8. Eoghan Clifford (Galway Bay CC); 9. Brendan Cassidy (Killarney CC); 10. David Brennan (Castlebar CC); King of Hills: Richard Hooton won both primes.
A3 Race: 1. Dara Bailey (Donamon Dynamos, Roscommon); 2. Shane Power (Dungarvan CC); 3. Stephen Shanahan (Limerick CC); 4. Sean O’Malley (Western Lakes, Mayo); 5. Con Dougherty (Westport); 6. Chris Jeuken (Dolmen CC); 7. Keith O’Connell (Westport); 8. Kieran Heneghan (Western Lakes, Mayo); 9. Stephen McGrath (Fermoy CC); 10. Pat O’Brien (Galtee Wheelers).
A4 Race: 1. Cathal O’Donovan (Blarney CC); 2. Michael Martin (Coachford CC); 3. Eoin O’Connell (Blarney CC); 4. Patrick Quinn (Dolmen CC); 5. Aidan O’Grady (Burren CC); 6. Clyde Gaffney (Unatt); 7. David Richardson (Na Sionna); 8. Tony Skerritt (Dolmen CC).
Women: 1. Fiona Guihan (Navan RC); 2. Emma Walsh (Dungarvan CC); 3. Monica Marconi (Orwell Wheelers, Dublin); 4. Róisín Kennedy (Adamstown CC); 5. Sandra Telford (Orwell Wheelers); 6. Noreen O’Toole (Westport Covey Wheelers); 7. Josie Knight (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk CC); 8. Monica Kotecka (Seven Springs).