The Killermeter:
Wed night was the last event of the season for the North Down “athletes” and it was closed with a bang. The 1 kilometre test of man’s ability to ignore intense pain and dizziness with total disregard for tactics, endurance or any sense of self preservation.
An event so savage that it has been dropped by the Olympic Games but lives on in the North Down calendar. Such is the draw of this event that previous Killer-meter specialist Duane McCreadie returned from his punishing criterium racing season in England to show our time trial regulars the way home. Assuming that Duane’s Herculean training schedule hasn’t taken its toll then he could be the man to beat.
Since the distance is so short (1 km) it was suggested that a separate trophy be awarded to any sailor that could cycle in a straight line for the entire kilometre but it was felt that this was not reasonable and they be given more time to hone their own unique “technique”. It is hoped that, coupled with intensive training and dedication, by mid 2015 we might be able to introduce this prestigious trophy.
On the night the conditions were difficult but this did not deter the hardy North Down competitors. The turnout was excellent and calibre of riders high. A strong headwind on the way out meant that many riders were already struggling with 200 metres to go though the tailwind on the return leg helped the riders up the slight incline to the finish line.
Matty Blayney 01:19 01:23 01:21.0
Michael McMullan 01:24 01:21 01:22.5
Barry Hamilton 01:24 01:25 01:24.5
Peter Thompson USA 01:27 01:24 01:25.5
Cliff Blayney 01:25 01:28 01:26.5
Duane McCreadie 01:25 01:29 01:27.0
Paul Kirk 01:27 01:28 01:27.5
Garth Beattie 01:28 01:27 01:27.5
Colin Massey 01:28 01:30 01:29.0
Colin Wilson Bikeworks 01:30 01:29 01:29.5
Many thanks to the Blayney mafia for marshalling :- Ian, Trevor & Eric.
Ladies Run:
What may possibly be the last ladies ride this year is scheduled for Saturday 17th September leaving the club rooms at 9.15am sharp. It will be the same route as before to Killyleagh and back with the stunning bun stop in the middle. Remember though ladies “A moment on the lips – a lifetime on the hips!”
Congratulations:
Congratulations to Glenn Armstrong and his wife Karen on the birth of their baby boy, Ross. Glenn, popular local businessman and ex-international bike racer became a father again on Saturday. So the new generation of racers begins…. Best wishes from all in the club.
Irish A3 Championships:,
Two of our roadmen were on National Championship duty last weekend. Shane Farren and Michael McMullan made the long journey down to Castelbar, County Mayo in pursuit of glory. Bad weather and “work commitments” meant that the original team of seven was reduced down to two on Sunday morning but while quantity may have been lacking quality most certainly was not.
The tail end of Hurricane Katia meant that the race was held under wet and windy conditions but a hard season’s racing in Ireland meant that our riders were more than up to the conditions. Michael McMullan made his presence felt early in the race with an audacious attack in the opening 3 miles of the race. It seemed that his aggressive tactics may have paid off as he and his fellow attacker managed to stay away for a large part of the race gaining an advantage over the peloton of up to a minute. Unfortunately it’s hard to stay away under such conditions as the combination of Irish roads and Irish weather and he was eventually reeled in by the peloton.
Shane however had been keeping his powder dry whilst Michael was making his mark but he was to play to his strengths and wait until the closing act. Coming onto the final climb there was a break of five up the road and Shane realised that it was time to light the blue touch paper. As the climb got longer and steeper Shane pulled back the escapees one by one bringing himself up to a creditable 4th position on the Windy Gap finish line, above Castlebar . A few more metres of road and he reckons that he would have taken a podium place. A look at the results sheet shows Shane to be only seven seconds down on third place finisher. Shane has quickly developed a reputation for going well at the harder races over a short period of time so 2012 could well shape up to be an excellent season for him.
The Irish A3 Championships capped a fine season on the road for North Down with a lot of promise for 2012. For now though it’s up to cyclocross men to raise the North Down standard!