NORTH DOWN CYCLISTS STARTING TO SHOW FORM
After a quiet and unadventurous start to the season, North Down riders are beginning to show a bit of form both on the road and cross country. At last weekend’s Surgenor Cup at Randalstown Paul Ferguson, one of the club’s most consistent riders of recent seasons, took ninth place in a race won by former Irish Junior international Adam Petrie-Armstrong. Ferguson was part of a 14 strong group that managed to get away after the second lap but by the final lap this group had split with eight riders going clear to fight it out for the finish. Ferguson missed this final break but led in the remainder of the field to take ninth place. Ferguson was pleased with his early form and is hoping to improve over the next few weeks in readinesss for the annual P&O Ferries Tour of the North, run over the Easter holidays.
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7th March 2006
NORTH DOWN RIDERS ACTIVE ON TWO FRONTS
Mention the word March and you could be excused for assuming that we have, at last, reached springtime. However, North Down’s cyclists have learned that the calendar is an unreliable guide to the actual conditions they are likely to face on the roads. Last weekend was the second of the new racing season but many riders’ normal enthusiasm for the start of competition has been cooled somewhat by wintry weather and the forecasts prior to last weekend gave little cause for optimism. Nevertheless, the promotions at Annaclone on Saturday and the Phoenix GP at Nutt’s Corner on Sunday went ahead and both events drew large fields. Six of North Down’s regular racing men entered the fray and all of them reported satisfaction with their early season form, the main objective being to use these races to get in some race training and avoid the early season crashes that are fairly common, with riders, anxious to demonstrate their form, jostling through narrow roads in large bunches. The only rider to get caught in a crash was Norman Wilson who came down during the Phoenix GP but managed to avoid serious injury.
Next weekend riders once again have a choice of events. On saturday Old Bleach CC stage the Surgenor Cup over 100Km at Randalstown, the race getting under way at 11am. Sunday’s competition is the McCann Cup sponsored by Omagh Wheelers at Seskinore, the race starting at 1pm.
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28th February 2006
CYCLISTS GEAR UP FOR NEW SEASON
The biting, cold wind and flurries of snow this week can only mean one thing ; the start of the cycle racing season has arrived. Photographs of last weekend’s John Haldane Memorial road race at Hilltown showed the riders dressed more for a polar expedition than a bike race but at least the weather was dry and it was enough to tempt riders to the south Down venue for the opening race of the 2006 season, a 45 mile handicapped race that attracted a field of 120 competitors. Races so early in the year are rarely indicators of peak season form and many riders use them as hard training rides and preparation for races later in the season.
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Club Events
Training and Nutrition Talk
Wed. March 8th at 7.30 Darren McWilliams Will be giving a talk on training and nutrition in the Club Rooms all welcome.
7th Febuary 2006
While the next generation of North Down champions are riding the boards in the shelter of the Manchester velodrome, most of their clubmates will be hitting the open roads. Last weekend’s reliability trial around the Ards peninsula drew a huge turnout of well over 100 riders keen to get in a fast pre season run in decent weather and on fairly dry roads. This Sunday’s reliability ride is organised by East Antrim/ Audi CC and it assembles in the car park beside Carrick castle. The format is the now familiar one of a steady, shorter run of around 50 miles and a faster, longer run of 70 miles or so. Departure times for these runs should be made available before the weekend and North Down riders intending to take part will be informed by email.
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31 January 2006
NORTH DOWN CYCLISTS PREPARE FOR NEW SEASON
With a new cycle racing season less than four weeks away, North Down Cycling Club members have been taking advantage of the unseasonably dry weather recently to get in some training miles. February is normally the month for reliability trials, long runs of between 50 and 70 miles, open to all riders, which are used by club cyclists to assess their pre-season form. Last weekend’s event was staged by Ballymena / Scotts Road Club and this coming Sunday the action moves to the Ards peninsula. The Dave Kane club organises this one every year with the £3 signing on fee going to charity. Riders sign on in the large car park beside the cinema at the rear of the Ards Shopping Centre. There are normally two runs; a 50 mile run at a steady pace which is scheduled for a 9.45am start and a longer run for more competitive riders which will leave at 10am. North Down’s regular weekend runs have been attracting between 30 and 40 riders and the Saturday run, departing from the clubrooms at 9am, splits neatly into two groups, allowing riders to choose between a 60 or a 40 mile run. It has been encouraging to see so many recreational riders getting out each week and discovering that they have no reason to be apprehensive about joining club runs .One of North Down’s main objectives is to attract people of different abilities who are keen to cycle and who are looking for an opportunity to join others and gain fitness and confidence by riding in groups.