CYCLOCROSS COMES TO BANGOR

Cyclocross is a winter discipline of cycling akin to cross-country running.  Courses are normally held on a variety of surfaces grass, forest trails, tarmac and of course the obligatory mud.  Whilst the races last for one hour or less, the effort to push your bike around in conditions like these, often means your body is on the limit, and you will feel it in your legs for days to come.

Round 10 of the Ulster Cyclocross League was hosted by North Down Cycling Club. Organised by a small but dedicated four person committee, the course, described by many as suitable to run a Championship race over, started at the bottom of the Valentine Playing Fields, rising and meandering through mud to the dry respite of Pigeon Wood before opening up onto Castle Park, where the good conditions made for fast racing.

The Racing

With almost three hundred competitors signed up, this was going to be a full days racing, with riders as young as three or four pushing themselves around a short course on balance bikes, to the more senior riders in their 50s but all were out having fun.  Valentine Playing Fields have never been known as having good drainage, making for heavy going in parts.  With three courses designed for the differing age categories, all riders were going to have to work hard to battle through the mud.  The Youth races were first off, the ability and strength of some of the young riders was very impressive, the advantage of being small and light is you do not sink into the mud so deeply, regardless they showed determination and grit to complete the course, young NDCC rider, Daniel Cardy finishing an impressive seventh.

The first senior event was the Men’s B Race, with 95 riders starting.  With a fast start, the field soon started to split and stretch out.  The long and deceptive climb up from Valentine Playing Fields to Pigeon Wood proved a struggle for many, through the technical wooded section before the fast, flowing route onto Castle Park.  A short, sharp bank, pitted with tree roots tested the riders who maybe thought they would get some respite, but this is CX and that sort of thing does not exist.  Back on the bikes only to have a set of steps to carry your bike up and then a swift path back towards Pigeon Wood and onto Valentines again.  NDCC had a great battle between Michael McMullan, Keith Phillips and Richard McCullough for first, second and third.  McMullan had led for most of the race and at times looked like he was going to be caught by his chasing club mates but he managed to stay away, winning by 17 seconds.  All three podium steps taken by NDCC.

Next up was the Ladies CX, MTB and U16 male riders, with hot favourites Alison McMullan and Jake Rushby looking to win their races having ridden strongly all season.  Rushby got a great start and soon showed his class by powering away from the field, eventually opening up a huge gap and increasing it lap by lap.  By the end, he crossed the line well ahead of his nearest rival with a very well deserved first place after stepping closer to the top spot in the last few weeks.  The Ladies events have become more and more popular in both CX and MTB.  Beth McCluskey traveled two hours to get to Bangor and showed why she is the current Irish Ladies CX Champion by winning comfortably over the rest of her field. Alison McMullan, having finished second in nearly every round this season, was the main contender for the Ladies MTB race, and like Rushby soon opened up a massive gap on the rest of the field finished first, well ahead of the rest.

The main ‘A’ race for the senior men pitted Ulster’s finest CX riders, including reigning National CX Champion Roger Aiken, who has been in terrific form all season, out to do battle on the last race before the Ulster Championships. Aiken (Team Asea), glides over the mud and course whilst the rest of us sink and plod through it, making it look effortless.  His power was evident, as a rider of local man Glenn Kinning’s caliber, battled hard to stay with him but had to contend with second place as Aiken came home alone to take another victory.

The venue, course design and organisation, alongside the free burger provided, made for a great day’s racing, for once the weather smiling down kindly on NDCC.

Ards and North Down Borough Council granted use of the land, and NDCC would like to thank them for their assistance for this.  Thanks also to the Aurora Sports Complex for use of their facilities and to the public for their understanding and support whilst the event was running.  Events like this cannot be run without volunteers and a thank you to those that gave up their time, in particular non-club members and those from different clubs.

Words by Michael McMullan
Images courtesy of Bronagh Kirk & The Belgium Project

We would like to remind all current club members and any others who are considering joining North Down Cycling Club that registration for 2017 is now open!

Please click on the image below to take you to our membership section as there are a few changes to how certain age groups join for 2017.

Hi all,

Following the AGM on 9th November 2016 the following as listed below were elected onto the committee for the 2017 season.

Review of 2016

September brings to an end the road racing calendar for both open and club events.  With racing starting mid-February, it is a feat in itself that anyone would have the stamina to keep racing for such a long season and no doubt the weary legs will be glad of a few weeks respite before the hard work towards 2017 begins.

For NDCC, 2016 was a successful year for road racing, time trialling and the Coastal Challenge charity event continuing to be hugely popular.  NDCC had good representation across every road racing category from A1 to A4, as well as our youth members showing their potential, road racing is continuing to grow in popularity.  Several members managed to get upgraded, some spectacularly so, moving from A3 to A1 and A4 to A2.  James Ambrose, Keith Phillips and Timmy Burns to name but a few, and to achieve this in one season shows the depth of talent in the club.  The two Daves, Watson and Hamilton, dominated the senior racing division with multiple wins and podium finishes and participated in all the big stage races in the country.

North Down CC sent teams to numerous stage races, in particular the Tour of the North and Tour

of Ulster as a prelude to the eight-day stage race, the Ras Tailteann, one of Europe’s toughest amateur races, where the team of Watson, Ambrose, Ferguson and Hamilton came 4^th in the County Class category.  In the Tour of Omagh 3 Day race, a race exclusively for the A4 category, saw David Spalding dominate the race only to lose out on the Yellow jersey on the last day but win the Polka Dot King of the Hills competition instead.

The senior riders were not the only ones to bring silverware home to the club, our talented youth riders shone through on road and track.  Rachel White, Maia Simmons, Katie Armstrong, Nathan Keown, Jake Rushby and Patrick Watson won numerous titles between them across very differing disciplines, track, road, cyclocross and time trials.  As long as the club keeps investing

in our youth, it will continue to develop riders of great calibre.

North Down CC runs numerous events all year, from the club time trial and racing leagues, North Down GP, cyclocross and the ever popular Coastal Challenge.  These events take considerable planning and organising, most of it going unnoticed, to make our events some of the best in the country, but it cannot happen on the day without the volunteers who come out time and time again to assist.  A very big thank you to all who gave up their time to keep these events running safely and professionally.

2016 has been tinged with sadness too, with the passing of Gary Swenarton.  Gary passed away after a brief stay in hospital and he is missed in every aspect of the club, as a rider, volunteer, mentor and most importantly as a friend to many.

The Ulster Road Racing Championships

Foyle CC hosted the Ulster Road race Championships on a demanding course in Limavady.  The road racing went right across the board, from Senior to Masters and of course NDCC were represented in good numbers.  Dave Hamilton was up against the best in the Province, and despite his usual hard riding tactic, he was for once outclassed, beaten by former professional and Commonwealth Games rider Marcus Christie, still finishing a very credible 5^th.

It was perhaps the Over 40s race that held NDCCs interest, with the club’s very own answer to the Terror of Tashkent, Djamolodine Abdoujaparov, – Shaun Carey.  Shaun, well known for his sprinting ability and turn of speed, can find gaps in bunches to launch himself towards the line, and this is what happened on the finishing straight, as Colm Watson (VC Glendale), thinking that he had taken the title, underestimated the final gallop by Carey who pipped him on the line to take the Ulster title.

Tom Henry has raced competitively for many years at the highest level, represented the club in the Over 60s race.  This age category did not get it easy, putting these riders through 56 miles of pain but it was this master tactician who was able to manoeuvre his way to 3^rd overall and a bronze medal.

In the last road race of the year, Alan Lavery who has returned to competitive cycling after a horrific accident and long recuperation period, finally got his just dessert winning the A4 Autumn Gold Race.

TIME TRIALLING

A very difficult discipline, both physically and mentally, time trialling is a very pure form of racing,  as it is the rider against the clock.  In recent years, John Rafferty has risen to be a very formidable force in this discipline.  Having had a great 2015, it would be difficult for him to improve but he has done exactly that.  In 2016, John set several personal bests, showing his exceptional form, his 10 mile TT time now at a very impressive 20mins 21secs and a 25 mile TT PB of 55mins 44secs.  These times were good enough to give him overall victory in his class in the TVR and Ernie Magwood series.  Topping this off, are his gold medals in the M40 class at the Ulster 25M TT, Ulster 100M TT, raced in appalling conditions and silver in the Ulster 10M TT.  Will he be able to better this in 2017?

CYCLOCROSS SEASON

Just because the road racing has stopped does not mean that competition has finished for the year.  The ‘Dirt Church’ will open it’s doors on Friday 23^rd September and will not close them again until January, in what has seen an increase in races for these ever popular events.

What is cyclocross? It is the cycling equivalent to cross country running.  The courses run on grass, mud, tarmac and gravel.  The races last for around an hour, with the laps being about one mile long.  The riders are always at threshold or dipping into the red, as the effort taken is incredible.  There is no respite, no easing up but there is fun for the spectators as the riders slip and slide their way across muddy fields, down off-camber banks, up steps with bikes hoisted onto shoulders and just about any other obstacle the organisers can think off.

Cyclocross is a great way to condition over the winter, the atmosphere is lively and it is very spectator friendly.  And on the plus side, it gives you an excuse to go out and buy another bike to add to the collection.

North Down CC will be hosting its round of the Ulster Cyclocross League in December.

Michael McMullan – NDCC PRO