The weekend saw the start of the racing season for our road racers. After months of winter training including hours spent in the gym and cold garages on turbo trainers the men and women of North Down CC were to find out just how effective their training has been.

Over a bitterly cold weekend which saw occasional flurries of snow the men and women of North Down CC were to open their 2013 account. Whilst all racing in mainland Europe was brought to a standstill due to the weather the organisers at Annaclone and the Phoenix GP proved that we’re made of sterner stuff in Ireland.

The 2013 season sees the launch of our new ladies team with Director Sportif, Ian Blayney carrying the heavy burden of responsibility. He didn’t need to worry however as our “Ace in the Deck” Janine McNally took up where she left off last season with her first win of the year. The rest of the ladies had a fantastic race filling much of the top ten. Unfortunately Lyn Gawley went down in an accident and hopefully those cuts and bruises disappear soon. It was a fantastic season opener for our ladies with many other top ten positions taken. Alison McMullan suffered bad luck with a puncture however within view of the finishing line which robbed her of a top ten finish. Alison is a determined competitor however and this will only motivate her even more for her next race. Without question our ladies team with be bringing home the trophies right through the rest of the season.

North Down Ladies Team

Continue reading →

Junior Cyclo Cross Awards –2012 Season

As ever it was the cyclocross season that closed out the year for the North Down racers and what a vintage year it was. Our team grew significantly with some big hitters joining the fray to battle it out in the mud mano a mano with our more experienced ‘cross riders. Whilst in the senior categories our ladies and gents scored some fantastic victories in terrible conditions it was our junior girls and boys who were doing the most damage. From the beginning of the season right to the bitter end they fought it out and on many occasions closing out the top three positions in their categories. Recently their toil was awarded when Martin Grimley, tireless campaigner for off road cycling, came down to Bangor to reward them for their efforts.

Continue reading →

Drum Manor Forest outside Cookstown was the venue for Round 7 of the Ulster Cyclo-cross series which also doubled up as the Ulster Cyclo-cross championships.  Host club Carn Wheelers were running their first cyclo-cross race and it was the first time that the club had used this forest for off-road racing.  The section of the forest used was well away from the popular public areas of the forest with the main action taking place is an open grass area which was on a slope making cycling difficult.  To add to the difficulty the club had set up a spiral section at the lower end of the field with the centrepiece of a scaffold bridge drawing the biggest number of spectators.  The course then weaved its way out of the field and into the fire road section of the forest.  There were plenty of features to keep the riders alert on each tough lap.

North Down 1-2 Colm Mclarnon & Barry Hamilton

Continue reading →

The sixth round of the Ulster Cyclo-cross series 2012 took place in Seacourt, Larne. This was the penultimate round of the Ulster Cyclo-cross 2012 series and the third time that the host club have used this site. It certainly felt like the start of December at the exposed site with a cool biting early morning wind but thankfully no rain. The course was in great condition after a few days of dry weather which pleased everyone. The memory of last year’s muddy race was still etched in the minds of those riders who braved the conditions last year.
As usual our juniors put in some fine performances. In the U14s boys it was the customary battle for podium places between Ben Webb and Will Hamilton. It now looks like “Bill and Ben” have sewn up the category between them.

Under 14s Podium

Continue reading →

Despite an exceptionally cold start to the day North Down sent a large turnout of riders to contest Round 5 of the ‘cross series in Ormeau Park. Always a popular event due to it’s scenic surroundings and close proximity to the City Centre.

Unfortunately the cold weather did nothing to improve the conditions of the course however and thick mud was the order of the day. Bound up wheels, broken rear mechs and slippy tree roots made for a challenging course which, combined with a few interesting sections of singletrack, made for a course that would test man and machine alike.

Although, strangely, there were no riders contesting the “A” race the “B” race was dominated by North Down riders. Taking 5 of the top 6 positions you could say that North Down “owned” the “B” event. Heading up the athletes was unsurprisingly our ‘cross master Colm McLarnon with Steven Watty coming close behind with another excellent result in his debut season. How long before these two top riders are fighting it out in the “A” race?

Alison McMullan

Continue reading →

Last weekend, before heading off on their various regular Saturday morning club runs, members of the North Down Cycling Club (NDCC) took a few minutes out to present cheques totalling some £13,000 to four local charities.

The money had been raised during the summer through the Club’s major sportive event of the year, “The North Down Coastal Challenge” when over 1000 cyclists spent an enjoyable day making their way round the Ards Peninsula including a well earned lunch stop in Portaferry.

Over the years NDCC has donated money raised from the Coastal Challenge event to local charities and this year was no different with donations being made to four different groups including: Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) Northern Ireland which provides cardiac screening services for  young people, sponsors research and provides bereavement counselling for families devastated by the loss of a child from Sudden Death Syndrome: The Make-A-Wish Foundation which last year in Northern Ireland made magical wishes come true for 59 children and young people aged 3-17 fighting life-threatening conditions, creating dreams and memories that last forever for the wish child and their family: Friends of Compass School and Creche which helps the people of Kikuyu, Kenya by raising funds to feed, educate and medically assist Orphans and Underprivileged Children, many  of whom have HIV and who, without the charity’s help would inevitably not survive: Portaferry RNLI whose work will need no further explanation to residents along the route of the Coastal Challenge.

Speaking afterwards, Club Chairman Ian Blayney expressed his sincere thanks to those who had made the event possible including the club members who assisted on the day, the PSNI who helped ensure the safe running of the event and, of course, the event sponsors Bike Dock. He went on to say it was a real pleasure both to be able to support such worthwhile causes and to see Coastal Challenge event grow over the years to become one of Ulster’s most popular cycling events, attracting an eclectic mix of participants who find the event both long enough to provide a good run for club cyclists yet short enough to provide an achievable target for the novice rider.

Continue reading →