Mitchell Motors

North Down Cycling Club stalwart , Anthony Mitchell recently took part in a Derny training course in Dublin. This efficacious use of a motor bike to pace track cyclists is a very skilled exercise as the rider of the Derny must be able to empathise with those he’s pacing.

A total of twelve coaches from across Ireland were selected for the course, which was taken by British Cycling tutors Alex Wharton and Derek Marloe. In all, five motorbikes were brought across for the course, which included classroom input and practical sessions both on the Derny and riding behind them.

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The Worlds – At The Bokhara

To the untrained eye it may have looked like a rabble of cyclists had descended upon the Bokhara early one morning in September but to others it was like the Oscars of cycling. Not so much black tie as black and pink lycra and whilst there were no movie stars in evidence, we had the stars of Irish Cycling. It was the breakfast of champions to set everyone up for the day – full Ulster fry with coffee while the talk was of the biggest professional road race of the year. Our roving reporter, William Barclay takes up the story:

Worlds at Bokhara

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Super Silver for Swenarton

North Down’s flying veteran, Paul Swenarton had a great performance at the Irish Veterans’ Championship in Dublin where he lifted silver in the team sprint and bronze in the pursuit. After the success of the first championship for veterans in 2008,the age related Track Championship this year has grown to a 2 day event. The idea of individual track events in age categories comes from the successful UCI World and European Championships.

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Ciaran on the Move

Ciaran Andrews, the chairman of North Down Cycling Club is a man with an inexhaustible energy and a passion for doing things to perfection. Unfortunately for the cycling club, pressure of business has resulted in the local architect having to reluctantly decide to relinquish his role as chairman for the incoming year.

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Henry Lifts Silver in Ulster Championships

It was almost the perfect send-off for North Down junior cyclist, Stuart Henry last weekend when he took silver in the Ulster Road Race Championships for Elite, Juniors and Veterans promoted by Phoenix CC. Henry, who now heads off to Chester to read French and Criminology, was at the head of affairs for much of the day, in a very competitive field.

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