Banbridge Cycling Club managed to pull off the unexpected when they hosted the 2015 edition of the Travers Engineering Annaclone GP on Saturday past. Only 2 weeks ago the club were notified that the traditionally used Annaclone circuit would be unavailable due to rescheduled road works in the area. This left the race organisers with task of investigating suitable alternate circuits and facilities. However with the assistance of Gibson Bro’s Ltd who facilitated a last minute temporary re-opening of the road to accommodate the cyclists the GP was back on and opened the Ulster road racing season in what would turn out to be close to zero temperatures.
Two race were hosted, the first catering for the A1, 2 & 3 category riders and the support event catering for the A4 riders. Facing a distance of 48 and 40 miles respectively the distances would be relatively short but the enthusiasm and speed was high with racers keen to see the results of their training efforts over the winter months.
The main race catering the A1, 2 & 3’s would be handicapped with the A3 riders being given a 3 minute advantage before the 1’s and 2’s would be released together. Banbridge had a number of yellow jerseys in both groups with Nathan Sturrock, Simon Curry, James Curry, Daniel Purdy and Cameron McIntyre all in the large A3 bunch with Gareth McKee and Mark Downey in the chasing A1 and A2 bunch. McKee and Downey didn’t hang about with the rest of their group and made a quick escape on the opening laps with 3 other riders, closing the deficit and making the juncture to the A3’s with approximately 10 miles remaining. Unfortunately for them an escape group of three riders had already made a bid for glory and had gained an advantage of 50 seconds. Making up the escape group were Andrew Bye of Newry Wheelers, Matthew Brennan of Ballymena Road Club and Niall O’Hagan of Ballymoney CC. The focus of the combined A3 and A1/A2 escapee group was now solely on catching the leading 3 but perhaps underestimating the strength of Bye of Newry on pushed on ahead solo to increase his lead over the chasers, so much so that he would cross the finish line with an impressive 2 minute advantage. O’Hagan was delighted to hang on for a well-deserved runner up spot while Brennan would come agonisingly close to hang on but would ultimately be swept up by a fast charging bunch led home by the recently crowned Junior Irish Cyclo-Cross Champion, James Curry of Banbridge CC, showing his form from off road is easily transferable to tarmac.
James Curry is showing great form and was AGGRESSIVE all day, finishing with a top 3 result to reflect is efforts.
In the A4 event, a mass start event, Banbridge CC would be represented by David Lavery, Andrew Beattie and long-time sponsor of the event Don Travers. Travers could be seen in multiple moves trying to break free of the main bunch but the race would remain largely intact until a large crash on the penultimate lap would see all but about 20 riders delayed. Christopher McGlinchey of Chain Reaction Cycles, who had looked strong all day, used his off-road skills as a well-known mountain bike downhiller to avoid trouble and would power home with a small advantage over Mark Sergeant of Keevan CC. Kevin McKinney of Armagh CC would lead home the bunch sprint to round out the podium.
Don Travers was determined to make a move stick but would be held up by an unfortunate crash in the bunch
Banbridge CC would sincerely like to thank those who made the event such a success, including the many static and motorbike marshals who also endured the bitterly cold conditions, Annaclone GAA club for the use of their excellent facilities, Gibson Bros Ltd for their efforts in ensuring a safe circuit despite the required road works and Sean and Don Travers of Travers Engineering in Rathfriland for their ongoing support and sponsorship of the event.
A1/2/3 Race Results
1 – Andrew Bye (Newry Wheelers) 01:58:28
2 – Niall O’Hagan (Ballymoney CC) @ 02:12
3 – James Curry (Banbridge CC) @ 2:24
4 – Sean Carey (North Down CC) @ ST
5 – Mark Heaney ( Carn Wheelers) @ ST
6 – Andrew Stewart (Shelbourne Motors / Orchard CC) @ST
7 – Curtis Gilmore (Team Madigan) @ ST
8 – Daragh Campbell (Novo Nordisk Development Team) @ ST
9 – Glenn Dunwoody (Shelbourne Motors / Orchard CC)
10 – Aaron Hanthorn (Shelbourne Motors / Orchard CC)
A4 Race Results
1 – Christopher McGlinchey (Chain Reaction Cycles) 01:47:00
2 – Mark Sergeant (Keevan CC)
3 – Kevin McKinney (Arnagh CC)
4 – Paul McMinn (Ards CC)
5 – Chris Mollaghan (Orwell Wheelers)
6 – Owen Henry (Newry Wheelers)
7 – Mark Johnston (Bann Wheelers)
8 – Richard Topping (Ards CC)
