While Criterium races may be shorter than your average road race, as a town centre event they require substantial effort to pull together. When you add in the Cycling Ireland and Cycling Ulster Championship status of the event, we want to ensure it’s right to honour the privilege as a host.
Thankfully, as a club, we have a fantastic team of volunteers that we’re very proud of and who regularly step forward when called upon. Massive thanks to all those who helped haul and set out the hundreds of barriers, erect banners, podiums, safety bales and all the safety precautions to ensure a safe course for all. All the event officials, from the check-in team, timekeepers, judges, commissaires, marshals and pit crew all did a fantastic job to help the racing run smoothly on what can also be a very technical event to manage. Our race announcer Pat O’Shaughnessy, as always, kept us entertained and informed of the racing as it happened.
Thanks also to the back-end admin staff at Cycling Ireland and Cycling Ulster who assisted with event entries and validation and made themselves available for the weeks running up to and on the night itself.
Thank you to our event sponsors and supporters; Cycling Ulster, Cycling Ireland, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Banbridge PSNI, McCabrey’s Cycles, Super-Fry and SBD Events. We couldn’t have done it without your help.
Finally, a huge thank you and immense respect to all the riders who competed. You put on a hell of a show. We had first and second year junior women fighting toe to toe with World and European Champions, giving us a glimpse of what we can look forward to in women’s cycling in Ireland. The open Championship give us a thrilling spectacle from start to finish, with non-stop attacking and full-tilt action.
Congratulations to our new National Champions, Marine Linehan and Darnell Moore. It’s fair to say your competitors made you work hard for your new Champions jerseys. We hope we gave you a night to remember, we’ll certainly remember you from sunny Banbridge!
All photos courtesy of Toby Watson.
