Banbridge Cycling Club members enjoyed a successful evening at the Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon 2026 Senior Sports Awards. Shortlisted in five categories; Volunteer, Service to Sport, Club of the Year, Coach of the Year and Senior Team of the Year, those attending on behalf of the club were already in celebratory mood.
One of the first presentations of the evening recognised the club volunteers who go above and beyond for their club and sport. Lydia Beattie got Banbridge CC off to a winning start, collecting the Volunteer Award in acknowledgement of her active role leading the club’s event timekeeping team.
A long-standing and dedicated member of Banbridge CC’s timekeeping team, Lydia has been a quiet yet essential presence behind countless club, inter-club and open events for many years. Her attention to detail and unwavering standards ensure every rider’s performance is recorded accurately and fairly, in line with standardised national and international regulations. Beyond her operational excellence, Lydia has shown a strong commitment to the future sustainability of the sport—proactively recruiting and training new timekeepers to strengthen what has historically been a small volunteer group.
In the Service to Sport category, club stalwart Neil Teggart was called to the stage by ceremony host Denise Watson. Neil has been at the heart of Banbridge CC for more than four decades. His journey began in the mid-1980s as a talented youth rider and continued into the late 1990s, when he represented Northern Ireland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and rode for the Irish national team at the Rás Tailteann.
An ongoing injury sadly curtailed what was shaping up to be an exceptional competitive career. Rather than stepping away, however, Neil committed himself to the sport as a volunteer—both locally and at national level—becoming one of the most respected figures in Irish cycling.
In the Coach of the Year category, where shortlisted nominees included Kevin Broderick (Banbridge & Rathfriland Karate Club) and Amy Wethers (Craigavon Aztecs Volleyball Club), Banbridge CC’s Matthew Teggart was announced as the 2026 winner. Following a standout year for the club’s road racers in 2025, Matthew led preparations for Banbridge CC’s debut appearance at Ireland’s premier men’s international cycling stage race, the Rás Tailteann. He combined coaching duties with racing and earned selection for the final team. Banbridge CC secured several top-10 stage placings, won the leading Irish County rider on two stages, and were crowned overall Irish County/Provincial Team Prize winners—beating Kanturk Cork by more than 18 minutes and the Cycling Ulster team by 22 minutes.
Alongside the Rás, Matthew was lead coach for Banbridge CC winners in a range of other road races, including the Tour of Ards, C1 and C3/Junior races, and the Wallace Caldwell Memorial—where the club placed four riders in the top eight.
The evening concluded in style as Banbridge CC received the Chairman’s Award, recognising the club’s achievements throughout 2025—high-level competitive success, growing participation, landmark performances on the national and international stage, and a continued commitment to event promotion and community development.
In addition to the club’s success at the Rás, Banbridge CC enjoyed the highest level of open road race participation seen in decades. Just two months into the 2025 season, the club had already recorded double-figure podium finishes across six different riders, demonstrating real depth within the squad. Banbridge riders were a near-constant presence in race top tens throughout the early season and, by early May, the club had produced five individual race winners: John Buller, Adam Matthews, Riley Smith, Mark Kendall and John Ervine. Internationally, Don Travers once again represented Banbridge CC with distinction, competing in his age category at the Gralloch UCI Gravel World Series event in Scotland and qualifying for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Limburg, Netherlands. The club also continued to excel in time trialling (TT), securing multiple Ulster League podium places and championship success with multiple medallists.
Collecting the award on behalf of the club were Mark Downey and James Curry, who both competed as part of the winning ‘25 Banbridge CC Rás team. Both began their cycling careers as youth riders with Banbridge CC and developed into successful international competitors, representing Ireland at World Championship and Olympic level across multiple disciplines. Speaking with event host Denise Watson, Mark paid tribute to the support of the club and its volunteers, and to the satisfaction of once again competing in home colours after retiring from a professional international career.
All photographs courtesy of Paul Byrne.
