Thirty eight riders celebrated the first club race since August 2019 in balmy conditions over 5 laps at Carrowdore this evening. The handicappers split the riders into three groups, with the middle group giving away 4 minutes to the front group, with the scratch group a further 3 minutes back.
Scratch looking relaxed at the start.
The middle group at the end of the first lap
Scratch looked good but they only gained 30 second on the first lap.
The front group looked strong on the second lap
Ian Inglis (Kinning) in the centre looked comfortable on the second lap
The second group pile on the pressure on the third lap as the gap to the front starts to come down.
First woman Rachel Irvine (BikeHouse) looked comfortable in the leading group on lap 4.
Great to see Kirk Sloan down tonight, and showing he’s lost none of his race craft.
The Ards boys in the second group driving hard on the last lap. They would catch the front group half way round the lap. Scratch also reached the front with about 2 miles to go, setting things up for a great finish.
Ian Inglis (Kinning) was well clear of the bunch, and has time to celebrate the win
Stuart Henry (North Down) was second, ahead of Peter McLean (Ards CC), Nathan Keown (Dan Morrisey), Conor Hanna (Ards CC), Phil Doyle (Ards CC), Ross Blayney (North Down) and Kirk Sloan (Ards CC). Barry Mitchell and Ben Healey rounded out the top six Ards riders.
Thanks as always to all the marshals (static and motor bike) and the judges and time keepers. And a special mention to Paul Robinson who judged the handicapping perfectly, with the whole race coming together in the last couple of miles.
Finally, the club photographer spotted pictures for a future club quiz (remember those..?) First up – is it a house? Is it a tree?
And finally, Mr Moore’s old cottage