Marc on his way to victory
We’ve been spoiled by the good weather recently, but it turned cooler for last night’s season opening club race, with a few drops of rain thrown in for good measure.
That didn’t deter Marc Allen who stormed over the rolling 5 mile course to win in 12:20, pipping Stuart Millar (Ards CC) by 3 seconds).
Stuart’s conventional bike looked more comfortable on the climbs, but he may have lost out on the descents – an interesting trade-off.
Marc also took the win on handicap to underline the strength of this improvement over the winter, and he takes an early lead in the 5 mile handicap cup.
| No. | Name | Club | Time | H’Cap | HC Pts |
| 1 | Marc Allen | Ards CC | 12:20 | -40 | 10 |
| 2 | Stuart Millar | Ards CC | 12:23 | -54 | 7 |
| 3 | Ian Inglis | Kinning Cycles | 12:36 | ||
| 4 | Barry Hayes | Island Wheelers | 12:39 | ||
| 5 | James Gordon | Phoenix | 13:31 | ||
| 6 | Richard Hanna | Ards CC | 13:35 | -72 | 5 |
| 7 | James Alexander | McConvey Cycles | 13:38 | ||
| 8 | Paul Hamilton | Dromara | 13:49 | ||
| 9 | Jonathon Taylor | North Down CC | 13:53 | ||
| 10 | Andrew Jess | Ards CC | 13:56 | -102 | 3 |
| 11 | Michael Rowan | Ards CC | 13:59 | -223 | |
| 12 | Kevin Briggs | Ards CC | 14:02 | -121 | 2 |
| 13 | James Lemon | Ards CC | 15:02 | -158 | |
| 14 | Dean Bradley | Ards CC | 15:10 | -151 | |
| 15 | Alan Rodgers | Ards CC | 15:12 | -130 | 1 |
| 16 | Colin Wilson | Ards CC | 15:22 | -151 | |
| 17 | Gillian Orr | North Down CC | 15:27 | ||
| 18 | William Orr | Ards CC | 15:53 | -166 | |
| Luke Joyce | Bike House | DNF |
Thanks as always to the time keepers and marshals. See you on Saturday for the new Tour of Ards.
Mountain bikers might call this drumlin a “wee kicker”