It was great to have 40 entries for the second round of the Ards CC – North Down CC Inter Club League this evening. It was North Down’s turn to host the event, and they promoted a road race based on a circuit at Ballyboley Corner. Marshalling and lead cars were excellent – perhaps they were practicing for the North Down GP this weekend!
First group at the start
The riders were split into three groups, with the first group getting a 5 minute start on the second group, and a further 1 minute back to the five scratch men. All groups looked to be working well, but all three groups came together at the end of the third of five laps.
Second group at the start. Is Kirk already planning his move?
A lap later the pressure was starting to tell. Three riders – Kirk Sloan (North Down CC), Nathan Keown (Dan Morrissey) and Chris Richardson (Killinchy CC) had 15 seconds on a second group of three riders – Stuart Millar (Ards CC), Neil McKenna (AHC Racing) and Luke Joyce (North Down CC) – with the remains of the bunch a further 30 seconds behind.
Nathan takes the win
On the long drag to the finish, Nathan put his recent Ras Tailteann form to good use, to take the win, 3 seconds ahead of Chris. Kirk held on to third, ahead of Luke, Neil and Stuart. 52 seconds later, Andrew Hedley led in the bunch, ahead of Ross Blayney and Glen Curry.
Andrew wins the bunch sprint for seventh
The provisional result, with ICL points, is below. If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let us know.
| Name | Club | Time | ICL pts | |
| 1 | Nathan Keown | Dan Morrissey | 1:08:02 | |
| 2 | Chris Richardson | Killinchy CC | 1:08:05 | |
| 3 | Kirk Sloan | North Down CC | 1:08:09 | 20 |
| 4 | Luke Joyce | North Down CC | 1:08:10 | 19 |
| 5 | Neil McKenna | AHC Racing | 1:08:10 | |
| 6 | Stuart Millar | Ards CC | 1:08:12 | 18 |
| 7 | Andrew Hedley | AHC Racing | 1:09:04 | |
| 8 | Ross Blayney | North Down CC | 1:09:04 | 17 |
| 9 | Glen Curry | North Down CC | 1:09:04 | 16 |
| 10 | Aaron Fegan | Ards CC | 1:09:04 | 15 |
| 11 | James Alexander | McConvey Cycles | 1:09:04 | |
| 12 | Barry Mitchell | Ards CC | 1:09:04 | 14 |
| 13 | Barry Greer | North Down CC | 1:09:04 | 13 |
| 14 | Ben Healey | Ards CC | 1:09:04 | 12 |
| 15 | Keith Hooks | North Down CC | 1:09:04 | 11 |
| 16 | Gemma Speers | North Down CC | 1:09:04 | 10 |
| 17 | Andy Allen | Ards CC | 1:09:04 | 10 |
| 18 | Jonathan Taylor | North Down CC | 1:09:04 | 10 |
| 19 | Jon McCreedy | North Down CC | 1:09:04 | 10 |
| 20 | Stephen Watty | North Down CC | 10 | |
| 21 | Jessica Kerr | North Down CC | 10 | |
| 22 | Michael Rowan | Ards CC | 10 | |
| 23 | Robert McGarry | North Down CC | 10 | |
| 24 | Colin Wilson | Ards CC | 10 | |
| 25 | Yesten Smith | North Down CC | 10 | |
| 26 | Stephen Cardy | North Down CC | 10 | |
| Ryan Fegan | North Down CC | 10 | ||
| Dean Bradley | Ards CC | 10 | ||
| Stephen Green | North Down CC | 10 | ||
| William Orr | Ards CC | 10 | ||
| Tom Henry | North Down CC | 10 | ||
| Gareth Boyle | North Down CC | 10 | ||
| Ian Carson | Ards CC | 10 | ||
| Paul Kirk | North Down CC | 10 | ||
| Kieran Beattie | North Down CC | 10 |
Thanks to everyone who made it such an enjoyable event tonight, and we look forward to welcoming you to Carrowdore for the third round of the ICL next Tuesday.
Good to see the strong showing of Ards CC riders this evening :-)