Fascinating Ballygowan Road Race

admin   August 5, 2025   Comments Off on Fascinating Ballygowan Road Race

<DNF (did not finish) riders added – they get 10 ICL points>

With a hilly course and a fresh breeze, tonight’s club road race (and ICL round 5) was always going to be tough. And so it proved.

The riders were split into 3 groups, with the small limit group getting a 5 minute start on the main group, and a strong scratch group a further 1:40 back. By the end of the first (of four) laps, the groups had split to pieces. Paul Keary (Crossgar CC) was almost a minute clear of the next limit group rider. Nine riders from the middle group were next, working well together and closing to 3:50 behind Paul. Next was last week’s winner Neil McKenna (AHC Racing) who had left the scratch group and already caught and passed the rest of the middle group, to sit 5 minutes behind Paul. The remainder of the middle and scratch group riders were already spread over a further 2 minutes.

By half distance, the nine middle markers had closed to 2:10 behind Paul. Neil had only managed to close another 10 seconds on the hard working nine, and behind him some of the other scratch riders were starting to get organised into more serious looking chase groups.

With one lap to go, Paul was still hanging on out front, but had just 10 seconds on the 9 middle markers. Neil was working hard, but was still a minute further back. James Alexander (McConvey Cycles) and Marc Allen (AHC Racing) were the next of the scratch group, but they were now a further 1:10 behind Neil.

On the final lap, the 9 amigos caught Paul and eventually split up, with Richard Topping (Killinchy CC) coming in just ahead of ever greens Paul Kane (Northern CC) and Chris Richardson (Killinchy CC). It was great to see junior rider Ryan Kane (Northern CC) maintain the Kane family tradition by finishing a strong fourth. And brave Paul Keary held out to take fifth.  Here’s the full result.

  Name Club Time ICL Place ICL Pts
1 Richard Topping Killinchy CC 1:06:38    
2 Paul Kane Northern CC st    
3 Chris Richardson Killinchy CC      
4 Ryan Kane Northern CC      
5 Paul Keary Crossgar CC 1:06:50    
6 Aaron Fegan North Down CC 1:07:20 1 30
7 Ben Healey Ards CC st 2 29
8 Will Greig North Down CC st 3 28
9 Phil Harris Killinchy CC st    
10 Neil McKenna AHC Racing 1:07:58    
11 James Alexander McConvey Cycles 1:09:28    
12 Marc Allen AHC Racing st    
13 Ryan Calvert Killinchy CC 1:09:48    
14 Jamie Clarke North Down CC 1:10:40 4 27
15 Keith Hooks North Down CC st 5 26
16 Ian Carson Ards CC st 6 25
17 Richard McKeown North Down CC st 7 24
18 David Forbes Crossgar CC 1:12:00    
19 Adrian Moore North Down CC 1:12:14 8 23
20 Andy Allen Ards CC st 9 22
21 Simon McMorran Crossgar CC st    
22 Dean Bradley Ards CC st 10 21
23 William Larmour Ards CC st 11 20
24 Gareth McBride North Down CC st 12 19
25 Michael Mulvenna North Down CC st 13 18
26 Kevin Briggs Ards CC 1:12:32 14 17
27 Owen Bryne North Down CC 1:12:50 15 16
28 Mark Hodgins North  Down CC 1:13:15 16 15
  Jonathan Taylor North Down CC DNF   10
  Alex Bell North Down CC DNF   10
  Simon Ridings Ards CC DNF   10

In the battle for ICL points, Aaron Fegan (North Down CC) took the top honours, but Jamie Clarke (North Down CC)  took fourth to slightly extend his lead overall. With just one round remaining next Wednesday, and with a rider’s 5 best results from the 6 rounds to count, there is still all to play for. Here are the current ICL league standings.

Name Club 29-Apr 28-May 02-Jul 29-Jul 05-Aug Total
1 Jamie Clarke North Down CC 25 30 28 27 27 137
2 Ian Carson Ards CC 28 26 27 25 25 131
3 Keith Hooks North Down CC 27 21 30 26 26 130
4 William Larmour Ards CC 24 28 26 22 20 120
5 Alex Bell North Down CC 22 29 24 28 10 113
6 Glen Curry North Down CC 29 25 29 18 101
7 Ben Healey Ards CC 23 25 20 29 97
8 Aaron Fegan North Down CC 21 23 16 30 90
9 Owen Byrne North Down CC 13 22 17 15 16 83
10 Jonathan Taylor North Down CC 19 27 21 10 77
11 Kirk Sloan North Down CC 20 24 29 73
12 Kevin Briggs Ards CC 18 22 14 17 71
13 Adrian Moore North Down CC 17 19 10 23 69
14= Dean Bradley Ards CC 16 21 10 21 68
14= Gareth Mc Bride North Down CC 26 23 19 68
16 Mark Hodgins North Down CC 17 16 13 15 61
17 Richard Mc Keown North Down CC 12 16 24 52
18 Will Greig North Down CC 23 28 51
19 Stephen Green North Down CC 10 11 13 12 46
20 Andrew Allen Ards CC 19 22 41
21= Jemma Speers North Down CC 20 19 39
21= Richard Hanna Ards CC 10 15 14 39
23= Robert McGarry North Down CC 14 20 34
23= Simon Ridings Ards CC 24 10 34
25 Roman Sarvas Ards CC 15 18 33
26= Barry Mitchell Ards CC 30 30
26= Kieran McKenna Ards CC 30 30
28 Paul Kirk North Down CC 10 18 28
29 Gillian Orr Ards CC 10 15 25
30= Simon Reardon North Down CC 10 13 23
30= William Orr Ards CC 11 12 23
32 Yeston Smith North Down CC 12 10 22
33 Colin Wilson Ards CC 10 11 21
34 Michael Mulvenna North Down CC 18 18
35 Daniel McManus Ards CC 17 17
36 Michael Rowan Ards CC 14 14
37 Tom Henry North Down CC 11 11
38= Gordon Mc Ewen Ards CC 10 10
38= Jack Logan North Down CC 10 10

Thanks to all the marshals, lead motor bike, handicappers, timekeepers and judges.

And if you see any mistakes or errors please let us know. The only thing harder than handicapping these races is trying to capture every finisher 🙂