Markievicz Cup 2011

1 Kenneth Berry Lakeside Wheelers
2 Ger Corcoran Covey Wheelers
3 Paul Kehoe Innisfree Wheelers
4 Mark Kiernan Kilcullen CC
5 Patrick Mc Laughlin North Pole CC
6 Dinny Doherty Four Masters

50 years after Joe Fahy of Galway won the Inaugural edition of the Markievicz Cup 65 riders lined up on the start line in Coolaney Sligo for the Eire Og Racing Teams first open race of the season. Lining up for the Eire Og squad were Basil Freeman, Colm Casey, Jason Mc Morrow & past winner Michael Devins. Amongst the stronger riders on the start line were 3 past winners, Frank Barrett of Galway Bay, Ray Dunlop of Lakeland CC & Michael Devins from the Eire Og team, other riders with their eye on the trophy were Mick Brady of Covey Wheelers, Mark Kiernan of Kilcullen CC & ex U23 National Champion Mark Quigley of Western Lakes CC.

The race was split into 3 groups for 6 laps of a 14km circuit which although relatively flat in profile was described by a lot of the riders as very tough due to the rough road surface on much of the course. The first group to hit the road consisted of A4 category riders including Jason Mc Morrow, Gary Higgins & Paul Kehoe. 6 minutes later the A3 riders took off with Freeman & Casey of the Eire Og squad in the midst of the largest staring group. Last off were the A2 riders with a total deficit of 8 minutes to make up on the front group.

Lap 1 saw the fireworks start in group 1 with 4 riders forging ahead. Among these were Sligo riders Gary Higgins & Paul Kehoe. These 4 riders put the head down and settled into a nice rhythm with each rider taking their turn on the front. With 1 lap covered the leaders had taken 2 minutes out of their A4 comrades and had held the A3 group at 6 minutes. Meanwhile the A2 group were driving hard and with some powerful work from Devins had taken their deficit to the A3 group down to 40 seconds. Lap 2 saw the two back groups coming together which caused a stall in the group as the 4 leaders kept their lead at over 6 minutes as they started lap 3. The remnants of the A4 group including Jason Mc Morrow were riding hard to fend off the clutches of the main bunch but were fighting a losing battle with the wind making life very difficult for them. Lap 3 & 4 saw the leaders continue to work well together and with 2 laps remaining they still held a sizeable lead of 3 minutes over the main bunch. At this point the touch paper was lit as the bunch decided it was time to start riding, numerous attacks off the front eventually formed an escape group with notable riders such as Brady and Quigley included. Devins, Freeman & Casey rode strongly in the main field to bridge back up to this escape group and made contact while starting the 6th and final lap.

Crossing the line for the penultimate time the lead group had been reduced to 3 riders with Gary Higgins faltering and being swallowed up by the chasing peloton. Their lead was also reduced, measured at 1:20 with 1 lap to go things were not looking good. Nevertheless the 3 riders rode a blinder and entered the final 500 meters with 10 seconds to spare over the fast approaching bunch. On the uphill drag to the finish Kenneth Berry of Lakeside Wheelers took the victory and edged Ger Corcoran into 2nd place. In 3rd place was Paul Kehoe of the Innisfree club, a great performance from Paul and surely a sign of good things to come. Mark Kiernan of Kilcullen managed to escape the bunch on the finishing drag and took 4th place followed 5 seconds later by Pat Mc Loughlin of North Pole and Dinny Donnelly of Four Masters. Freeman, Devins and Casey all finished safely in the bunch but after expending a lot of energy chasing the break none had the legs to get amongst the prizes.

Notable performances on the day came from Gary Higgins & Jason Mc Morrow, both riding in their first open racing event. With a few more races and experience under their belts both riders are capable of achieving some quality results. Also competing in the Markievicz Cup were newly formed Bottecchia cycling club with Stephen Mullane, Brian Sexton & Ronan Mc Namara all putting in respectable performances.

Thanks to all our race marshals and drivers without whose help our races would not be possible. Thanks also to Coolaney Community Centre for the use of their facilities.

Markievicz Cup 2011
1 Kenneth Berry Lakeside Wheelers
2 Ger Corcoran Covey Wheelers
3 Paul Kehoe Innisfree Wheelers
4 Mark Kiernan Kilcullen CC
5 Patrick Mc Laughlin North Pole CC
6 Dinny Doherty Four Masters

Next week sees the Eire Og squad return to the hills of Donegal for the 4 stage Ras Donegal which finishes on Sunday evening on the backbreaking ascent of one of Irelands most fearsome climbs Glengesh Pass. Stay tuned to our website for all the latest news, racing pictures and details of our upcoming Bicycle Film Festival taking place during National Bike Week, www.eireogcycling.com

Markievicz Cup
Coolaney
Co. Sligo

Saturday May 28th
Sign on at Coolaney Community Centre from 12.30, race starts at 2pm
80km handicap road race
6 x 13.5 km lap
Open to A2,A3,A4 including Juniors, Vets & Ladies who hold a license of the appropriate category.