EIRE OG CYCLING CLUB

This weekend the Martin Cadden Eire Og Cycling Club will host the Irish Cycling Championships. The Championships will cover all facets of cycle racing with junior riders, ladies, vets and elite professional cyclists taking part over the weekend. Also in the mix for the medals will be Irelands Paralympics athletes who will be participating in the tandem and time trial events. Eire Og are no strangers to the organisation of top level racing. With over 50 years experience in the sport the Eire Og have hosted National Championship races in Sligo on no fewer than 3 occasions in recent times. In 2004 Mayo rider David O Loughlin took the honours ahead of David Mc Cann and Nicolas Roche, while the previous year local rider Mark Scanlon decimated the field to take the win ahead of Denis Lynch and David O Loughlin. The Road Championships were also held in Sligo in the mid 1970's. Shay O Hanlon of Clann Bruagh took the honours ahead of Noel Clarke of Navan Road Club.

This year’s elite race is promising to be the most hotly contested and exciting championships in recent years with all of the winners from the last 10 years, except for Scanlon, entered and rearing to go. The shamrock jersey of Irish National Champion is a very distinctive jersey and brings lots of publicity to the team of any rider wearing it. Last year it was proudly worn in the Tour De France by Nicolas Roche, son of 1987 Tour winner Stephen. This year Roche is hoping to retain his status as Irish champ and bring the shamrock jersey back to the Tour de France which starts next week. Roche is already confirmed to ride the Tour this year, a sure sign that his form is good after recently completing the Tour de Suisse and figuring prominently on most of the stages. He is most certainly the hot favourite for the road race on his current form and the fact that he is one of the few Irish riders competing at Pro tour level means that the distance of the race and the back breaking Tully Hill will be no major obstacle to him.

One major obstacle he will have to overcome is his cousin Daniel Martin who rides with the Garmin Transitions team. Martin was the 2008 road race champ and has just completed the Giro d’Italia, which the organisers this year lauded as being tougher than the Tour de France. Martin displayed his power and class last weekend in Dublin at the Halfords city centre race where he rode away from a high class field of riders and crossed the line alone 30 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. The steep climb on Tully Hill will suit Martins style of riding but will he have the raw power to keep it going on the flat roads back into the finish line at Sligo. Only time will tell.

Not to be forgotten is 2004 & 2005 champ David O Loughlin. Two tears after competing on the track at the Beijing Olympics O Loughlin is concentrating on the road this year. Only a few weeks ago O Loughlin wore the pink Jersey as best climber in the FBD Ras and took a fine stage win into Oughterard after spending almost 100 miles in the escape group that day. Like Martin, O Loughlin also competed in the Halfords Tour Series last weekend. He displayed his pursuit skills in Belfast when he rode away from the bunch with 3 laps to go and increased his lead all the way to the line. O Loughlins An Post Sean Kelly squads team mates Mark Cassidy and Connor Mc Convey are also in fine form with both riders fresh from a successful campaign in the Ras.

Some of the up and coming young riders in the Irish peloton could also pull off a surprise win on the day. Most notable should be Charles Prendergast of Black Rose Racing Team, last year’s Junior Champion and Sam Bennett from Tipperary now riding with VC La Pomme in Marseille. VC La Pomme have produced quite a few top notch professional riders from their ranks including Roche, Martin, Mark Scanlon and Donegal rider Philip Deignan. Bennett won a stage in last year’s FBD Ras while still a first year senior and is possibly the youngest rider to win a stage of the Ras. He has a super sprint finish so could be worth a bet if it comes down to a sprint finish.

Keep an eye out also for David Mc Cann riding for Giant and the Lacey boys riding with The Edge Sports team are in good form at the moment.

Local interest in the elite race focuses on Newry Based Desi Foley. Foley spent many years with the Eire Og squad but now rides in the colours of Newry Wheelers. Foley has been climbing well of late and took the Climbers Jersey in Ras Donegal in June. The Sligo course will suit Foleys riding style and it would be great to see Desi amongst the prizes on Sunday.

Apart from the main event on Sunday the Ladies and Veterans have their own Championships on Saturday. Last year’s ladies champ Heather Wilson will be looking to make it two in a row but Siobhan Horgan and Olivia Dillon who are both past Irish champions will have something to say about that. The vet’s race also features a few past champs. Rory Wyley of Carrick Wheelers is the current Cycling Ireland President and Irish Vets champ and assures me that he is all set to retain his Jersey for another year. He brings a very strong Carrick team to Sligo with him which includes ex Irish international rider Martin O Loughlin and the evergreen Sean Mc Ilroy. Colm Bracken of Kilcullen is another vet who is going well at the moment and would be in with a chance if it is a sprint finish. Eire Og have a strong team also in the Vets race with Basil Freeman, Alex Carey and Michael Devins spearheading the charge. Local knowledge of the tough course in Ballymote will be a huge advantage for the boys and team sponsor Martin Cadden has promised a huge party on Saturday night if one of his riders pull off the big one.

The Time Trial championships will be held in Collooney on Thursday evening with first rider off at 7.01. The elite riders will ride 2 laps of the Sligo Collooney dual carriageway to determine this year’s TT champ. Last year’s winners at elite and ladies levels are confirmed for the event and this evening promises to be a display of power and style as the riders duke it out on the roads of Sligo. Local riders Devins and Carey who have both been displaying their prowess in the Sligo tri Club league will be able to test their strength against TT specialists such as David Mc Cann, Aaron Buggle, Stephen Lynch and favourite for the ladies event Caroline Ryan of Garda CC.

Come out and support the riders over the weekend and make sure to give them a huge cheer when passing. Time trial starts at Collooney, Thursday 24th at 7pm. Ladies & Vets races start at Collooney, Saturday 25th at 11am. The main event, the elite pro race starts on Markievicz Road, Sligo at 1pm Sunday 27th June. More info can be found on our website www.irishcyclingchamps.com