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The Cyclo-cross National Series headed west over the October bank holiday weekend, as Western Lakes CC hosted Round 2 in Clonbur, Co. Galway.

Wet and windy weather in the leadup to the weekend made for incredibly challenging conditions on race day. The continued strong winds and heavy rain on race day never stopped over 160 competitors battling it out for National Series Points.

Kilcullen’s Tadhg Killeen continued his impressive start to the Cyclo-cross season as he took his second Senior win of the year, cementing himself at the top of the National Series standings. He was joined on the podium by St. Finbarr’s Richard Barry in second and All human/Velo Revolution rider Timothy O’Regan in third, as the day’s podium mirrored the current overall standings.

The women took to the course in a mixed field, with Senior, Junior and Masters all competing at the same time. Orwell’s Caoimhe May took the win, and was followed by Junior rider Aoife O’Donovan from Dungarvan CC in second and Harps CC Elena Wallace in third. Sunday’s win sees May extend her lead at the top of the overall standings, with just one point separating Elena Wallace and Scott Racing’s Stephanie Roche in second and third respectively.

Verge Sport PI Cycles’ Hugh Og Mulhearne placed himself atop the Junior Category standings taking the win ahead of Greenmount’s Ciaran O’Sullivan and Newcastle West’s John O’Mahony. O’Sullivan now sits second in the standings behind Mulhearne, trailed by Round One winner Curtis McKee from Spellman-Dublin Port in third.

The M40 category saw Orwell’s Ronan O’Flynn take the win over Trevor Costello from Islandeady CC, and Kevin Keane from St. Tiernans in second and third respectively. Making the podium in Round 2 sees O’Flynn and Costello top the overall standings, with Team WORC rider Evan Ryan sitting third.

Barry Convery of Newry Wheelers took the win in the M50 category, and was followed by Strabane Lifford CC rider Jay McCauley in second and Gaeltacht.cc’s Padraic Quinn in third. Consistent results in the opening two rounds see Convery and McCauley sit atop the series standings, joined by Brian O’Connor from Lucan Cycling Road Club in third.

The M60 race was dominated by Cuchulainn CC rider Johnny McCabe, as he took the win over Ballina’s Michael Hopkins in second and Galway Bay’s Glenn Watson in third. Back-to-back wins to start the series leave Johnny McCabe leading the series standings. Hopkins and Kevin McDowell sit tied in second, trailed by Watson.

VC Glendale’s Caleb McGreevy took the win in the U16 Boys race, while mere seconds separated Fermoy’s Shane O’Brien and Kilcullen’s Conor Regan in second and third respectively. The overall standings now mirror the podium from Round 2, with McGreevy leading O’Brien and Regan.

A very tight race played out in the U16 Girls race, which saw TC Racing’s Naoise Byrne narrowly beat Orwell’s Katie Turner. Turner currently sits atop the overall standings ahead of Byrne in second and All human/VeloRevolution rider Emer Heverin in third.

The U14 Boys race saw Team WORC rider James Cunningham take the win ahead of Rory McCool from Square Wheels and Tomás Connolly from Orwell Wheelers in third. The overall standings again reflect the podium here, with Cunningham leading McCool and Connolly.

The U14 Girls category saw Breffni Wheelers rider Ava Baker run away with the win, ahead of TC’s Lilly McDermott and Drogheda Wheelers Ciara O’Connor. Her win helped Baker stay top of the overall standings, trailed by McDermott in second and IMBRC rider Laoise Crinion in third.

Fabian Drwal took the win in the U12 Boys race over Orwell’s Daniel O’Sullivan in second and Fermoy’s Max McGrath in third, while in the Girls race Square Wheels’ Aoife Campbell beat out Orwell’s Molly Turner and Sliabh Luachra’s Caroline Collins in second and third respectively.

Orwell Wheelers’ Jaxon Jennings went away with the win in the U10 Boys race, beating Ilkeston’s Lorcan Lamont and Lakeland’s James Kavanagh. The Girls race saw Marian Mulvaney from Sliabh Luachra cross the line first ahead of Square Wheels riders Ríonach Campbell in second and Ciara McCool in third.

Local rider Evan McTavish from Western Lakes took the win in the U8 Boys race. He beat Orwell’s Fiachra Connolly in second and Square Wheels’ Noah Finnegan in third. Aoibhín Collins won the U8 Girls race, with Skylabelle Oakley from Galway MTB in second and Elisa Tyszecka in third.

Full results from Round 2 are available HERE, while overall series standings are available HERE.

The National Series next heads to Tipperary as Upperchurch Drombane CC host Round 3 in Thurles on Sunday, 24^th of November.