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Spectators were treated to a brilliant two days of racing at Verge Cross Clonmel on the 12^th and 13^th of October as riders battled it out for coveted UCI points. Sunday saw three UCI level races, with Junior Men, a combined field for Junior and Elite Women, and Elite Men taking centre stage.

Spellman-Dublin Port rider Curtis McKee stormed to a win in the Junior Men race, with second place Ryan Daly of Scott Racing IRL chasing hard for the full five laps. A strong performance from Verge Sport PI Cycles rider Hugh Og Mulhearne saw him claim third place.

McKee said afterwards, ‘”earlier in practice and this morning it was wet and greasy, some water on the track, but it seemed to dry out, and made for a really fast course.” 

A combined field for the Elite and Junior Women saw an incredibly strong performance from Greta Lawless. A three-way battle over the first two laps between Lawless and two Spectra riders, Katie Scott and Hope Inglis, ended in a sprint finish between Lawless and Inglis, with Lawless coming out on top.

The 17-year-old Lawless said afterwards, “I really enjoyed battling with Hope and the sprint finish, really close racing as it’s a UCI race. The course was really fast but had some really techy bits in the forest, I really enjoyed it.”

Lawless, riding for Team WORC, took the win in both the Elite and Junior categories in this combined field, with Spectra’s Hope Inglis and Katie Scott taking second and third respectively. The junior podium saw Lawless joined by Dungarvan’s Aoife O’Donovan in second and TC Racing’s Rhiannon Dolan in third.

Spectra’s Jenson Young jumped out to an early lead in the Elite Men’s category. Behind him, Kilcullen’s Tadhg Killeen gave chase, before a front puncture meant a bike change was necessary interrupted his race. Spellman-Dublin Port rider Travis Harkness made the most of his rival’s misfortune and charged into second place. Harkness would hold on to take second behind Young, with Killeen coming in third.

Afterwards, Young also praised the fast course as a “Really fast course, [with] really fast racing, really fast competition. A hard day on the bike but really glad to win my first UCI race.”

Saturday saw youth and support races take place, while Sunday played host to M40, M50 and M60 categories, as well as the Men’s Junior race, Men’s Elite race and a combined Women’s field.

Racing on Saturday at the Clonmel Racecourse, Co. Tipperary, at 10.30am with the U6 race. Eight boys and eight girls lined up for the one-lap race on a shortened course.

The U8 riders completed three laps on the same shortened course. Teddy Lyons won the Boys’ race ahead of Orwell’s Fiachra Connolly, with Rian O’Sullivan finishing third. Elisa Tyszecka crossed the line third overall, winning the Girls’ race. She was followed by Aoibhín Collins in second, with Clonmel’s Maggie May Kennedy finishing third.

A slightly longer course for the U10 race saw Orwell Wheelers’s Jaxon Jennings lead from the start and take the win in the five lap Boys’ race. Lakeland CC rider James Kavanagh crossed the line second, with another Orwell rider, Oliver O’Sullivan, finishing third. The Girls’ race was won by Marian Mulvaney from Sliabh Luachra CC, and she was followed by Square Wheels’ Ciara McCool and Conmel’s Amelia O’Loughlin took second and third respectively.

The U12 race saw Orwell Wheelers’ Benjamin Cunningham lead for the first two of three laps, chased hard by Shelbourne/Orchard CC’s Lewis Bell. A mechanical for Cunningham on the final lap saw Bell take the win, followed by Fermoy’s Max McGrath and Orwell’s Tadhg Connolly, as Cunningham ultimately ended up fourth. Orwell Wheelers’ Molly Turner took the win in the Girls’ race, trailed by two Sliabh Luachra riders in Caroline Collins and Cara O’Sullivan in second and third respectively.

The U14 and U16 girls ran a combined field, and raced hard over three laps. A sprint finish saw Emer Heverin from All Human/Velo Revolution pip Orwell’s Katie Turner for the win ahead of Panduit Carrick Wheelers’ Orla Mulhearne in third. Breffini Wheelers’ rider Ava Baker took the win in the U14 category, ahead of Laoise Crinion of IMBRC in second and Ciara O’Connor of Drogheda Wheelers in third.

The U14 and U16 Boy’s also ran a combined field. The U16 race was won by Fermoy’s Shane O’Brien, followed closely by VC Glendale’s Caleb McGreevy, as Conor Regan from Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial rounded out the podium. James Cunningham from Team WORC stormed to the win in the U14 race, as Rory McCool from Square Wheels took second, with Orwell Wheelers’ Tomás Connolly taking third.

The Open and Women’s support race rounded out the day’s action in a combined field. Diarmuid O’Brien from All Human/Velo Revolution Racing took the win in the Open category, ahead of Sliabh Luachra’s Nicholas James Buckley and EPIC MTB Expert Cycles took second and third respectively. Midleton CTC’s Sally Drennan took the win in the Women’s support race, beating out Diane Behan from Dungarvan CC in second and Sinead Rock from South-East Road Club in third.

Prior to the UCI races, Sunday’s card got underway with the M50 and M60 races. The M60 win was taken by Chuchulainn CC’s Johnny McCabe, ahead of Verge Sport PI Cycles Paul Birchall and De Ronde Van Cork CC rider Michael Corkery. Emyvale’s Declan McEntee took the win in the M50 class, beating Jason Henry riding with Inspired Cycling in second and Declan Hanrahan of Panduit Carrick Wheelers in third.

Full results from Saturday are available HERE, and full results from Sunday are available HERE.