THE closing date for entries for the three day Tour of Ulster is not until April 12th but the organiser, Pat Clarke, has appealed to those who intend taking part on May 4th-6th to enter much sooner.
"I have inquiries in from a total of 17 teams from England, Scotland, Jersey and the Isle of Man, so I am likely to have a full complement well before the closing date," Clarke said.
"I set the limit at 120, and, although I could manage just a few more, there may be entries in from up to 80 visitors and that would not leave room for all the FIC members wanting to come. And there will also be accommodation difficulties along the route, so I'll have to get the entries in much earlier than intended."
This is the 40th year of the Tour of Ulster, and it is switched from Easter to the May holiday weekend. With Lisnaskea the starting point, the route takes in Monaghan, Aughnacloy, Ballyshannon and Bundoran. Entries must go to Clarke at 106 Sligo Road, Enniskillen.
After the first three weeks of the season, the distances of some races are increased this weekend. There are also the first events listed for the under 16, 14 and 12 brigades; and the mountain bike programme gets under way with the MAD promotion in the Phoenix Park on Sunday.
In addition to the Mid Eastern Region's (MER) league race tomorrow, the Tour of Ards is at Newtownards. The MER league fixture, originally listed for Leixlip, has been switched to the north county Dublin circuit, with the start and finish behind the airport.
On Sunday, Drogheda Wheelers have a programme for all grades, starting with the underage races at noon. The Coombes Connor memorial for first and second category licence holders is at 1.0pm. Juniors, third category and veterans are also catered for.
Newry Wheelers have their Haldane memorial handicap at Warrenpoint, while Kanturk is the venue for the Duhallow Wheelers Hi Volt Grand Prix.
National team director Alasdair MacLennan will be announcing the four man Irish selection for the next international engagement, the Girvan race in Scotland at Easter, after the weekend races.
Now that Richie McCauley has decided to switch to the mountain bike scene, it will be interesting to see how he fares against Robin Seymour in the Phoenix Park on Sunday. It is over the usual course at the Magazine Fort, near Islandbridge gates.
Martin Earley, who will lead the Irish challenge in the Olympic mountain bike race in Atlanta contests a two day road race this weekend at Portsmouth. But then he will be concentrating on the mountain bike events, starting with the English East Midlands promotion at Mansfield on March 31st.
Earley's list of assignments next month includes the BMBF series at Margham in Wales at Easter, followed by world cup races in Lisbon, on April 14th, and Houffalize, in Belgium, and St Wendel, in Germany, on the following weekends.
Alastair Martin and Robin Seymour are listed for those events too and, now that McCauley has signified his intentions regarding mountain bike competition, he will be trying for good placings at those venues as well.
. Sunday is the closing date for entries for the AMEV Irish Roads Club's Easter three day race from Tallaght to Gorey and back. Inquiries to Sam Darcy, 59 The Crescent, Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght, Dublin 24.
