Daire Feeley and Fiona Mangan head towards next weekend’s national championships road races with a morale boost after winning the men’s and women’s National Road Series for 2021. Both performed well in Sunday’s final round, the Des Hanlon Memorial in Carlow, and were able to savour their series success.
Feeley won the sprint for second place after the 133 kilometre men’s Des Hanlon race was dominated by Chris McGlinchey. The Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus rider went clear with approximately 100 kilometres to go with two other riders, namely former race winner Mark Dowling (All human-VeloRevolution) and Joel Luke (UCD Cycling Club). McGlinchey subsequently struck out alone approximately 30 kilometres later and soloed to a very impressive victory.
He was chased hard by a group which almost overhauled him by the line. Feeley (All human-VeloRevolution) won the sprint for second ahead of Matthew Devins (Trinity Racing) and Liam Curley (Spellman Dublin Port). Feeley had enough of a buffer in the National Road Series points standings as not to be threatened by McGlinchey; he finished well clear, 170 points to McGlinchey’s 134, with Luke Smith (Moynalty CC) and Curley on 124 and 122 respectively.
Feeley celebrated the series win while also looking ahead to next weekend’s national championships road race in Wicklow.
“This league awards consistency and luckily, I had that,” he said. “After today I got a good bit of conditioning for next Sunday at the National Championships and hopefully we can do some sort of a result. It is difficult, we’ll have our work cut out for us with the big boys over for it but we’ll play it cute and see what happens.”
Meanwhile Mangan also finished well ahead in the women’s National Road Series, although she had to race hard to safeguard her lead after three riders got clear. Caoimhe O’Brien (Torelli-Assure-Cayman Islands-Scimitar), Lydia Boylan (Unattached) and Becky Woods (All human-VeloRevolution) fended off a chase behind to reach the line just ahead of the bunch in the women’s Des Hanlon Memorial. O’Brien beat Boylan and Woods in the sprint, while Mangan was best of those behind to net fourth.
The Greenmount CA rider finished the National Road Series with 197 points, 27 more than Woods. O’Brien was on 155 points with Darcey Harkness fourth on 116.
“I am so happy to take the jersey,” said Mangan. “Today was a great race. It was a bit slow at the start but once the hills came the girls just kept attacking which was brilliant. It definitely put us to the test.
“I am really happy, coming off Rás na mBan it was really good to get a bit of racing before the National Championships next week. I am just so happy to keep the jersey and it’s a great way to finish off the season.”
On Sunday, Matthew Teggart showed impressive form in advance of the national road race championships when he finished second in the Classique Puisaye-Forterre in Toucy, Yonne, France.
The race was won by Frenchman Rémi Huens (V.C.Rouen 76). Teggart won the sprint from a large chase group two seconds later. It followed on from his 11th place on Saturday in the Paris-Chalette-Vierzon race, and his win earlier this month in the Shay Elliott Memorial.
Cycling Ireland National Road Series
Men: 1 Daire Feeley (All human-VeloRevolution), 170 points, 2 C McGlinchey (Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus) 134, 3 L Smith (Moynalty CC) 124, 4 L Curley (Spellman-Dublin Port) 122
Women: 1 Fiona Mangan (Greenmount CA) 197 points, 2 B Woods (All human-VeloRevolution) 170, 3 C O’Brien (Torelli-Assure-Cayman Islands-Scimitar) 155, 4 D Harkness (VC Glendale) 116
Des Hanlon Memorial, Carlow
Senior Men: 1 Chris McGlinchey (Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus), 2 D Feeley (All human-VeloRevolution), 3 M Devins (Trinity Racing), 4 L Curley (Spellman Dublin Port)
Senior Women: 1 Caoimhe O’Brien (Torelli-Assure-Cayman Islands-Scimitar), 2 L Boylan (Unattached), 3 B Woods (All human-VeloRevolution), $ F Mangan (Greenmount CA)
Cycling Ireland national championships, The Beehive, Wicklow
Thursday: Time trial for senior, under 23, junior, masters and paracycling rider. Racing starts at 10 am.
Saturday: Junior men’s road race, 96km, starts 9am. Senior and master’s women road race, 93km, starts 1pm.
Sunday: Junior women’s road race, 77km starts 9am. Senior and under 23 men’s road race, 160km, starts at noon.
Classique Puisaye-Forterre, Saint-Fargeau to Toucy, France
1 Rémi Huens (V.C.Rouen 76) 160 kilometres in 3 hours 33 mins 37 secs, 2 M Teggart (V.C.Villefranche Beaujolais) at 2, 3 M Jarnet (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), 4 H Theot (USSA Pavilly Barentin), 5 G Ballabio (Charvieu-Chavagneux IC) all same time
Paris-Chalette-Vierzon
1 Kevin Avoine (CC Nogent Oise) 181.1 kilometres in 4 hours 6 mins 13 secs, 2 K Le Cunff (Dunkerque Grand Littoral) at 1, 3 M Mace Paris (Cyclisme Olympique), 4 T Chassagne (Team Pro Immo) at 2, 5 T Morichon (AMC Besancon) at 4
Irish: 11 M Teggart (VC Villefranche Beaujolais)
Armagh City cyclists road race
1 Christopher Donald (Spellman Dublin Port), 2 K Ryan (Four Masters CC), 3 J Meehan (VC Glendale), 4 F Byrne (Ballymena RC), 5 D Spalding (North Down CC)
Noel & Kieran Hammond TT, Roundwood, Co Wicklow
1 Conor Verbruggen (Bray Wheelers) 32.5 kilometres in 46.38, 2 G Swinand (Dan Morrissey-MIG-Pactimo) 47.19, 3 I Donnelly (Orwell Wheelers) 48.06,
4 J Sheehy (Bray Wheelers) 49.38, 5 K O’Neill (Orwell Wheelers) 50.12
Women: 1 Jenny Neenan (UVCA Troyes) 56.48, 2 S White (Sorrento CC) 58.59, 3 L Harrington (SERC) 62.52
Team: Bray (Verbruggen, Sheehy, Magee, 2.27.49)
Unplaced A2: Ben Delaney (Sundrive Track Team) 51.22
Unplaced A3: 1 Pat Byrne (Dublin Wheelers) 51.15, 2 D Griffin (Orwell
Wheelers) 51.38, 3 S Allis (Clonakilty CC) 53.15
Unplaced A4: 1 Rob Magee (Bray Wheelers) 51.33, 2 I Devlin (Orwell
Wheelers) 52.35, 3 G Kearney (Willow Wheelers) 52.44
Junior: Luke Bernie (Navan RC) 56.56
Under 16: David Harrington (Orwell Wheelers) 58.43
Last Chance Road Race, Cloncagh, Co Limerick
A1-A2-A3-Jun event: 1 Cillian Murphy (Galway Bay CC), 2 A Wade (Powerhouse Sport), 3 S Caulfield-Dreier (Killarney Cycling Club)
Unplaced A3: David Culloty (Killarney Cycling Club) Unplaced Junior: Matt Griffin (O’Leary Stone Kanturk)
Masters-Women’s race: 1 Marcin Mizgajski (Rossbury Racing), 2 E Stankevicius (Greenmount CA), 3 D O’Carroll (Chain Gang Cycling Club)
Leading Woman: Linda Kelly (Barrow Wheelers)
Limerick County Championships
Masters 40: 1 Evaldas Stankevicius (Greenmount CA), 2 D Culhane (Newcastle West Cycling Club), 3 P O’Connell (Blarney Cycling Club)
Masters 50-60: 1 Shane Courtney (Tralee Manor West BC), 2 B Murphy (Kilmallock CC), 3 L Flanagan (Kilmallock CC)
Women’s Championships: 1 Autumn Collins (AWOL O’Shea), 2 S Kennedy (Greenmount CA)
