Dane And Dusted Again For Dunlop
Road Race 7 on Wednesday 12th August 2009
The riders of the Lakeland club descended on the village of Tempo on Wednesday last for round seven of the Pauley Cable Jointing Road Race League. This was a 35 mile, five lap race over the Tempo circuit taking in the junctions of Tullyreagh Ashbrooke and Creagh.
With the series coming to a close, this was the penultimate chance to gain points towards the championship with the winner yet to be decided.
The 21 man field were split into three groups each separated by three minutes. The club regulars were joined by new men Ray Kerr, Jac Joel, and juniors Lloyd Seaman and James Stephens as well as riders from Omagh Wheelers and Fintona CC.
The first group away contained the new riders and juniors along with old hand and Ulster junior coach Ken Dunlop. Next off at three minute gaps was the largest group containing Lakeland men Neil Armstrong, Sean Fee, Wesley Foster, Mark Kavanagh, Kenny Donnell and William Dunlop as well as sponsor Ray Pauley and the recovering John McManus. They were joined in this group by the in-form Fintona rider Fergus McGirr, Eugene Power and Vincent McCarron from Omagh Wheelers.
Last but by no means least came the scratch trio of Kenny Boylan, Dane Dunlop and Raymond Dunlop with a six minute deficit to make up.
By the end of the first lap the limit group had closed the gap to the front group to less than a minute. This big group of strong riders had made it hard for the scratch riders to make inroads who had taken little or no advantage and the three musketeers had gained only 40 seconds over the eight miles. It was clear it would be a tall order for them to overcome the rest. This was compounded on the next lap when Raymond Dunlop dropped out suffering a return of the heart condition which saw him sit out the latter half of the last season.
Nonetheless the fearless scratch duo pushed on with Boylan and Dunlop jr doing their best to close the deficit which they appeared to be doing by the end of lap four. By this stage the front group and limit group had joined forces and through hard work on the front from all concerned they tried to maintain the gap but in vain.
All came together on the last lap, but Dane gave no one the chance to gain their breath as he attacked with about a mile to go on a lone break up the road making a gap of about 30 metres. The next came from John McManus who attacked and broke clear of the bunch at the bottom of the finish climb.
On the line it was Dane who took the win from John McManus with the bunch closing fast. The final place on the podium and winner of the bunch sprint went to Fergus (the pocket rocket) McGirr of Fintona CC.
Best of the rest was Neil (first man on the col) Armstrong closely followed by Mark Kavanagh, Eugene Power, William Dunlop, and Sean Fee. Kenny Donnell and Ray Pauley rounded out the top ten.
A big word of thanks have to go to the marshals on the night as we know without them there would be no racing at all. One special word of thanks must go to a real lady who celebrated a recent momentous birthday, Geraldine Lyons. PS her age will remain a club secret, but she says she is using her free bus pass to get to the next race.
Results
| Pos | Cyclist | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dane Dunlop | LCC | |
| 2 | John McManus | LCC | |
| 3 | Fergus McGirr | Fintona CC | |
| 4 | Neil Armstrong | LCC | |
| 5 | Mark Kavanagh | LCC | |
| 6 | Eugene Power | Omagh Wheelers | |
| 7 | William Dunlop | LCC | |
| 8 | Sean Fee | LCC | |
| 9 | Kenny Donnell | LCC | |
| 10 | Raymond Pauley | LCC |