Irish Cycling Results And News

April 1999

News Flashes

Wednesday, April 28th--- I'm apologising again for the lateness of results, but this time it's not my fault. My monitor has packed in. Anyways. Here is what I missed out on.
Brian Kenneally won the Naas Festival Race on Monday ahead of Michael Fitzgerald and Ciaran Power. B. Ahern won the Dickie Comerford Memorial on Tuesday night. Also, during the weekend, Morgan Fox won a race in Belgium, in which Dermot Finnegan came sixth. Geraldine Gill chalked up another victory in the GP Ardel in Brittany, France. And finally, the Leinster Team for the Tour of Ulster has been named.
It is : Karl Donnelly, Dermot Finnegan, Paddy Moriarty and Bill Moore.

Naas Festival Race

1.	B. Kenneally	Carrick-Cidona	1:03:31
2.	M. Fitzgerald	unattached	"
3.	C. Power	Comeragh CC	"
4.	P. Griffin	Dan Morrissey's	"
5.	A. Crowley	TSB-Midleton	"
6.	K. Bannon	Bray	"
B	J. Fenlon	Dan Morrissey's
J	G. Stapleton	Usher IRC

Dickie Comerford Memorial

1.	B. Ahern	Orwell Wheelers
2.	P. Egan	Cycleways
3.	D. McVeigh	Dan Morrissey's
4.	C. Bracken	Usher IRC
5.	R. Blaney	Ards CC
V	S. Lally	McNally-Swords
L	L. Manning	unattached

Sunday, April 25th--- Today saw the John Hammond Memorial won by Philip Cassidy, the Thomas Sheehan Memorial won by Brian Kenneally, and the Kelly/Roche Juniors/Vets Classic won by G. Stapleton.

Noel Hammond Memorial

1.	P. Cassidy	Navan-Avonmore	3:31:53
2.	M. Scanlon	Rabobank	"
3.	D. Finnegan	Navan-Avonmore	@ 1:10
4.	K. Donnelly	Dan Morrissey	"
5.	C. Bracken	Usher IRC	"
6.	C. McMahon	O'Maras-Limerick	@ 2:25

Kelly/Roche Junior Classic

1.	G. Stapleton	Ushers IRC
2.	A. O'Carroll	Bray
3.	T. Lavery	Finglas Ravens
4.	O. McQuaid	Emerald
5.	D. Foley	Sligo CC
6.	D. Farrell	Hillcrest
L.	L. Manning	unattached

Thomas Sheehan Memorial

1.	Brian Kenneally	Carrick-Cidona
2.	Ciaran Power	Comeragh CC
3.	Eddie O'Donoghue	Carrick-Cidona
4.	Michéal Fitzgerald	unattached
5.	John McCarthy	Killorglin CU
6.	J. Blackwell	Killorglin CU
V	Sean McElroy	Carrick-Cidona
U-16	Barry Meade	Kanturk CU
U-14	B. Woods	Killorglin CU
U-12	G. Tourrain	Blackwater
Juniors
1.	Willie Curtin	Kanturk CU
2.	Denis Lynch	Kanturk CU
3.	S. Lacy	Tralee
4.	Jonathon Kelly	Thermo King CC
5.	P. Ahern	Duhallow Whls
6.	S. O'Sullivan	Kanturk CU

Saturday, April 24th--- Today saw the John Beggs Memorial for Senior 1s and Senior 2s, and also the Sean McGreevey Memorial for Juniors, Vets and Ladies. D. McVeigh won the John Beggs Memorial, while B. Holmes won the Sean McGreevy Memorial.

John Beggs Memorial

1.	D. McVeigh	Dan Morrissey	2:59:29
2.	D. Easton	Maryland Whls	@ 0:08
3.	R. Blaney	Ards CC	@ 0:24
4.	K. Donnelly	Dan Morrissey	"
5.	J. Grant	Banbridge CC	@ 1:27
6.	J. McConnell	King's Moss	"

Sean McGreevy Memorial

1.	B. Holmes	Slane Cycles	2:13:54
2.	A. Cranston	East Antrim	"
3.	E. Crory	Newry Whls	"
J.	R. Aiken	Banbridge CC
U-16	T. Wright	Orchard Whls

Friday, April 23rd--- As I said, the teams for the Rás, the Prutour and the Lincoln Grand Prix have been selected by National Team Director, Richie Beatty. The teams are as follows:

Lincoln GP - Mark Scanlon - Ciaran Power - Michael Fitzgerald - Mike McNena - Tommy Evans - Ray Clarke

FBD Milk Rás - Tommy Evans - Ray Clarke - Eugene Moriarty - Aidan Duff - Paddy Moriarty

Prutour - Ciaran Power - Michael Fitzgerald - Mike McNena - Les McKay - Padraig Quinn

This weekend is yet another busy one, cycling wise. The races scheduled are:

Day:	Event:	Distance:	Location:
Saturday	John Beggs Memorial - S1,S2	120km	Dromore
"	Sean McGreevy Memorial RR - J,V,L	80km	Dromore
Sunday	Noel Hammond Memorial - S1,S2	120km	Ballyboughal
"	Kelly/Roche Junior Classic - J,V,L	100km	Ballyboghal
"	Thomas Sheehan - S1,S2	120km	Carrick-on-Suir
"	Thomas Sheehan - J,V,L	80km	Carrick-on-Suir
Monday	Naas Festival Race - S1,S2,J,V,L	50km	Town Hall, Naas

Wednesday, April 21st--- I have got here the latest UCI standings. Surprisingly enough, there is no change whatsoever. Once again, we are behind the likes of Guatemala, Belarus and Morocco. We, Ireland, are still in need of many more UCI points to qualify for the Olympics and hopefully some of these could come from the Prutour, and the Lincoln Grand Prix. Details of these and other races abroad with Irish riders can be got in The Irish Abroad Section.

POS:	RIDER NAME:	POINTS:
1	Michele Bartoli	2'827.00
965	Raymond Clarke	15.00
1183	David Mc'Cann	9.00
1239	Ian Chivers	8.00
1239	Scott Hamilton	8.00
1302	Patrick Moriarty	7.00
1360	Conor Henry	6.00
1416	Morgan Fox	5.00
1416	Jamie Hunter	5.00
1540	Paul Healion	4.00
1540	Ciaran Power	4.00
1540	Neil Taggart	4.00
1625	David O'Loughlin	3.00
1666	Aidan Duff	2.00
1666	John Grant	2.00
1727	Ian Proctor	1.00

Sunday, April 18th--- Again, sorry about the delay in getting results up, but I'm unusually busy these past few weeks. Hopefully by next week, everything will be back to normal. Here are the weekend's results, including the Whitechurch GP.

Saturday

Brendan Carroll Memorial

1.	Colm Bracken	- Usher IRC
2.	Simon Whelan	- McNally Joinery
3.	Bill Moore	- Stamullen
4.	Ciaran Power	- Comeragh CC
5.	Derek Finnegan	- Navan-Avonmore
6.	Paul Slane	- Slane Cycles
B	Derek Finnegan	- Navan-Avonmore
J	Gavin Stapleton	- Usher IRC
V	Michael Usher	- Usher IRC
L	Lorraine Manning	- unattahed

Cookstown Spring Classic

1.	B. Stewart	Phoenix
2.	K. Sloan	Ards CC
3.	S. Thompson	Maryland Wheelers
4.	N. Campbell	unattched
5.	A. Easton	Maryland Wheelers
6.	J. Grant	Banbridge

Sunday

Stamullen GP

1.	M. Fitzgerald	unattached
2.	E. O'Donoghue	Carrick-Cidona
3.	P. Cassidy	Navan-Avonmore
4.	D. Easton	Maryland Wheelers
5.	P. Moriarty	Les Jeunes
6.	B. Kenneally	Carrick-Cidona
B	S. Byrne	Dublin Wheelers
J	D. Lynch	Kanturk CU
V	O. Mc'Quaid	McQuaid Cycles
L	L. Manning	unattached
U-16	P. O'Brien	Kanturk CU
U-14	E. Daly	Kanturk CU
U-12	S. Rock	McNally-Swords

Whitechurch GP

1.	C. McMahon	O'Meara's-Limerick
2.	T. Hogan	Dungarvan CU
3.	J. Mannix	Killarney CC
4.	J. McCarthy	Killorglin CU
5.	R. Cahill	Banteer CC
6.	N. Forde	Thermo King CC
J.	S. Lacey	Tralee
V.	S. McElroy	Carrick-Cidona
U-16	M. Concannon	Killorglin CU
U-14	B. Woods	Killorglin CU
U-12	W. Whyte	Blackwater CC

Saturday, April 17th--- As I said, the Irish team has pulled out of the Ruban Grantier, and has instead placed a team in the Rás and is continuing with the Prutour team. However, certain riders, including 1998 Rás winner Ciaran Power, have hinted that they'd rather ride the Rás than the Prutour, as they won't have racing in their legs without the Ruban Grantier. Pity, because with the Clarks Contractors team set to dominate the next few upcoming events, including the Tour of Ulster, we could see a very weak Irish team ride the Prutour.
This weekend sees several good races, with Stamullen hosting a full weekend of racing. Firstly, today, there is the Brendan Carroll Memorial, followed on Sunday by the Stamullen GP on Sunday. Today's other race is the Cookstown Spring Classic in Co. Tyrone. Sunday's other races are the Whitechurch GP in Co. Cork, and the Lakeland Grand Prix at Three Way Inn. Just a reminder also, that the Ballinrobe GP scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed.

Sunday, April 11th--- This weekend's races included the Christy McManus Memorial, the Cicli Sports Handicap GP, the Beggan Trophy, the Castlereagh Grand Prix and the Kelly Pharmacy Dungarvan GP. Results are below.

Saturday

Christy McManus Memorial

1.	David Lane	UCD
2.	Ger Madden	Obelisk Wheelers
3.	Paddy Ennis	Bell Orwell
4.	Frank O'Leary	Usher IRC
5.	Derek Finnegan	Navan
6.	Shane Connaughton	Cycleways
J	Andrew O'Carroll	Bray
V	Thomas Lavery	Garda

Cicli Sports Gp Handicap

1.	B. O'Brien	Clarke Contractors
2.	M. Foley	Sligo CC
3.	E. Crory	Newry Wheelers
4.	B. Holmes	Slane Cycles
5.	N. Campbell	unattached
6.	C. Lynch	McNally-Swords

Sunday

Beggan Trophy

1.	P. Cassidy	Navan IRC	2:49:36
2.	C. Bracken	Usher IRC	@ 1:29
3.	C. Lynch	McNally Swords	"
4.	B. Moore	Stamullen	"
5.	S. Baker	Usher IRC	"
6.	P. Moriarty	Les Jeunes	"
J	A. O'Carroll	Bray Whls
Senior B
1.	J. Fenlon	Dan Morrissey
2.	D. Smith	Cahill-Naas
3.	C. Sweetman	Stamullen
Ladies
1.	S. O'Meara	Dublin Wheelers
2.	L. Manning	unattached
3.	M. O'Reilly	Bohermeen

Castlereagh GP

1.	P. Kiddis	Dave Kane
1.	N. Hamilton	North Down
1.	D. McCaul	Maryland Wheelers
1.	N. Campbell	unattached
1.	S. McCreery	Clann Eireann
1.	N. Summers	Northern CC

Kelly Pharmacy GP

1.	P. Marrey	Western Lakes CC	1:28:21
2.	W. Curtin	Kanturk CU	@ 0:18
3.	D. Woods	Usher IRC	@ 0:21
4.	D. Lynch	Kanturk CU	@ 0:42
5.	B. Cullen	Comeragh CC	@ 1:01
6.	S. McElroy	Blackwater CC	@ 1:07
U-12	G. Turrain	Blackwater
U-14	E. Corcoran	Killorglin CC
U-16	Paidí O'Brien	Kanturk CU

Wednesday, April 7th--- News filtered through yesterday of anger in the ICF with the Minister for Sports and Tourism, Dr. Jim McDaid. The annual grant from the Sports Council has been halved, which is very bad news for cycling in Ireland. The method of grant allocation does not favour cycling at all, as it goes on international results. As we all know, the Irish do not get international results. It is a shame to see the almost bare minimum grant that cycling has received, when you see the amount of money being wasted on sports such as rugby in Ireland. Where are the international results there ?
Pat Mc'Quaid openly criticised McDaid about his attitude to cycling. "Our internal budget has been cut by over 50 per cent". He went on to cite the case of the Irish winner of the World Junior title last year: "Mark Scanlon has received nothing yet, although we believe he will get £3,600. The others on the team who helped him win the world title won't get anything. To put things in perspective, the four British riders in the same race will get £18,000."

Monday, April 5th--- Yesterday, Mike McNena was in action for his French club, and he finished 9th in the 168km long "Grand Prix Puy Ricard". The race was won by 1997 U-23 World Champion, Thor Horsved. Apparently, it was McNena who first blew the bunch asunder when he attacked on the first big climb.

Easter Weekend (April 2nd-5th)--- This weekend sees both the Gorey 3-Day and Rás Mumhan. It also sees the Tour of the North and the coming of the Easter Bunny. Below are some of the results. I have not been able to get most of the Tour of the North results, but as soon as I get them, they will be up.
Stage 3 of Rás Mumhan saw a controversial finish, when team-mates Brian Kenneally and Ciaran Power (Carrick-Cidona), who both formed the leading group, crossed the line holding hands. While Kenneally clearly crossed the line in first place, it was still bad form by both riders, as it is unfair to the sponsors and the spectators. Also, Ciaran Power and Philip Cassidy were both fined 10 seconds for pacing after puncturing.

Rás Mumhan

Stage 1 --- Nenagh-Adare (60 miles)
1.	Aidan Duff	Dan Morrissey	2:25:28
2.	P. Cassidy	Leinster	"
3.	Stephen O'Sullivan	Leinster	"
4.	Colm Bracken	Leinster	@ 50 secs
5.	David Peelo	Usher IRC	"
6.	R. Mitchell	Dan Morrissey	"
Stage 2 --- Adare-Kenmare
1.	Ciaran Power	Carrick-Cidona	3:23:16
2.	Aidan Duff	Dan Morrissey	@ 18 sec
3.	Brian Quinn	O'Mara's Limerick	"
4.	Patrick Moriarty	Les Jeunes	@ 50 secs
5.	Shane Baker	Usher IRC	"
6.	Eugene Moriarty	Listowel CC	"
Stage 3 --- Kenmare-Mitchelstown
1.	Brian Kenneally	Carrick-Cidona	3:11:43
2.	Ciaran Power	Carrick-Cidona	"
3.	John Mc'Carthy	Killorglin CU	@ 1:37
4.	Brian Quinn	O'Meara's	"
5.	Patrick Moriarty	Les Jeunes	"
6.	Eddie O'Donoghue	Carrick-Cidona	@ 1:44
Stage 4 --- Mitchelstown-Thurles
1.	Brian Kenneally	Carrick-Cidona	2:22:14
2.	Paul Healion	Usher IRC	@ 14 secs
3.	Eugene Moriarty	Listowel CC	@ 15 secs
4.	Ciaran Power	Carrick-Cidona	@ 1:22
5.	Brian Quinn	O'Mara's	"
6.	Eddie O'Donoghue	Leinster	"
Final G.C.
1.	Stephen O'Sullivan	Leinster	11:25:52
2.	Ciaran Power	Carrick-Cidona	@ 11 secs
3.	Aidan Duff	Dan Morrissey	@ 31 sec
4.	Philip Cassidy	Leinster	@ 43 sec
5.	Eugene Moriarty	Listowel CC	@ 56 secs
6.	Patrick Moriarty	Les Jeunes	@ 1:05

Tour of the North

Stage 1 --- 4 mile TT
1.	Tommy Evans	Maryland Wheelers	9:26
2.	Stephen Gallagher	UCF U-23	9:41
3.	Ray Clarke	Clarke Nissan	9:44
4.	Niall Walker	Scotland	9:47
5.	Tommy Profit	VC Beal	9:49
6.	Ross Blaney	Ards CC	9:54
Stage 2
1.	Michael Fitzgerald	Clarke-Nissan	2:57:44
2.	Ross Blaney	Ards CC	"
3.	P. Mullogan	Omagh CC	"
4.	P. Kiddis	UCF U-23	@ 50 secs
5.	Ray Clarke	Clarks-Nissan	"
6.	M. Hamilton	Toyato North	"
Stage 5
1.	Tommy Evans	Clarks-Nissan	3:02:34
2.	Ray Clarke	Clarks-Nissan	@ 36 secs
3.	B. Graham	Maryland Wheelers	"
4.	R. Webb	VC Deal	@ 44 secs
5.	Michael Fitzgerald	Clarks-Nissan	"
6.	Ross Blaney	Ards CC	"
Stage 6
1.	Michael Fitzgerald	Clarks-Nissan	2:58:33
2.	Ray Clarke	Clarks-Nissan	"
3.	Ross Blaney	Ards CC	"
4.	D. Clarke	East Midlands	"
5.	D. Easton	Maryland Wheelers	"
6.	K. Sloane	Ards CC	"
Final Overall G.C.
1.	Tommy Evans	Clarks-Nissan	11:24:42
2.	Ray Clarke	Clarks-Nissan	@ 25 sec
3.	Tommy Profitt	VC Deal	@ 1:58
4.	P. Foley	British Fire Services	@ 3:02
5.	D. Easton	Maryland Wheelers	@ 3:46
6.	R. Sharman	East Midlands	@ 3:50

Gorey 3-Day

Stage 1
1.	Willie Curtin	Kanturk CU	??
2.	Padraig Marrey	Connaught	same time
3.	Sean Connaughton	Leinster CF	"
Stage 2 - 4 Mile TT
1.	R. Fletcher	Isle of Man	8:09
2.	C. White	Northern	8:14.45
3.	G. Cranston	Northern	8:14.88
4.	D. Finnegan	Leinster CF	8:15.56
5.	D. Woods	Usher IRC	8:19.45
6.	D. Lynch	Kanturk CU	8:22.06
Stage 3 - 60 miles
1.	J. Peppard	McNally Swords	2:35:00
2.	T. McConville	Apollo	"
3.	D. Finnegan	Leinster CF	"
4.	S. McElroy	Cyprus	@ 3:30
5.	T. Paxton	Isle of Man	"
6.	P. Marrey	Connaught	"
Stage 4 - 60 miles
1.	P. Marrey	Connacht CF	2:10:41
2.	G. Cranston	Northern	@ 3 secs
3.	S. McElroy	Cyprus CC	"
4.	G. Miley	St. Tiernan's	@ 6 secs
5.	D. Smith	Cahills	"
6.	P. Reid	Finglas Ravens	"
Final Overall G.C.
1.	D. Finnegan	Leinster CF	7:32:43
2.	S. McElroy	Cyprus	@ 20 secs
3.	T. McConville	Apollo	@ 30 secs
4.	P. Marrey	Connaught CF	@ 35 secs
5.	T. Paxton	Isle of Man	@ 37 secs
6.	J. Peppard	McNally-Swords	@ 41 secs

Mark Scanlon, Junior World Champion, was in action last weekend. He finished nineteenth in a bunch sprint in the Ronde van Midden-Brabant. He is in action again this weekend, and also in a short stage race, after which he will return to Ireland for a rest. He may race in the Tour of Ulster.

Saturday, April 3rd--- I have here the latest UCI rankings. Once again Ireland is out the back, scrambling to get in the slipstream of the likes of Belarus, Morocco, and even Guatemala. According to the official UCI Classification, we now have 79 points. On adding them up myself, I find we have 83. I don't know am I wrong, but I dinnae think so. A slight improvement, but not enough as of yet for Syndey.
As for the individuals, once again, there is no improvement, although Ciaran Power is now included in the rankings.

POS:	RIDER NAME:	POINTS:
1	Michele Bartoli	2'905.00
949	Raymond Clarke	15.00
1163	David Mc'Cann	9.00
1216	Ian Chivers	8.00
1216	Scott Hamilton	8.00
1276	Patrick Moriarty	7.00
1327	Conor Henry	6.00
1380	Morgan Fox	5.00
1380	Jamie Hunter	5.00
1502	Paul Healion	4.00
1502	Ciaran Power	4.00
1502	Neil Taggart	4.00
1591	David O'Loughlin	3.00
1635	Aidan Duff	2.00
1635	John Grant	2.00
1699	Ian Proctor	1.00