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EMYVALE
EMYVALE Cycling Club To Host Irish National Cycling Championships June 23-26th
One of the top cycling events in Ireland is being held for the first time in North
Monaghan later this month (June 23rd-26th). Expect to see busy roads and many visitors
around Emyvale, Tydavnet, Knockatallon, Scotstown and Ballinode as over 250 riders
including some well-known names compete in this year's Irish National Cycling championships.
The event is being hosted by Emyvale Cycling Club on behalf of Cycling Ireland. Town
of Monaghan Co-op which has supported the club's activities for over twenty years
will be the main sponsor.
Around 120 riders are expected to take part on Sunday (June
26th) in the national senior road race championships for men. The winning elite
rider wears the national champion's jersey for all road races in the folowing 12
months. The first of the men under-23 in this elite race receives a separate award
for this category. With the 2012 Olympics fast approaching it's certain these competitors
will be out to impress the selectors of Ireland's Olympic cycling team.
County Monaghan
will have two riders taking part, Conor Murphy from Clara near Emyvale who has just
finished the 8 day FBD Milk Rás. Another local competitor is Monaghan town's Ryan
Sherlock, current national hill climb champion. These riders along with all the Irish
elite competitors will make this one of the top sporting events in the county this
year.
Last year’s winner, Matt Brammeier, a Liverpudlian who holds an Irish passport,
wears the national champion’s jersey. As a result of his victory he signed a professional
contract with HTC-Highroad. The silver medallist is better known, Nicholas Roche,
son of former champion Stephen Roche. He has already won this race twice and rides
as a professional with a French team, Ag2r-La Mondiale. Roche has won a total of
five professional races, finishing 15th in last year’s Tour de France and 7th in
the Tour of Spain, raising him to 32nd position in the world rankings. Roche’s cousin,
Daniel Martin, is the 2010 bronze medallist and is a professional with the Garmin-Cervelo
team, currently ranking 49th internationally. Fresh from his exploits at the recent
Giro D’Italia, Letterkenny’s Philip Deignan of Team RadioShack could well lead the
Ulster challenge to win the race.
Spectators are invited to come and watch all the
competitions particularly the men’s and women’s races starting on the main street
of Scotstown at 11am on Saturday and Sunday. Admission to all events is FREE so the
organisers are hoping many people will turn up to cheer on the local riders in particular.
The race distance for the elite men’s event on Sunday is around 175km. featuring
seven laps of a 25k circuit. Beginning in Scotstown the cyclists head for Knockatallon
Cross, past the Sliabh Beagh Hotel, onto the Clogher Road heading past Killylough
to Tydavnet, then continuing along the Monaghan road to Lemacaulla Cross and Connolly's
Bridge, branching off to Ballinode and then back to Scotstown. Medal presentations
will take place immediately after the finish of the race around 4pm.
The four-day
event begins on Thursday evening (June 23rd) with a time trial in Emyvale village
for the elite women’s and paracycling champions awards. The first competitor sets
off at 7pm and riders will follow at one minute intervals on the N2 main Derry to
Dublin road. Their route will take them southwards to the Coolshannagh roundabout
near Town of Monaghan Co-op, then heading northwards on the N54/A3 across the border
to Middletown. The riders then head for Caledon and Aughnacloy, with a finish back
on the N2 at the border at Moybridge, covering a distance of 40km.
On Friday (June
24th) it's the turn of the senior men’s time trial championships, with the first
rider due off at 6pm. The 40km route is the same as that cycled by the women. The
time trial is not expected to cause too much traffic disruption on the main roads
but drivers are advised to proceed with caution and to allow extra time for their
journeys. AA roadwatch traffic information can be obtained at www.aaireland.ie.
On
Saturday morning (June 25th) the national elite women’s road race championship takes
place with about fifty competitors. Scotstown GAA complex will serve as the race
headquarters and parking at Urbleshanny will be available for spectators. The race
starts on the main street of the village at 11am over a 12.8km circuit. Competitors
will be heading for Knockatallon Cross, turning right towards the Sliabh Beagh Hotel
and then right again onto Carrahor Road onto the Scotstown Road back to the village,
continuing this right hand circuit for seven laps. It finishes outside the Sliabh
Beagh hotel after completing a total distance of almost 100km. Current champion Olivia
Dillon from Co. Mayo will have to travel from San Francisco in the USA to defend
both the women’s time trial and road race titles she won last year. The Ulster challenge
in the women’s events is likely to come from 2009 road race champion, Heather Wilson
from Lisburn.
On Saturday afternoon (June 25th) the national veterans’ road race championships
will be held. The race begins at 3pm on the main street of Scotstown, cycling over
the same course as the women’s event to cover eight laps, making a total distance
of around 110km and again finishing at the Sliabh Beagh venue.
On Saturday evening
at 7pm, all leisure cyclists are invited to take part in a charity ride covering
one lap (25km) of the elite road race course. Those wishing to participate should
sign on at the Scotstown GAA complex from 6pm. Voluntary donations will go towards
the Co. Monaghan branch of Special Olympics Ireland.
Speaking at the launch, race
organiser Patsy Brady said: “This is a big honour for Emyvale Cycling Club to be
staging the national championships for the first time. Although the club hosted the
B Championships three years ago, this is a much bigger event and we are grateful
to Town of Monaghan Co-Op for their sponsorship. There has been massive interest
in the national championships this year with Irish cyclists based in the UK, continental
Europe, and the USA making enquiries. We look forward to welcoming them all to Monaghan
at the end of June.”
BACKGROUND: The Irish National Cycling Championships were first
staged in 1953 and take place annually to decide the Irish cycling champion for several
disciplines, across several categories of rider. The championships are one of the
few occasions when Irish cycling fans get to see the top level Irish professional
riders such as Nicholas Roche compete on home roads. The men's road championship
is usually held on a Sunday at end of June; the women's race is held the previous
day. The winning élite rider wears the national champion's jersey for all road races
in the following 12 months. The men's under-23 champion is awarded to the first under-23
in the élite race. The national cycling championships are for women and men in all
categories of road racing and time trialling. The winners of each category will be
crowned Irish champion for 2011 and receive a gold medal, with runners-up awarded
silver and bronze respectively, setting themselves up for selection to represent
Ireland at the 2012 London Olympics.
2011 Irish National Championships Programme
Thurs 23rd – Elite Women’s/Paracycling
Time Trial @ 7pm Emyvale
Fri 24th – Senior Mens’ Time Trial Championship @ 6pm Emyvale
Sat
25th – Womens’ Road Race Championship @ 11am Scotstown
Sat 25th – Veterans’ Road
Race Championship @ 3pm Scotstown
Sun 26th – Senior Mens’ Road Race Championship @ 11am Scotstown
For further information contact:
Patsy Brady, Race Director (087) 2824583
Michael
McKenna, Emyvale Cycling Club Secretary, (086) 3298860
email: michaeljmckenna@hotmail.com
Websites:
www.cyclingireland.ie Cycling Ireland
www.cyclingulster.com Cycling Ulster
Launch Night HERE