Stuart extends his lead in ICL

admin   May 30, 2023   Comments Off on Stuart extends his lead in ICL

The third round of the Ards/North Down Inter Club League was a road race at Ballygowan promoted by Ards CC this evening. There was another great entry, with 45 riders listed on the start sheet. The weather was perfect, but unfortunately one short stretch of the circuit had received attention from the surface dressers this afternoon – apologies to anyone who punctured.

Following last week’s race, where the groups came together at half distance, the timekeepers decided to extend the gaps. The front group were given six and a half minutes on the middle group with a further two and half minutes back to scratch. This led to a fascinating race, with the spectators debating who could catch whom until the last couple of miles.

  • After one lap, the middle group had gained 1:40 (out of 6:30) and scratch had gained 2:20 (out of 9 minutes), so it was looking good for the front group.
  • After two laps (half distance),  the middle group had gained 3:05 and scratch had gained 4:35, so it was very evenly balanced.
  • With a lap to go, the front group still had 1:45 on the middle group and 2:10 on scratch. It was going to be very tight.

Stuart Millar (Ards CC, scratch) decided to split things up on the final climb. But three riders had also escaped from the front group on the final lap, so eight riders contested the sprint for the win, with a bigger group charging in a few seconds later. When the dust settled, Andrew Hedley (AHC Racing) had taken the win, from Nathan Keown (Dan Morrisey) and Stuart.

Name Club Time ICL pts
1 Andrew Hedley AHC Racing 1:08:20
2 Nathan Keown Dan Morrissey 1:08:20
3 Stuart Millar Ards CC 1:08:20 20
4 Marc Allen AHC Racing 1:08:20
5 Neil McKenna AHC Racing 1:08:20
6 Andy Allen Ards CC 1:08:20 19
7 Stephen Dickson Killinchy CC 1:08:20
8 Kieran McSherry Clann Eireann 1:08:20
9 Luke Joyce North Down CC 1:08:28 18
10 Stephen Irvine Crossgar CC 1:08:28
11 Ben Healey Ards CC 1:08:28 17
12 William Larmour East Antrim CC 1:08:28
13 Michael Boyd AHC Racing 1:08:28
14 Gavin Oakes Crossgar CC 1:08:28
15 Joe Giles AHC Racing 1:08:28
16 Jonathan Taylor North Down CC 1:08:28 16
17 Glen Curry North Down CC 1:08:28 15
18 Stephen Watty North Down CC 1:08:28 14
19 Kieran McNamara Ards CC 13
20 Jon McCready North Down CC 12
21 Dean Bradley Ards CC 11
22 Paul Kirk North Down CC 10
23 Jessica Kerr North Down CC 10
24 Robert McGarry North Down CC 10
25 Kirk Sloan North Down CC 10
26 Ross Blayney North Down CC 1:13:30 10
27 Aaron Fegan Ards CC 1:13:30 10
28 Stephen Cardy North Down CC 10
29 Ian Milligan Dromore CC
Stephen Green North Down CC 10
Tom Henry North Down CC 10
Simon Reardon North Down CC 10
Gareth Boyle North Down CC 10
Ian Carson Ards CC 10
Barry Mitchell Ards CC 10
Barry Greer North Down CC 10
Pawel Cybulski AHC Racing
James Alexander McConvey Cycles
Glenn Kinning Kinning Cycles

In the ICL standings, Stuart took maximum points to extend his lead over Luke Joyce. But things are still very close, with everything to play for over the remaining three rounds. Here are the provisional standings – we struggled to place every rider tonight, so if you see any mistakes please let us know.

Name Club 25/4 24/5 30/5 28/6 25/7 9/8 Total
1 Stuart Millar Ards CC 20 18 20 58
2 Luke Joyce NDCC 18 19 18 55
3 Glen Curry NDCC 19 16 15 50
4 Kirk Sloan NDCC 16 20 10 46
5 Aaron Fegan Ards CC 17 15 10 42
6 Ross Blayney NDCC 12 17 10 39
7 Barry Greer NDCC 15 13 10 38
8 Ian Carson Ards CC 14 10 10 34
9= Gareth Boyle NDCC 10 10 10 30
9= Jessica Kerr NDCC 10 10 10 30
9= Robert Mc Garry NDCC 10 10 10 30
9= Stephen Cardy NDCC 10 10 10 30
9= Tom Henry NDCC 10 10 10 30
14= Andy Allen Ards CC 10 19 29
14= Ben Healey Ards CC 12 17 29
16= Jonathan Taylor NDCC 10 16 26
16= Kieran McNamara Ards CC 13 13 26
18= Barry Mitchell Ards CC 14 10 24
18= Stephen Watty NDCC 10 14 24
20= Jon McCreedy NDCC 10 12 22
20= Keith Hooks NDCC 11 11 22
22 Dean Bradley Ards CC 10 11 21
23= Paul Kirk NDCC 10 10 20
23= Ryan Fegan NDCC 10 10 20
23= Stephen Green NDCC 10 10 20
23= William Orr Ards CC 10 10 20
23= Yesten Smith NDCC 10 10 20
28= Colin Wilson Ards CC 10 10
28= Gemma Speers NDCC 10 10
28= Gillian Orr NDCC 10 10
28= Kieran Beattie NDCC 10 10
28= Michael Rowan Ards CC 10 10
28= Norman Wilson NDCC 10 10
28= Roy Livingstone NDCC 10 10
28= Simon Reardon NDCC 10 10

Thanks to everyone who helped with marshalling, time keeping and judging tonight. And thanks to the riders – it’s very encouraging to see big numbers.

June is looking busy. Next Tuesday is the rescheduled 10 mile time trial from earlier in the season, followed by the Scrabo hill climb on 13th, the Town Centre races on 21st, our second Trail Quest on 27th and the next round of the ICL on 28th.  Looking forward to it!