The top three Ards CC riders on the night showed their intent from the start
Tonight’s first round of the Ards CC/North Down Inter Club League was an elimination road race hosted by Ards CC at Kirkistown race circuit. This was a new venture for the club, and it turned out to be a fascinating tactical battle. The 34 starters were handicapped into 3 groups, and after 6 laps (20 minutes) of racing the last rider to cross the line in each group on each lap was eliminated. Some riders chose to attack, whereas others played a cagier game in the middle of the bunch. The bunches had all merged by half distance, and as the speed and the cold took their toll it seemed that some riders were almost hoping to be eliminated. This certainly made the judges job easier. After 50 minutes there were 13 riders left and the bell was rung for the final lap. In the charge for the line, Kirk Sloan (North Down CC) rolled back the years to take the win from the Spellman-Dublin Port duo of Stephen Hanna and Peter Elliott.
The top four sprint for the win
| Name | Club | ICL points | |
| 1 | Kirk Sloan | North Down CC | 20 |
| 2 | Stephen Hanna | Spellman Dublin Port | |
| 3 | Peter Elliott | Spellman Dublin Port | |
| 4 | James Alexander | McConvey Cycles | |
| 5 | Luke Joyce | North Down CC | 19 |
| 6 | William Larmour | North Down CC | 18 |
| 7 | Ben Healey | Ards CC | 17 |
| 8 | Ian Carson | Ards CC | 16 |
| 9 | Jemma Speers | North Down CC | 15 |
| 10 | Barry Mitchell | Ards CC | 14 |
| 11 | Glen Curry | North Down CC | 13 |
| 12 | Stuart Millar | Ards CC | 12 |
| 13 | Mark McGrady | Crossgar CC | |
| 14 | Anthony Wylie | Dromara CC | |
| 15 | Daniel McManus | Ards CC | 11 |
| 16 | Gareth McBride | North Down CC | 10 |
| 17 | Peter Hanley | North Down CC | 10 |
| 18 | Paul Kirk | North Down CC | 10 |
| 19= | Matthew Ormesher | North Down CC | 10 |
| 19= | Dean Bradley | Ards CC | 10 |
| 19= | Richard Hanna | Ards CC | 10 |
| 19= | Alex Bell | North Down CC | 10 |
| 23 | James Lemon | Ards CC | 10 |
| 24= | Graeme Brown | Ards CC | 10 |
| 24= | Jonathan Taylor | North Down CC | 10 |
| 26= | Andrew Jess | Ards CC | 10 |
| 26= | Carl King | Crossgar CC | |
| 26= | Yesten Smith | North Down CC | 10 |
| 26= | Ronnie Smyth | Dromara CC | |
| 26= | James Dane | Dromore CC | |
| 31= | Simon Reardon | North Down CC | 10 |
| 31= | Gordon McEwen | Ards CC | 10 |
| 33 | Adrian Moore | North Down CC | 10 |
| ? | David Forbes | Crossgar CC |
Well done to the Ards CC Committee for trying something new and thanks to all who helped to run the event, and to all those who rode. We’ll have to work out how to communicate more effectively with the bunch for next time.
The next event in the ICL is a 5 mile time trial on the Orlock/Groomsport course next Wednesday evening – don’t miss it!