the Corkagh Park Women’s 2020 series added a youth-only race in their successful series which was sponsored by Cycling Leinster,+ other results, photos and reports by John Hammer and Lorna Reilly (Rd 3, Tuesday 4th August)

It was a very windy evening that the Youth Racers had to contend with in this the inaugural Youth Only Race in the Summer Series. Three groups made up this race with Youth racers ranging from U/12 to U/16. It was encouraging to see a good turnout for this race with 15 racers contesting and some girls traveling from Counties Cork and Waterford to compete. The less experienced youths got a feel for what competition is all about. it was group 2 that dominated this event having caught and headed group 1 the Trio worked well together and stuck to their task with some resolve. Group 3 saw a quartet of the more experienced youth racers 3 of the previous winners in Corkagh Park but from the start, it was clear that it was not going to be straightforward to catch group 2 as the two T C Racing Moore Sisters were not willing to work to catch the two groups ahead fearing they would be racing for the third spot as both Katie Reilly ( Quanta Scott Orwell) and Emma Smith ( Navan RC ) are both very capable Sprinters. With 3 Laps remaining Reilly and Smith closed the gap on the leading trio but it never got below 8 seconds and it was Zoe Shakespear ( Navan RC )who won from Kate Murphy ( Sliabh Liachara CC ) Olga Buckina ( Quanta Scott Orwell ) On behalf of Lorna Reilly and myself I would like to thank The Leinster Youth Commission for the generous Sponsorship of the Prizes in the Youth Race, yours in Sport, John Hammer

The B-Race

The B race saw a field of twelve women line up in this race. The race was a handicap race with 3 groups. Group 1 saw 6 women, Emma Billane & Linda Griffin (Tallaght Wheelers ) Joanne Smiley ( St Tiernans CC ) Gill Haverty ( ACT ) Majella Rafferty ( Quanta Scott Orwell ) & Liz Mc Wey U/A. Group 2 Roisin Kennedy ( ACT ) Amy Kinsella ( T C Racing ) & U/A Leinster Racer Judy Van Anker. Group 3, Eithne Connolly & Ciara Wilson U/A Leinster, Elizabeth Kent (ACT ) The race started with group one setting off with 40 seconds advantage over the second group who in turn had 30 seconds advantage on the group 3. On lap 1 we had two women well clear of the third-placed rider. Liz Mc Wey and Gill Haverty were coping well with the very windy conditions. Mc Wey was making her debut in Corkagh Park and Haverty returning after a 2-year absence they rode close enough together but Mc Wey showed her novice status by sitting on the front for far too long . Gill Haverty took control of the situation on lap 5 and pulled away from Liz Mc Wey who was now in the dreaded no man’s land where she remained for several more laps until caught and passed by the trio of Emma Billane Majella Rafferty & Joanne Smiley but to her credit, she plugged on. The chasers were making little inroads into the leader’s advantage and Haverty looked to be controlling things at the front on her own as the race progressed the past halfway it looked like Arcane might take the 3 Podium places. .Elizabeth Kent was delivering on the talent she had displayed and rode a very confident race. She picked off her rivals in a very slick and timely manner with her Team Mate holding the lead with some 20 seconds over her she looked certain to bring the deficit down and as she was catching Haverty there were a couple of battles happening behind her Roisin Kennedy had begun to the motor and having been outpaced by Van Anker and Kinsella early on she regained the lost ground and moved up to the third spot but Ciara Wilson who fluffed her start was every bit as impressive as Kent as she rode in a cool rhythm cornering expertly and on the Rivet, for most of the race she was now making huge inroads on Kennedy. In the closing 3 laps, the two Arcane riders were now a duo leading the race and Ciara Wilson was up to 3rd spot. In the sprint for the finish line, it was Kent who took the Win with the gallant Haverty a couple of lengths back in second. Ciara Wilson took the third spot. There were many positives on display in the evening it was great to see improvement from Majella Rafferty Emma Billane. I hope we see a return to Corkagh Park of Liz Mc Wey who with some racecraft would figure in race outcomes as her depth of strength was impressive. Amy Kinsella (Junior ) continues to impress and further improvement is expected from her in the future, yours in Sport, John Hammer

The A-race

Six A racers and the gallant Ciara Wilson lined up for this event. They were Nikki Taggart & Angela Hoare (ACT ) Aideen Keenan ( DWCC) Elia Tutty ( DCC) Orla Walsh (UCD) & Clair Ni Reachtagain ( Sundrive Track Team ) A small field which might spring a surprise for the red hot favourite & Queen of Corkagh Park Nikki Taggart (ACT ) well things started with Ciara Wilson (U/A) going straight to the front and leading the field for two laps. Ciara having fluffed her start in the earlier B race should have ridden with more caution with the A’s and paid dearly for her early efforts in this race dropping out of the small field but continuing at her own pace. On the third lap, Nikki Taggart took a bit of a pull and easily rode off the front but she seemed only to be stretching her legs on this occasion and was soon back with the other racers. Sundrive Track Team member Clair Ni Reachtagain was next to have a go and made a nice gap for herself getting around 16 seconds of a lead over her rivals. There was no sign of panic behind and Ni Reachtagin was allowed dangle off the front until she was reeled in and remained in the sextet for the remainder of the race. Due to the very strong winds and a very small field of competitors the pace suffered greatly in comparison to last week’s lap averages were 2min .5 sec compared to last week where we have seen an average of 1min 48 sec. With the final 3 laps looming Orla Walsh (UCD ) dug deep and went on a solo attack she was never far off the front but on the final lap nearing the turn for the home straight Nikki Taggart unleashed an explosive sprint to leave her four companions she closed rapidly on Walsh and overtook her she turned in heading for the finish and was never in danger of being caught easing right down near the line. Elia Tutty in 5th place turning in to the home straight showed that she is developing with experience in this company and got up close home to deny Orla Walsh of second place. Early attacker Clair Ni Reachtagain placed 4th just inches from Walsh. The race was an epic for such a small field with quality, not quantity. I can’t remember the last time I have seen such an explosive burst of speed by a woman Taggart is a Powerhouse. The Junior Woman Elia Tutty continues to impress and I look forward to seeing how she progresses in the future, yours in Sport, John Hammer