Last Saturday’s saw over seventy riders again take to the roads around Richhill and Tandragee for this years Groucho’s Grand Prix. From Hamiltonsbawn it was eight laps of the Tandragee 100 motorcycle circuit before coming back to Richhill via the climb of Tandragee Street and Irish Street to finish back in The Square outside Groucho’s Bar.
From the off it was clear that a number of riders were determined to form an early breakaway but a determined effort by Shelbourne/Orchard riders David Neill and Andrew Stewart ensured that these efforts were always quickly pulled back and as field went on to the last lap everyone was together and all was still to play for.
A number of riders however did then try and open up a gap as the race came through Ahorey on its run back for the line but as the riders hit the final climb of Tandragee Street it was an uphill bunch sprint for the line. In the end, despite one last heroic effort, Andrew Stewart had to settle for sixth place with David Neill finishing just a few metres behind him.
Race winner of Groucho’s GP was Anthony Boyle of Slanes Cycles, with Noel Boyce of North Down CC taking victory in the Masters race and Freda Brown of Banbridge CC winnings the Women’s event. Local girl Adele McCann riding for Lurgan’s Apollo CC also finished a magnificent third in Women’s event in what was her first ever race.
The Orchard club to thank Peter Lyness and Groucho’s Bar for their generous sponsorship of the event as well as Tandragee PSNI, St.Johns Ambulance and all the club members and others who again helped make the day a success.
On Sunday, 5 Orchard riders set out to contest the Ras Loughgiel promoted by Duffin Transport. Little did they know what would await them! Jonny Guy, Johny Graham, James McCusker, Glenn Dunwoody and Sean McIntyre all deserve a medal for enduring what can only be described as extremely unseasonal weather conditions. The event started off with bright sunshine as riders tackled 4 laps of a circuit around Loughgiel. However they were soon hit with hailstones. If this hadnt softened the group up then the climb at Slievenorra (known locally as “Orra”) certainly would! On the Climb a group of about 10 riders managed to forge ahead holding a minute gap over the chasing group of 15 riders. Snow and temperatures close to 1deg were conditions the riders had to contend with and more than one ended up face first in a bog by the end of the day. Orchards Sean McIntyre did very well to get into the leading break but was very unlucky to puncture on the run in to the finish effectively ending his day. The remaining Orchard riders will have been glad to simply get home on what can only be described as a day for Hard Men!
| 1st | Peter Kennedy | East Antrim Audi |
| 2nd= | Gary Jeffers | East Tyrone CC |
| 2nd= | Andrew Stewart | Shelbourne Orchard CC |
| 4th | Devon McIlwaine | Duffin Transport |
| 5th | Niall O’Hagan | Duffin Transport |
| 6th | Paul Quinn | Island Wheelers CC |
Sunday 29th April Harps CC hosted the Mid Ulster GP with laps around the Sandholes circuit. Lining up for the handicapped A Race were the two usual suspects, David Neill and Andrew Stewart. The race covered 6 laps of a 9 mile circuit with rolling hills and some narrow roads. Riders set off in very blustery conditions with winds in excess of 20mph which made for difficult racing. The A3′s were off first with a 2 min handicap over the A2′s and a further 1 minute back to the A1′s. With no one really able to get away and with the conditions as they were, it was inevitable that sooner rather than later the groups would come together. A small group of 4 riders Conor Murphy, Thomas Martin, Jon Heverin and Conor McAllister did manage to forge ahead and maintained their lead around the 1 minute mark until the finish with Murphy taking top spot. After some strong riding from David Neill and Joe ‘the pro’ Barr, the last lap saw the pace heat up and the main bunch start to break into smaller groups. In the bunch sprint for the remaining points, Andrew Stewart narrowly missed out finishing strongly in the top ten with David Neill not far behind.
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Event Information
GROUCHOS GRAND PRIX promoted by SHELBOURNE ORCHARD CYCLING CLUB. SATURDAY 12TH MAY 2012 . ENTRY FEE £11 / £6 . RACING STARTS AT 1PM SHARP. 2 RACES. (A2/A3), (MASTERS)
- A2/A3 RACE DISTANCE 8×6 MILE CIRCUIT APPROX 55 MILES. (Limited to 80 riders) .
- MASTERS (OVER 50′s) RACE DISTANCE 4×6 MILE CIRCUIT 25 MILES. (Limited to 40 riders) . RACE HQ, SIGN ON, AND RACE START LOCATION IS GROUCHOS BAR, THE SQUARE, RICHHILL.
YOU CAN VIEW A MAP OF THE RACE CIRCUIT BY CLICKING ON THE FOLLOWING LINK. ALTERNATIVELY COPY AND PASTE ONTO YOUR BROWSER WINDOW.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/15744804
| Event Date | 12/05/2012 |
| Closing Date | 05/05/2012 |
| Status | Open |
| Total Places | 120 |
Click an event name below for further details.
| Event | Status | Total Places | Places Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grouchos GP – A2/A3 | Open | 80 | 80 |
| Grouchos GP – Masters (Over 50′s) Race | Open | 40 | 40 |
Ards CC hosted the annual and prestigious Tour of Ards on Saturday 31st March 2012. This event, which receives full PSNI support, was a massed start of A1/2/3 riders and took on the beautiful scenery and roads of the Ards Peninsula and the views of Strangford Lough. The 65m race had a full entry of riders. The sole representative on this occasion for Shelbourne Orchard was Andrew Stewart. From the off, the speed was very high, with a number of early casualties and splits in the bunch. Gradually things settled down but not before an early breakaway of 3 riders took off from the main field. These were Adam Armstrong, Gary Cranston and Simon Williams. Despite some hard chasing and the 3 in front having to deal with strong headwinds in sections of the course and the run in to the finish, these 3 contested the podium positions in that order. The main bunch followed very closely behind with Andrew Stewart very well positioned in the run in but unlucky to suffer a puncture just 1km from the finish. Thats racing!
Sunday saw Clann Eireann host the annual Aghagallon Cup series of races around the Bartins Bay circuit. Representing Orchard in the A4 race were Jonny Graham, James McCusker and Jonny Guy in his first race this season. Riders provided with very fast racing (25mph average) whilst contending with the narrow roads which made overtaking and moving within the bunch even more difficult. Despite being well up there at the finish Orchard riders just missed out on the top points positions but can be well pleased with their performances and definite improvements are plain to see. Well done to all at the weekend.
