Host club De Ronde van Cork has pulled out all the stops to put on a top class national championship.\u00a0 Saturday 12 January 2019 was the Youth National Championships for the Under 14s and 16s.\u00a0 The day started with a full complement of youth support races from the Under 6s to the Under 12s.<\/p>\n
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The Under 6s to Under 10s used a mini course through the trees beside the finish line.\u00a0 The Under 12s took on a half lap of the main course.\u00a0 All competitors in the support races received a medal.<\/p>\n
At noon the first of the Youth National Championship races took place with the Under 16 girls, followed one minute later by the Under 14 girls.\u00a0 They both took on\u00a03 laps of the full course.\u00a0 \u00a0There was a close battle in the Under 16 girls’ race between club mates\u00a0Caoimhe May\u00a0and\u00a0Annie Roche (Scott Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) with Caoimhe pulling away to take the win.\u00a0 Annie finished second with\u00a0Erin Creighton (McConvey Cycles) third.\u00a0\u00a0Aine Doherty (VC Glendale) has dominated the Under 14 girls racing this season and put on another fine display which would have made her top 3 in the Under 16 girls’ race.\u00a0 Behind Aine the race for second was between Phoenix club riders\u00a0Cara Moffitt and\u00a0Lucy Brown with Cara finishing a minute ahead of Lucy at the line.<\/p>\n
At 12:45 it was the turn of the Under 16 and Under 14 boys with a gap of one minute between starting whistles.\u00a0 Great racing across all categories.\u00a0 As expected Darren Rafferty (Island Wheelers) put on a blistering display of cycling in the Under 16 boys’ race to take the win.\u00a0 The real race was for second and it was a close battle between\u00a0Dean Harvey (VC Glendale) and\u00a0David McCarthy (MBCC) with David taking second place by just 5 seconds over Dean.\u00a0 In the Under 14 boys’ race\u00a0Shane Scullion (Island Wheelers) had to get everything right to ensure he stayed ahead of\u00a0Ryan Fox (Scott Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) who was chasing hard.\u00a0 Shane kept his cool to take the win with Ryan second and\u00a0Travis Harkness (Carn Wheelers) third.<\/p>\n
The racing today was a great testament to the great work these young riders have put into the discipline of cyclo-cross.\u00a0 Future stars.<\/p>\n
Commissaires:\u00a0Richard O\u2019Gorman, Anthony Keneally and Martin Grimley<\/p>\n
Report by Martin Grimley<\/p>\n
Result here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n De Ronde van Cork (Facebook) – here
\n<\/a>Sean Rowe (Facebook) – here<\/a> and here
\n<\/a>Belgium Project – here<\/a> and here<\/a><\/p>\n