CX Round 5 - Moria

Riley Gibson was the 1^st Carn Wheeler called into action, in the under8 boys race the youngster flew around the course to secure a top 10 finish.  As always the Skelly family was in attendance, Eimer was the first of the siblings to the start line in the under10 girl race.  Over the four lap race the young lady raced well securing a well earned 3^rdposition, Carn Wheelers 1^st podium spot of the day.  Sara Doyle was up next in the under12 girls race, another great race and another top 10 spot for the club.  In the boys race Ryan Skelly came close to delivering another podium but was denied by a slim margin after a tough 4 lap race. 

The under14’s were up next, the young racers would take on 3laps of the main course.  Sarah Elder was back on the top spot of the podium, an incredible 30minute race time left the competition in her wake and secured a third gold medal in the under14 girls.  Niall Skelly put in another big shift in an always competitive race, another top 10 finished see’s the young man ranked 5^th overall.  Emma Elder and Niamh Skelly continued their impressive form with yet another 2^ndand 3^rd finish for the young Carn racers, their dedication to the league this see’s them occupy 1^st and 2^nd consecutively in the league overall.  The MTB men were next on the starting grid with Stephen Halferty, Darren Mulholland and Sean Bradley in the green and black.  After coming close over the first four races Sean finally found himself taking the chequered flag with a 1second victory, a blistering 41minute race time is the product of an intense training regime. 

The Cyclo-cross females race, with a record 12 starters, lined up to take on 5 laps of the course, followed one minute later by 70+ riders in the Cyclo-cross men's B' race.  Mairead McGurk was again in action for the club, completing 5laps in 50minutes she missed out on a podium spot by less than 2minutes.  Nigel Gibson and Carl McWilliams were in action in the B race, both men raced well producing great finishes in the thick of a competitive race.  The days main event saw Johnny Taylor, Shane Elder, Martin Bradley, Ryan Walsh and Joseph McCrory all in action in the A race.  Over 7 laps the spectators were again treated to another great contest between some of the countries finest racers.  As the lap board counted from 7 to 0 the boys as always did themselves and the club proud.  Johnny bounced back from last weeks early retirement to come home just outside the top 10 in 14^thfollowed by Joe in 23^rd. 

After the race the riders could avail of a much needed bike wash and shower, calories were replenished with soup and hot dogs as the hosts handed out prizes to the deserving winners.  Thanks go to all the hardworking volunteers from Dromara Cycling Club for putting on a great event, Lisburn City Council for the use of the park and to ChainReaction Cycles for their support.  The next round will be at Seacourt in Larne on Sunday 9 November hosted by Team Madigan.