Ulster XC rd2 in Ballykelly
6 Apr 2014
Sunday the 6th of April saw the Carn Wheelers mtb crew descend on Ballykelly for round 2 of the ulster league. We had 23 competitors in various classes from under 6 to senior 3 but for some misfortune we would of had 26 however due to illness, injury and mechanical issues we lost Sean Bradley, Matthew McCombe and Tommy Mckenna before the racing started bad luck men.
First race of the day was for under 6 riders and Patrick Elliott took to the line but an unfortunate clash of handle bars on the start line saw patrick last of the line however he showed great enthusiasm he fought hard and got the others before the finish well done Patrick. Next up were the under 8 riders with Eimer Skelly taking to the line and as always Eimer didn't disappoint with a superb 2nd place.
The under 10 race was next to the line with Eva Gordon, Travis Harkness and Curtis Neill lining out, the boys went on the first whistle and the girls on the second. Travis and Curtis rode superbly well again today showing their continued improvement after the step up from under 8. Eva in her usual determined way led from start to finish to win the girls under 10 race well done all.
It was then on to the under 12 race who did 4 laps of the tough course and taking to the line were Ryan Skelly, Katie Neill, Darcy Harkness and Sarah Elder, once again the boys were away on the first whistle and Ryan rode superbly well to hang on to the battle for the top 3 just missing out on a podium this time well done Ryan. In the girls race all 3 girls battled really well with Sarah taking 2nd place and Katie and Darcy finishing strongly.
Onto the under 14s with Andrew Gordon, Niall Skelly and Emma Elder in the hotseat this time, all racers went on the first whistle in this race and it has to be said that all 3 riders showed great determination and battled their way through a tough technical 5 lap race. Andrew and Niall had strong rides finishing well in the boys race and Emma won the girls race great riding all.
Niamh Skelly was our only under 16 racer today and rode very strongly over the full adult course to claim 2nd place on the day.
Running at the same time as the under 16 race were the senior 4 adults with Paul Taylor and Gareth Skelly turning out for the
Carn Wheelers, both men have shown continued improvement in form in recent weeks and today was no exception with Gareth finishing in 10th place closely followed by Paul who battled cramp on the last lap to finish excellent riding from both men.
After a short break it was the turn of the senior 1,2 and 3 adult racers, we had 7 riders in the senior 3 race with Martin Bradley, Tomas Mcelwee, Darren Mulholland, Steven Mulholland, Nigel Gibson, Graeme Elliott and Shane Elder. The pace from the start was fast and furious as the race made its way up the steep fireroad and headed for the single track. True to form Martin was straight out of the traps and among the front runners, this proved to be a smart move as the race progressed Martin powered through to the finish for a well deserved win. All 7 men competed fiercely with Shane and Nigel the next carn men home followed closely by Steven, Tomas , Darren and Graeme.
This was another great day for the carn wheelers with loads of strong results in all classes a big thanks must also go to Caldwell Cycles on a superbly organised and well run event over a brilliant natural technical course.
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