Munster TT 2015

Kanturk Three day

A rainy and stormy Kanturk Three day event didnt Stop Midleton Ctc members Jonathon Finn and Shane Fuller posting impressive Performances.

Shane as you will read in his report below brushed off a nasty crash to maintain his position in the main bunch each day and looked really strong in the A3 group without placing. This was a war of attrition of a race so Shane did well to come through it mostly unscathed and will have Jonny for company in the A3 from now on.

Jonny Finn had a stormer of an event and showed he is way too strong for A4 and as a result will now move up to A3 in the next race.

Jonny Had two 3rds and an 8th on the road stages as well as a 2nd in the timetrial whihc delivered him an outstounding 2nd overall in the A4 Making him a top ten ranked A4 rider in the country.

Due to the huge amount of points jonny has racked in only two weeks he wil now move up to A3 to form a strong alliance with Shane.

Great work lads

Shane kindly wrote some thoughts below:

Stage 1 90+k hilly arrived in Kanturk at 1oc with it pissing down with rain , the race was delayed by a half hour till 4oc so I signed on and went for a warm up the rain had stopped for a bit , went to the start line and passed Jonny on the way but no time to chat , seen Leonard and Dominic at the start line but we were off before I even said Hi , The start was very fast with everyone trying to get in the top 20 or 30 to avoid any crashes that might happen ,I managed to do that for the first 7 or 8 k ,then before I knew it I was being spat towards the back as everyone knew the first climb was coming and ended I up in the last 3rd of the bunch going in to the first left hand corner and straight on to the climb which lasted about 3 1/2 km with about an average of 3 % but kicking up to about 6 or 7% I managed to stay with the bunch fairly handy with out to much of a bother , I was feeling pretty good and had moved back up the bunch on the decent, on a tight bend doing about 55kmph I was over the white line on the wrong side "as you do" a car coming towards us was looking a bit tight to squeeze passed but just managed when I heard a crack from behind ,first crash broken shoulder and jaw ,the bunch settled for a bit to let people get back on but after a couple of k the pace picked up again and we went on to an open wide road the rain was lashing down again and riders were dodging the cats eyes in the road when a wheel got clipped in front of me and down they came bikes and bodies everywhere, I looked for a gap but none appeared so went straight in to someone's back and over the handlebars with me and on to my back I stood up in a daze to see another 8 or nine rides come down behind me , Dominic was one of those he looked a bit shook but got back on his bike and off he went , I went and found my bike about 10m away ,small buckle in my front wheel opened up the break leavers a bit and off I went drafting behind a team car ,I passed Dominic at the side of the road , his handlebars were bent over to one side and I later found out he was in the first crash as well and sprained his wrist and on his bday an all , his race was over. The team car I was drafting fecked off to my disgust and I had to chase on my own but the bunch was gone got a group together but lost 20min + to the leader , Martin finished a few min behind the leaders and Leonard finished a few mins down on Martin Stage 2 TT 8k slight up hill Sunday morn I was finding it hard to walk after my crash on stage one but felt pretty good on the bike surprisingly, so did the TT in 13min 20sec, michael o'loughlin ( 17) won the stage with a 10min 10 sec (one to watch out for he was 8th last year in world junior TT and he is still a junior this year ) Stage 3 75k flat Sunday 15:30 This was a flat very fast stage but with no crashes I was pretty happy and sat in the bunch for the stage with a 41km average ,I was around with Leonard for the stage ,with both of us to fecked to go for the sprint we let them at it , Stage 4 95k ,hilly Monday morning This was another fast hilly stage with a final technical route through the Kanturk town centre and up 1k climb reaching 9%at some parts to the finish 4 laps , first lap I'm struggling bad for the first 10 k and quickly get a gel in to me and recover enough to make it over the finishing climb for the first time and off we go again legs hanging off at this stage, we come in along a main road for about 5k doing about 60 to 70kmph before turning left to Kanturk with a 5 k run in to the town I manage to make it over the 2nd time but I'm beginning to fade I get another gel into me , and I mange to hang in there for the next lap I haven't seen Leonard for awhile and was wondering had he climbed off or crashed ,but then there he was next to me he had got dropped on the second time up the climb and fair f$%ks to him for getting back on cause the pace was as fast as any race I've been in , both of us rode into the finish in the bunch Martin finished about 15th on the stage I recon , it was a weekend of hell and I loved every minute of it ,and to top it off Jonny had a great result in the A4 race placing on stage 1 coming in 2nd in the TT and 3rd overall ,well done again Jonny can't wait to have some company in A3

Flying Finn Takes 2nd at Drumm Cup

My 3rd cycle race: the John Drumm Cup in Currow, Co. Kerry.

The race started in Currow village and finished on the approach road from Castleisland. It was a looped course of nearly 4 loops and was 60km long.

I don't fancy the idea of bunch sprints as I care too much for the skin on my back so I like to try to get away and do everything in my power to avoid being caught up in the mayhem. I am very new to this cycle race scene and have only been to two other races before this, finishing only 1 as my first was called off with 3km to go. The one I finished was last week in Nenagh and it was very much hell for leather the whole way and I was probably guilty of doing too much work on the front throughout and was completely cooked by the finish line, finishing at the back of the bunch.

I approached Currow with a little more tact and decided I would be sensible and heed the advice that so many had been giving me: don't go too mad for the early parts of the race, attack with 10 or so km remaining and see if that sticks. So we start the race and 10kms in I was already getting edgy with the pedestrian pace so I went to the front to do a turn. I must have put the boot down a little too much because I looked back and I had a little gap("calm down" I said), I decided to take it easy, 50km left n' all and I learned that lesson before!! So I pedalled away, the gap increasing but I didn't put myself under pressure and knew they'd catch back on again(if anything I was keeping myself out of harms way!!). I stayed away for a few kms, they chased me down and tried to slow it so I went to the front again and did this for 10 or so kms. I sat in for the next couple of laps and with a lap and a half to go I said I'd test it again into a headwind. No sooner had I gotten away and got a small gap, which I was sure I was going to build on, I saw a commissaire up ahead in the middle of the road waving a red flag! I thought "just my luck, like Carrick on Suir again the race is called off!!". It wasn't thankfully, the comm was a little upset with the riders riding on the wrong side of the road so he had a few strong words for us, gave us an ultimatum and sent us on our way. (Unfortunately it was simply impossible to overtake or move up in the bunch without going into the other lane) The race restarted and I thought to myself if I have the position in the next lap (half lap to the finish) I'll try that dig again. I sat in for the next lap waiting, biding my time on the right side(left) of the white line. Unfortunately when we got around to that point again I was well back the bunch and couldn't get around the bunch without crossing the white lines. I was also conscious that the comm had my number noted and if I were caught it would be the end. I decided not to panic, it was bound to open up again from Castleisland home with around 4km remaining so I sat in. I tried to move up but was still stuck behind 20 or 30 riders going into the last 2km. With around 1km to go on the only hill on the course I got out of the saddle and came around all but one rider. I got back in the saddle at the top of the climb and just pedalled as hard as I could until I crossed the line, I feel I was closing in on first but he went away before me and put in a huge dig himself. Very happy to have gotten 2nd place and 7 points in the bag, 3 more to move up to the next level and then a huge reality check! Bring on the Kanturk 3day this weekend!!

Thanks to everyone for all the advice, best wishes amd congrats especially Shane, Leonard and Dominic who are great to have at the races in case I've any silly questions! Hopefully I'll be up with ye soon!

Jonny