Cycling: Strong performances from CCT cyclists

The starting line up consisted of 80 riders which included CCT’s Andrew Reid, John McGlaughlin and guest rider Barry Doyle. Friday night’s stage consisted of laps of the Newry to Warrenpoint dual carriageway, the steep climb on Grianan Road and 3 short crit laps in Warrenpoint. The Team rode well with John McGlaughlin finishing 13th in the bunch sprint. Andrew and Barry finished in the main bunch and everyone finished on the same time as the winner. After the fast stage on Friday night the riders headed to the hills on Saturday morning to take on the roads around Hilltown to test the riders climbing skills. This stage saw Andrew and Barry finishing in the main bunch 1 minute 45 seconds behind the Yellow Jersey, while John lost contact on the run to the line finishing 2 minutes 57 seconds down. Saturday afternoon saw the race of truth where the riders all tested themselves against the clock in a Time Trial from Warrenpoint to Newry. Andrew put in a great Time Trial finishing 7th overall, while John was 14th and Barry 44th, a great effort on a standard road bike. After Stage 3 Andrew moved to 8th overall on General Classification 1 minute 33 seconds down, Barry was 30th overall 2 minutes 04 seconds down and John was 52th overall 2 minutes 51 seconds down, with the team lying 7th in the Team Classification out of 18 teams. Sunday morning saw the riders starting off in the final 73 mile stage which included four King of the Hills intervals. Barry managed to get into a six man break building up a good lead over the main bunch. As the bunch started to lift the pace the break was pulled back with 20 miles to go. Andrew and John finished in the bunch with John getting 20th in the stage. Andrew had put in enough effort on the final stage to secure 9th place in the overall classification, a fantastic result in his first stage race. John finished a credible 36th overall. A tough weekend’s racing. CCT’s Jake Gray was a little further afield in the Netherlands riding in the U16 category for Cycling Ireland’s Talent Team 2020. Jake finished in 2nd place on Monday with his Cycling Ireland Team mates taking 1st, 3rd and 4th alongside him. Another great result for Jake and a first outing for the CCT kit racing abroad. This weekend Andrew Reid travelled to Cork to ride in the Junior Road Race Championship with Ireland’s elite juniors to take part in a tough 9 lap course. After a promising start which saw Andrew get into the second break on the road ahead of the main bunch he had a puncture in lap four which put him out of the running for a top result. On Sunday 17th August Omagh Wheelers hosted the Tyrone Road Race Championship. CCT’s John McGlaughlin placed 10th overall after a tough 55 miles racing.