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Shambles at Irish champioship

Jun 27, 2010
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Cycling in my country reached new lows at Saturdays National Ladies and Veterans Road race Championship.
How the longstanding fine club eire og came up with this beggars belief. They had to host the above events along with the cream event ie the senior mens. Sadly the circut approved by CI officals saw CI at their worst treating 1st class athletes like 3rd class hassle.

C I officials allowed the races to be held on what could only be decribed as a 4th cat, flat 12km "c" road circut in the middle of nowhere. With Ireland now processing some of Europes best and most scenic roads this circut must have taken some finding.

The rather short 80km Ladies race went first and despite having to ride on a
3rd rate bumpy narrow circut they produced fine fast racing and "Irish Amercian" Dillon won from Cork lass Horgan.

With lots of highly trained, talented ladies on show such a short race on a crap circut just insults their talent. Despte their protest in the days before the race the officals simply ignored them at told them to like it or lump it.
Not many contested the finishing sprint on a narrow bumpy 3 metre wide road with a line of cars parked leading up to the finish line. 6 laps and total climbing of 60 metres per lap big ring all the way.

David Peelo won my slightly longer veteran mens race from his clubmate Swinnard who made the most of the disgraceful, dull, dire, dissapointing course.

Thankfully the senior event was better and produced top level racing held in Sligo town and a surprise winner was another "Irish" convert Liverpool lad Brammeier.

Summary weather great 22c. Athletes and racing brillant. Circut, load of crap, an embarassment to members.
Check you carbon wheels and fork steerer after this one folks.
Well back to the Guinness, still celebrating France being knocked out!
:mad:
 
Jul 2, 2009
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What's very sad is that it got little or no coverage in the national media. Irish media were more interested in the fact that England were playing a soccer match rather than report on actual Irish sports news. Thankfully we hav Shane Stokes in Ireland. Without him and a couple of others, we wouldn't have a clue what's going on in Irish cycling. Disappointed Nicolas Roche didn't win the elite as I think the national jersey seems to hav helped to give him an extra bite this year. Well for to Sam Bennett winning the U23.
 
eireman said:
Incredible.
Sorry for posting such a stupid first posting, but... oh, the memories.
Take away those spage-age vehicles at the raodside and the scenery (especially the finish line) _totally_ looks like the TdF-reenactment we set up as kids aged 10 when we were at our grandparents´ during summer holidays back in the late 70s.
Yet ist seems we were way ahead, as we even had a clothline stretched over the road, from which colourfull little flags advertising the local gas stations and ice cream shop were dangling.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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I'm sure this topic and accusing the organisers does not do any good for anyone. Why would they ever organise a race again if they get blasted in the forums here for all the world to see? I'm sure they will stop organizing your little races pretty fast.

What's very sad is that it got little or no coverage in the national media.

You can not expect the media to just arrive. Maybe you could do a story yourself and include a photo or two and it would be quite a lot easier to publish.
 
Jul 3, 2009
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Having rode the veterans champs on saturday i have to say that barring the very narrow finish the circuit was grand. In both the womens and vets race it was selective enough to produce worthy winners in Olivia Dillon & David Peelo (who by the way has not been a team mate of Greg (Swinard's) for a few years now). There were problems in the TT with timing but these seem to have been resolved now (i hope), alas this left alot of riders disgruntled before the start of the womens/vets champs. While this is regrettable i think that a more professional approach is needed and regional championships should be run on the TT & road race courses before they are sanctioned as championship courses & the womens & vets champs should not be treated as a cinderella side show(why a different course to Elite road race?). Oh and the standard of racing took a step up this year with an influx of riders thanks to a long overdue rule change.
 
Jun 27, 2010
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Thanks.
I am a Vet to. Most that I spoke to couldnt belief the crap club type circut. Simply unacceptable for a National championship in any way. The quality of the racing has nothing to do with the rubbish circut and low key event
I have friends in the Club and they realise their error. They didnt want the vets and ladies event and ran it accordingly.
I am not to worried what the some of the vet men accept that are just happy to race.
The ladies pay the same licence fee, train as hard as the senior men to treat them like 3rd class athletes on a 4th rate circut is not acceptable. in anyway. This is 2010 not the 70's or some 3rd world cycling country.
Pat McQ would have a fit if he saw this.
CI need a full review on why and how this happened. Total rubbisha complete shambles
 
Jul 3, 2009
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I think you have to face some facts here,

1. Cycling in Ireland is a third world sport, if it wasn't we'd get the media coverage we deserve.

2. The circuit was ok, the location totally wrong(sweeping the corners would have been a bonus too).

3. It was obivious that the organising club didnt want these events, that was obivious to the world and his dog.

4. It would have been nice to finish somewhere there would have been a local crowd, but what club goes to that type of trouble.

5. The womens race should have been as long as the vets, and after it.

Oh, & tho i was glad to finish it, i never go to a race unless i intend to give it a go at some stage.:)
 
Jun 30, 2010
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Good points.
circut not good enough for club race
far to easy for those elite ladies and the vets
drove round ladies as support, load of sh1te, dangerous and to narrow only a few girls bothered about the sprint due to the dangerous car lined finish
they badly need an apology from the club and irish cycling along with their 25 euro back.
should have been a real test instead not worthy of a village festival event

Lots of blue shirt Cycling Ireland men there looking smart, acting thick
couldn't see our english high preformance guy "dr phil" del boy liegh or the CEO, gone to ground no doubt
cant believe rory wiley the president & defending vets champ who rode again accepted this sh1te and his lack of comments on circut and about his fellow cyclists on http://www.irishcycling.com shows him up.
already dropped him a rocket for accepting this sh1te.