Sligo League 2020
The Sligo League 2020 started back this week !
Rosses Point TT – round 1
With a very well organised Time Trial out in Rosses Point ran by who other than the Innisfree Wheelers Cycling Club, “well organised” and “Innisfree wheelers” are a few words that are used a lot when it comes to cycling events in Sligo, and this one was no different , the first rider due off at 19:01 & on the button Aidan Mullane Showing off his new Bottecchia Cronothlon TT bike finished in a custom paint job shining bright for its competitive debut.
There were 8 categories on the night & points were up for grabs in all of them, and boy did the Bottecchia team come out in force and take full advantage.
Vinnie Doherty fresh from signing on the previous week took the A4 category on a borrowed Cannondale TT from the pre loved bike section of Chain Driven Cycles in a time of 19mins 10secs & was followed home for a Bottecchia 1-2 by the ever impressive Enda McLoughlin.
Heather Foley dominated the women’s division which on the night was full Bottecchia ladies, Annabel Gilmartin romped home with a time of 22mins 17secs , Followed by Kate Hawney on 23:28 , Heather won full points with an impressive time of 21mins 20secs & in the other ladies group, another Bottecchia Lady Irene Armstrong scored well coming in second place behind Eileen Gillen from IWCC , a super performance from our Girls and a well deserved racking up of points for the team.
The Limited competition Category has no fewer than 10 members showing off the Bottecchia team colours & , Our Ronan Currid deservedly took the top step with one of the most talked about performances on the night, and he was congratulated by members from all clubs when he came home with a time bang on 20mins, he was followed home then by our silent assassin Jacek Sowa to claim our third 1-2 of the night, there were also strong performances here from Conor & Conal with 4sec splitting them on 21mins for a very respectable 5th & 6th placed finishes.
Other categories on the night seen the M50 hotly contested by 3 very strong Yeats CCC riders with Shiny Steve picking up the win, our only Rider Paul Coyle picked up the points for 5th in what can only be described as a frustrating night with nothing going right for Paul ,Traffic on the way out and a puncture on the line before the start but I’m sure the 33 points will make him feel better !
The M60 category was only going to have one winner with IWCC’s Hugh Bennett taking the top step with a very impressive 21:05, But our very own Warrior David Smith finished in 4th in the category to pick up yet more valuable points for himself and the Bottecchia team.
Before we get to the business end of the racing we have to mention the F70 category and Pam Benson of the IWCC storming in and out the road with a time of 30mins 47secs, an incredible effort from Pam & a real dark horse to go close in the overall standings for the Sligo League, watch this space !
Now to the A2-A3 category where it’s all happening & where the real stars are, there were 9 entries with Club man Stephen Mullane showing up to win the club points & offer morale support to our other 4 riders, Desi Foley & Mark Scanlon finished ahead of Stephen With respectable times of 19mins 21secs & 20mins 08sec , Our Iron man Brian Sexton finished fifth on the night with an impressive time of 18mins 50secs, above him were 3 Yeats CC riders with the Sligo Champion Alan Horan pipping Trevor Cawley by a massive 4 seconds for third place, Ahead of Alan was Matthew Devins finishing second,
But out in a league of his own with a Strava course record time of 16 minutes 54 seconds & an average speed over 12.5kms of 44.3kms/hr ,
Davoren the Destroyer obliterated the field to win the category and the time trial outright on the night, surely now he’s odds on favourite for the Sligo cycling title? With 5 rounds to go you’d never know what might happen.
The next round is Wednesday the 15th with a race of two laps around the Traders cup circuit with the start at Carraroe & it will be hosted by the guys from Yeats CCC.
Well done to all the Bottecchia riders & winners, and excellent start to the league and were well on the way to retaining the Team Championship.
Stay tuned !
