Cuchulainn CC has put on some great races down the years and should host a top Champs in 2013
Just two weeks after announcing it will host the National Elite Road Race & TT Championships next season, Co Louth club Cuchulainn CC has revealed a course around the village of Carlingford will be used for the events rather than another course at Blackrock that had also been considered.
The chosen course is around 20km from Dundalk, with the road races for elite men and women and male vets to be held on a 14km loop. It is very flat, with just 60 metres or so of climbing each lap.
The flatter course should see some very aggressive racing from the start of all three events, with the foreign based individual riders likely to find the action much more difficult to control than on a harder, lumpier, route.
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The action will kick off with the Time Trials on the evening of Thursday, June 20th. They will be held over the traditional championship distance of 40km or 25 miles. The action will unfold along the R176 and R173 on a mainly flat route apart from that 60 metres of climbing that will also feature in the road races.
You can view the TT course here.
On Saturday, June 22nd, the action switches to road racing with the women’s elite and men’s vets titles down for decision.
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The circuit for the road race will cover laps of a 14.4km route with 61m of climbing on a mixture of both main and rural roads. It will take the riders through some stunning countryside near Carlingford Lough, The Cooley and Mourne Mountains and Carlingford medieval village.
The women's race will be contested over 6 laps of the circuit (86.4 km) and the veteran's race will be 8 laps (115.2km)
The following day, Sunday June 23rd, will see the main event when Ireland's top elite men line up for their championship race, which has been won for the last three years by Matt Brammeier (Team Champion System).
The race will be contested over 172km, with riders passing through the village 14 times.
And while the flatter circuit may throw up a home-based winner, the length of the race coupled with the anticipated speed means there will certainly be no fluke victory. It’s a course that will suit team work, a factor that may favour strong riders from outfits like An Post-Sean Kelly or homegrown squads such as DID Dunboyne, Aquablue, Eurocycles-Eurobabies and Planet Tri rather than strong individuals who are riding the race without team mates.
You can view the road race course here.
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