Hugh Mulhearne edged Greg Swinand to the vets title in Carlingford three years ago and both men should be in the shake-up once again tomorrow in the Masters 40 race in Kilcullen (Photo: Toby Watson)
By Brian Canty
One of the most fascinating one-day races of the year is down for decision tomorrow when upwards of 160 Masters 40 riders toe the line in Kilcullen for the national championships.
There’s a number of former winners in the field, including Joe Fenlon (Strata3-VeloRevolution), Hugh Mulhearne (Panduit Carrick Wheelers) and Martin O’Loughlin (Panduit Carrick Wheelers) and all three should influence the race again to some degree.
Mulhearne pipped Greg Swinand three years ago in Carlingford after a ferocious battle and the latter is in the field again with the help of his Aquablue teammate John Horgan.
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Defending champion Aidan Crowley (Strata3-VeloRevolution) will be aiming to retain the jersey he won in superb style last year but it’s extremely unlikely the race will be decided in a bunch sprint again.
The fact Strata3-VeloRevolution have so many registered probably does him no favours either as all 10 men will be going hell for leather to make the break, we suspect.
Frank Dunne, Anthony Doyle, Paul Kennedy, the aforementioned Fenlon, Derek Cunningham, David Walsh, Hugh McMahon, Mark McLeavey and Barry Sutton make up the biggest team in the race and their plan will be to simply stack the breaks and play off their numerical advantage.
However, if a couple of them make the break the onus would definitely be on them to ride – and that could play perfectly into the hands of some men who don’t have anyone for support.
One such standout name is Neil Delahaye and the former Irish international riding for ASEA-Wheelworx will certainly be in the mix.
He doesn’t race so much because of his commitment to his work with Cycling Ireland but when he does he’s usually in the shake-up.
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Derek Joyce (Galway Bay CC) is another man to keep an eye on and he was third in 2013 and can never be discounted.
Eugene Murtagh (Lucan Cycling Road Club) is a fine sprinter as is Joe Christain of Gorey while Dermot Radford of Tipp Wheelers is as strong as anyone on his day.
John Hodge (Dungarvan CC) has been up there plenty times in races and should go close to a medal, as too should Niall Whelan (Laois CTC) and Eddie Barry (Moda Sports-Kingdom Endurance).
The separate Masters 50 race has a fine field of 62 and among them are defending champion Declan Hanrahan (Panduit Carrick Wheelers), ex-professional John Brady (Team Smartlamp) and last year’s runner-up John Madden (Inspired Cycling).
The latter will be gunning for victory this time around after losing out in somewhat controversial circumstances 12 months ago.
A few others worth mentioning are Chris McCann (Inspired Cycling), Tom Shanahan (Limerick CC), Des Woods (Newry CC) and Colm Bracken (Murphy Surveyors, Kilcullen).
Cycling Ireland’s president Ciarán McKenna (Time Bikeworx Celbridge) will also pin on race numbers for what should be an almighty battle.
The Masters 60 event has a field of 12 which should make it an extremely hard race with no hiding places.
Sean Lally (Team Smartlamp) will start as one of the favourites but Sean McIlroy (Panduit Carrick Wheelers) and Tom Daly (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk) will be in the mix as well.
The racing gets underway with the Masters 40 at 10am and they’ll do four laps of the 26-kilometre circuit after which the Masters 50 category will go at 10.10am for three laps and finally, at 10.15am, the Masters 60 men will roll off for two laps.
You can access the start lists for all three races by following this link.
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