Classy Craig McAuley on joy of early season road race victory
The winning move in Saturday's Spires GP, promoted by Spires CC in Co Derry. On the left is Darnell Moore, a man who played a key role in helping temamate Craig McAuley emerge victorious (Photo: David McVeigh - The Belgian Project)
By Brian Canty
Craig McAuley was a worthy winner of the Spires GP over the weekend, the Caldwell Cycles man just about edging Angus Fyffe in a cracking two-up sprint.
The A1 and A2 riders were let off together but they had to work extremely hard to reel in the A3 riders.
The cause wasn’t helped by constant attacking from the scratch group but when a group of eight broke clear and went in pursuit of the limit men the gap soon tumbled.
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Still, the men up front stayed honest and managed to remain clear until the last lap of the contest.
“We rode fairly well but it took a while for the gap to come down and we only caught them with a lap or so to go,” said McAuley.
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Caldwell Cycles man McAuley front and centre of shot; he won in convincing fashion and should do very well this season (Photo: David McVeigh - The Belgian Project)
With half a lap remaining the would-be winner had a go and got away on his own for a spell.
And that provoked a reaction from behind with Darnell Moore (Caldwell Cycles) and Angus Fyffe coming across with David Hamilton (North Down CC).
“Darnell and I managed to work well together, putting in a few attacks to try and work the others over.
“Darnell put in a really strong dig with about 800 metres to go, forcing Angus to chase.
“And once he was caught I went again and managed to hold Angus off,” relieved McAuley.
“It wasn't the biggest race on the calendar, there's no doubt about that, but it's always nice to cross the line first regardless of where it is, especially at this stage of the season in a race with plenty of strong guys in it.”
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