David O’Loughlin (centre) is one of a very small group of riders to win the Shay Elliott Memorial twice; seen here climbing to victory in the mist of 2008 with runner-up Pete Williams to his left and third placed man Paul Griffin to his right (Photo: Stephen McMahon)
With the dust barely settled on one of the biggest weekends of racing on the Irish calendar, all eyes have already turned to the next major encounter in the shape of the Shay Elliott Memorial on Co Wicklow on Saturday.
We've a pretty cool promo video for you below.
Run by Bray Wheelers, the event has added an A3 race this year as an under card to the main A1-A2 event.
The club decided to move the racing from its usual spot of a Sunday in early May just before the An Post Rás to this coming Saturday.
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Bray Wheelers is hopeful the earlier date and the change from Sunday to Saturday will help rejuvenate the race a little after the size of the field dipped in recent years.
To date, the famed fixture has taken the form of just one senior event, for A1 and A2 riders, that includes some of the biggest and most iconic climbs in the country, making it perhaps the most prestigious race on the domestic calendar.
At 140km in length, it is much longer than the vast majority of races on the home scene. It takes in some of the toughest terrain in the hilly county, including the Old Wicklow Gap and Glenmalure, where the Shay Elliott monument is located.
Won by the late John Lackey the first time it was held in 1958 while Shay Elliott was still alive, it became a memorial event after the tragic death of Ireland’s first Tour de France yellow jersey wearer in 1971.
Since Lackey’s triumph, the winners’ list has become a collection of many of the great names of Irish cycling.
The trophy features the names of those from the early years such as Peter Crinnion, Peter Doyle, Sean Kelly, Pat McQuaid, Alan and Paul McCormack, Peter Morton and Billy Kerr, with others like Philip Lavery, Conor Murphy, Tim Barry, Mick O’Donnell, Stephen O’Sullivan, David O’Loughlin and David McCann have taken it in more recent years.
No rider currently competing has won the race twice, with Conor Murphy taking a great win last year and Philip Lavery triumphant solo in 2012.
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While the main event for A1 and A2 riders will still be the big draw again this Saturday, the inclusion of an A3-Junior race will give one of Irish cycling’s biggest days a fantastic boost.
The new race will be a shortened version of its bigger brother. But running at 85km and featuring the climb of Glenmalure, it will be a huge draw for the best juniors in the country seeking to maintain their places on Irish teams for later in the summer or for emerging teenagers to stake their claim for a place in a world or European championship team.
The event will also provide an invaluable opportunity to A3 riders to sample a race they normally would not dream of riding.
Bray Wheelers announced the inclusion of the under card event after receiving confirmation from Cycling Ireland that its proposal to hold an A3-Junior version had been approved.
The inclusion of the second race will most likely increase interest in the A1-A2 main event, with clubs who have few A1 or A2 riders more likely to travel to Wicklow now that their A3s and juniors are being accommodated.
Nice little promo for you
Conor Murphy takes the Shay Elliott Memorial last year after a fantastic performance with team mate Thomas Martin, both of whom rode away from the field to take an impressive 1-2 for Eurocycles (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie)
Philip Lavery on his way to winning the race in great style in 2012; he then took the U2 National Road Race Championship later in the year and the bronze in the elite title race behind Matt Brammeier and Nicolas Roche (Photo courtesy of Bray Wheelers)
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