It’s been a good weekend for Belfast man Ali Macaulay with 6th in the Shay Elliott Memorial on Saturday followed by victory at the Waller Cup yesterday. Seen here just about edging out Eoin Morton for the Bohermeen win (Photo: Amy-Norah Farrell)
By Gerard Cromwell
It's been a good weekend for Belfast man Ali Macaulay.
On Saturday, the 25-year-old Phoenix rider spent most of the day in the break at the Shay Elliott Memorial, eventually finishing sixth behind winner Damien Shaw. And yesterday he took his first victory of the season at the Waller Cup in Bohermeen, Co Meath.
“It was two hard days but I was feeling good,” said a delighted MacAuley after he outsprinted a six man front group to take the Waller Cup.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t call myself a sprinter but I knew myself that the legs were absolutely brilliant today. Any attacks that were going I was jumping across to them and I was closing 30 second gaps quite easily.”
Advertisement
If Macaulay was able to close gaps throughout the race, he wasn’t bad at opening them either; going clear with Rás Mumhan winner Mark Dowling for a lap very early on before infiltrating the final winning move on the last lap.
“At the start there were a lot of groups trying to go off,” he said.
“Myself and Mark Dowling were away for a lap by ourselves and then Cian Delaney got across to us. We were working well, but I think Chris Reilly was here to win it and they (Liquidworx Fitscience) were taking everything back all day.”
While Reilly’s team were keen to chase down any early moves, a home victory eluded the Bohermeen man, who didn’t manage to make the race winning move on the final lap and finished outside of the top eight .
Instead, last weekend’s Gorey Three-Day winner Mark Reilly (Lucan CRC) jumped clear with Colm Laverty (Stamullen M. Donnelly), Niall Doggett of Navan Road Club and recent Ben McKenna Memorial winner Eoin Morton of UCD.
Sensing the danger, Macaulay and Dowling rode across the gap shortly after. And despite a spirited chase behind, the sextet had opened a 35 second gap at the line, where Macaulay pounced for his first win of the year.
Related News
“On the last lap, four guys nipped off the front and myself and Mark again rode across to them. Once that happened the bunch stalled a bit and we got it up to about 45 seconds. Luckily everyone was riding.
"I knew coming into the finish that I had the potential to get up here. I was sitting second wheel and every other corner I’d try to go through fairly hard and I could see people dropping wheels.
"I went through second wheel and lit it up from there. Eoin Morton was coming back up the right hand side of me but luckily I got the win.”
Macaulay has come a long way in just two years of racing, winning a stage and finishing second overall at the 2013 Gorey Three-Day in his first year and now winning his first A1 race in Meath.
“I tore two cruciate ligaments playing football so I thought I need to do something with a bit less contact,” he says.
“I bought a bike and did a few sportives. I started club racing two years ago and haven’t looked back.”
Instead, 25-year-old Macaulay is looking forward to the Tour of Ulster next weekend and a possible first ride in the An Post Ras, if he can find a team.
“I’m looking for a team for the Ras at the moment,” he said.
“Phoenix have a team in, but I had exam commitments and couldn’t commit at the time. It’s worked out that my exams are going to be finished before the Rás but I couldn’t commit to it so I’m going to have to look for another team.”
With the form he’s in at the moment, there should be no shortage of takers.
Topics
