After a dream season, Jake Gray is in the US as part of the Irish team for the World Road Championships and is well clear at the top of Cycling Ireland's junior rankings for the 2015 campaign. Above, riding for Ireland on the Scott Bicycles Junior Tour in July (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
With no fewer than seven wins to his name in his first season as a junior rider, Jake Gray has ended the 2015 campaign with a clear advantage at the top of Cycling Ireland’s rider rankings.
The NRPT-Magnet.ie man has ended the season with 253 points, compared with 187 for next best junior Darragh O’Mahony of the O’Leary Stone Kanturk club.
Rounding out the podium was Michael O’Loughlin, a team mate of Gray’s who collected 138 points during the season.
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All three riders are part of the team currently in the US for the World Road Championships, with O’Loughlin riding both the junior TT on Tuesday and the junior road race next Saturday. Gray and O’Mahony are set to ride the road race.
Among Gray’s wins for the year were the Cicli Sport Grand Prix in Cookstown in March as well as two stages and second overall at the Lakeland Two Day in Fermanagh in April.
He also took the Mid Ulster GP in Cookstown in April, Phoenix CC Crit in the Park in Belfast in June, the Stephen Roche GP in south Dublin in June and the overall at the Newry Three Day in July.
In Newry, Gray not only took the final yellow jersey but also the points, climbers’ classification and young riders’ jersey.
Runner-up in the junior rankings, O’Mahony won no fewer than six races this year; the Dungarvan Open Race, the first stage of the Gorey Three Day, the Drumm Cup, a stage of the Kanturk Three Day and the Munster Road Race Championships.
He was also Ireland’s only stage winner at the Junior Tour in July when he triumphed on stage 4 while riding on the national team.
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Despite finishing in 3rd place in the rankings, O’Loughlin won more races than any other junior in the country this year.
However, he raced less frequently at home than the others; missing a chunk of racing including the Junior Tour to focus on the European Track Championships.
He won Rás Luimni, the Donal Crowley & Kay Strattan Memorial, Tommy Sheehan Memorial and Des Hanlon Memorial in the early weeks of the season.
He followed those performances with a stage win and overall victory at the Gorey Three Day, a stage and the overall at the O'Leary's Stone Kanturk Three-Day and the gold medal in both the road race and time trial at the National Junior Championships.
Cycling Ireland Junior Rankings 2015
1 Jake Gray NRPT-Magnet.ie 253
2 Darragh O'Mahony O'Leary Stone Kanturk 187
3 Michael O'Loughlin NRPT 138
4 Sean Yelverton Mego Racing Team 137
5 Cameron McIntyre Banbridge CC 125
6 Dion Mc Carthy Zannata – Lotto Cycling Team Menen 124
7 Marc Heaney Carn Wheelers 116
8 Simon Tuomey Cork Giant Team 116
9 Conn McDunphy Lucan Cycling Road Club 100
10 Adam Stenson NRPT 89
11 Declan Mulholland Powerhouse Sport 67
12 Aaron Swan NRPT 64
13 Dermot White Lucan Cycling Road Club 60
14 Aaron Kearney Carrick Wheelers Cycling Club 59
15 Seamus Sinnott Wexford Wheelers 59
16 Cathal Purcell Carrick Wheelers Cycling Club 56
17 Robert O'Leary Cork Giant Team 48
18 Sean Moore Barrow Wheelers 45
19 Cathal Clarke Newry Wheelers CC 40
20 Conor McCann NRPT 31
21 Caimin Muldoon NRPT 30
22 James Curry Banbridge CC 29
23 Barry Talt Murphy Surveys Kilcullen CC 22
24 Conor Murnane Orwell Wheelers CC 21
25 Conor Murphy O'Leary Stone Kanturk 19
26 Ciara Doogan Errigal Cycling Club 18
27 Fionn Jordan Slaney Cycling Club 18
28 Cian Sutcliffe Lucan Cycling Road Club 15
29 Reece Young Slaney Cycling Club 14
30 Mark Quigley Breffni Wheelers 14
31 Eimear Harrison Westport Covey Wheelers Cycling Club 13
32 Stephen Bryan Lucan Cycling Road Club 12
33 Karl Benson Castlebar Cycling Club 11
34 Naoise Sheridan Orwell Wheelers CC 11
35 Andrew Maguire Wexford Wheelers 11
36 Joash Lawrence North Down CC 10
37 Mark Bergin Carrick Wheelers Cycling Club 10
38 Laura Cooke Limerick Cycling Club 9
39 Nathan Weir Harps CC 8
40 Stephen Gillman O'Leary Stone Kanturk 8
41 Conor DEVLIN Island Wheelers 8
42 Brian Ennett Comeragh CC 7
43 Patrick Ward Murphy Surveys Kilcullen CC 7
44 conor smith Virginia Triathlon and Cycling Club 5
45 James Nugent Marble City Cyclers 5
46 Jack O Neill Caldwell Cycles Omagh 5
47 Conor Dabell Errigal Cycling Club 5
48 David Boyne Lakeside Wheelers CC 5
49 Jody Evans Spires CC 4
50 Shea McTaggart Bann Valley Road Club 4
51 Sean Cosgrove CKR Cycling Club 4
52 Chris Reddin Wolftrap Cycling Club 4
53 Conor Kenny Blanch Wheelies CC 3
54 Cillian Tierney Tralee Manor West BC 3
55 Calvin Moore Caldwell Cycles Omagh 2
56 Aisling Desmond Galtee Wheelers CC 2
57 Darren Duffy Emyvale CC 2
58 Oran Pierse Tralee Manor West BC 2
59 Jennifer Neenan NRPT 1
60 Angelo L. O'Connor Laois CTC 1
61 Kevin Winterburn Newcastle West Cycling Club 1
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