Sean McKenna leads Mark Dowling on his way to victory in last year’s Laragh Classic and Leinster Road Championships (Photo: Sean Rowe)
The organisers of the Laragh Classic races in Co Wicklow this weekend have been forced to curtail the promotion after Garda restrictions were imposed.
It appears the Garda is unhappy the races clash with a swimming event being held in nearby Glendalough and so have insisted on the cycling promotion being scaled back.
The event will still go ahead on Sunday, albeit minus one of the three races planned and with some other changes.
- There will not now be a standalone A3-Junior race, meaning the Martin Vereker Memorial is off.
- Entries for the A3-Junior race will now be combined with A1-A2 entries.
- There will be one handicapped race for these categories of rider on the day.
- The A4 race will remain a standalone event.
However, despite the changes the allocation of Leinster Championship prizes will be unaffected.
The top three A1s, A2s, A3s, Juniors, Veterans and Women will all receive medals for their category.
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There are also a number of important changes around the timing of the events, with the Garda requesting earlier start times.
It means the start time for the two races that have survived have been brought forward to 10am.
The initial start was 11am but the action now gets underway an hour earlier; for both the A1-A2-A3-Junior race and the separate A4 race.
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A statement from organisers St Tiernan’s CC states:
“We may be able to accept a limited number of entries on the day however pre-entry is advised to guarantee your place.
“If we reach our upper limit of riders (80) in the A1-A3 race in advance of this Friday evening, which is looking quite likely at present, we will close entries for this race at that point and there will be no additional entries available on the day.
“We do apologise for these late changes, however they are entirely necessary to ensure the safety of all riders and the smooth running of our event.
“We are working closely with the local Garda in the lead up to our event on Sunday and would like to thank them for their continued input.”
The statement made no comment about the restrictions imposed by the Garda and the club declined to comment.
However, sources familiar with the situation have confirmed the changes to the schedule were insisted on by the Garda, ostensibly because of a swimming event in Glendalough, also on Sunday.
The changes are a real shame for St Tiernan’s CC as the club has put on a great promotion in recent years.
And the fact Leinster Championship titles will be decided at the event makes the loss of the A3-Junior standalone race a big disappointment.
However, the promotion is still a great end of season racing opportunity.
At the time of writing there were only a handful of places left in the main event so if you are planning to enter late or even on the day, it is best to contact the club first.
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