"Michael drilled it up the climb, dropped me off at 200 metres to go and I took it from there"

Martin O'Loughlin had a great weekend; 2nd to his son in Blarney on Sunday, he then won the Tommy Sheehan Memorial A3 race in Carrick yesterday. Seen here leading the winning escape in Blarney on Sunday, photo Brendan Slattery. The homepage photo is by Sean Rowe.

By Brian Canty

Veteran rider Martin O’Loughlin is showing no signs of slowing down after a brilliant win in the A3 Tommy Sheehan Memorial in Carrick-on-Suir yesterday afternoon, capping a marvellous weekend for him, his club and his family.

On Saturday the Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers rider finished second in Blarney to his 16-year-old son Michael. And yesterday he went one better; just nicking the win on the line from former Waterford hurler Mark Gater (Waterford Racing Team).

It didn’t look good for O’Loughlin Snr in the latter stages of yesterday’s contest, however, when he trailed a threatening five-man break that had been away for much of the last lap.

And though they pulled out a gap of 40 seconds at one stage on the run for home, that margin had tumbled to 25 seconds by the time they hit the town.

And with his team mate Joe Kearney in that move, along with the aforementioned Gater and Blarney CC’s Brian O’Connell as well as two others, O’Loughlin Snr had an armchair ride towards the finish.

Turning left at the bridge, some 400 metres from the line, O’Loughlin Snr moved to the front and with the help of his son he stayed there, before he pounced on those up ahead.

O’Loughlin Jnr did the driving to close the gap before senior dived for the breakaway men, who were now at a crawling pace.

Gater, showing the form that has seen him upgraded already from A4 to A3, made one last ditch effort for the win but O’Loughlin Snr just had enough in the tank and pipped him for first place.

“It was a brilliant weekend,” a relieved winner said afterwards.

“It didn’t look too good when the break had 40 seconds but that hill is hard and it catches people every year.

“I was relatively fresh because Joe was up the road but Michael did a great job to drill it up the climb and he dropped me off with about 200 metres to go and I went from there,” he added.

“The two of us were neck and neck for a bit, just grinding it,” he said of his head to head with Gater for the win.

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“I don’t think we were even going that fast but I was delighted to get it; delighted. It capped off a great weekend for the club with Michael winning (in Blarney on Sunday) as well.”

Like the A1-A2 race, the A 3 event yesterday in Carrick was fast from the outset, with a number of groups trying to get away. But none managed to stick or gain any significant time.

One attack on the second lap changed all that, however, and it was Billy Reidy, a veteran riding for the Listowel-based iBike team, who went on the Glenbower climb and managed to get away. He then stayed clear for almost 30 kilometres.

He pulled out a gap of just under a minute. But crucially he had no help and gradually he faltered.

The major move arrived on the final lap, again on the Glenbower climb, when a number of riders clipped off the front pulling out 40 seconds.

The bunch chased and brought that down to 15 seconds but with the escape almost caught , the peloton would stall and the gap went out again to 40 seconds leading many to believe they would stay away.

Kearney, Gater, Brian O’Connell and two other riders were in there and the lack of impetus to chase behind gave them a chance.

But Michael O’Loughlin lit the touch-paper at the bottom of the climb as those ahead fragmented. And with his father on his wheel, their engines combining proved the winning of the race.