Lacey takes victory in Tralee today (Photo: www.traleebc.com)
Sean Lacey (Dan Morrissey-Speedy Spokes) has taken his fifth win of the season by storming to victory in the Kerry County Road Race Championships in Tralee today, Sunday.
The title race was run over 4.5 laps of a tough circuit featuring a climb of 3km each time up to the finish line. Lacey was aggressive from the outset and managed to get clear on the opening lap with Matt Slattery (Killarney CC) and Barry Horgan of the promoting club Tralee BC.
The trio worked well and pulled out a decent gap before Horgan lost contact going up the climb to begin the second last lap.
With just Lacey and Slattery up front from that point, they decided to work together and cooperated well for another lap. However, heading up the climb for the penultimate time Lacey attacked Slattery and managed to get away from him. He then time trialled alone for the last lap, with Slattery hanging on for second place around 45 seconds down.
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With Horgan absorbed by the bunch after he was dropped from the escape, the bronze medal was decided in a gallop from a group, with Maurice Lawlor of St Finbarr’s sprinting in to claim that last slot on the podium. He also picked up the A3 price for his troubles, with Brendan Cassidy of Killarney CC taking the A4.
Lacey said while he was happy with his five wins in 2012, he felt he had had “an up and down season”. With work commitments next weekend followed by a foreign holiday, today’s county championships was his last race of the season.
“I got sick in March,” he told stickybottle. “I was riding in and out of work and it’s a good commute so I was maybe burning the candle at both ends.”
He said the illness meant he was not at his best for the ‘Kerry Group Ras Mumhan’ and that following the Easter fixture he was then building for the Ras.
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“So when you’re building for the Ras you’re sacrificing your chances in races for better preparation. And then I rode the Ras and I guess everyone knows how hard it is to get up in that. Then we had the Champs in Clonmel and I broke my chain in that.”
“So I suppose you just need to keep your head when all that’s happening, and just keep racing because you never know what might come your way. There’s five wins there, a nice bit of silverware but maybe I would have expected the wins to come from other places.”
Kerry County Championships
1. Sean Lacey - Dan Morrissey-Speedy Spokes
2. Matt Slattery - Killarney CC
3. Maurice Lawlor - St. Finbarrs
A3
1. Maurice Lawlor - St. Finbarrs
2. Peter Clendennon - Killorglin Credit Union CC
3. Barry Horgan - Tralee Manor
A4
1. Brendan Cassidy - Killarney CC
2. George Doyle - Tralee Manor
3. Sean Mc Carron - Tralee Manor
Junior
1. Mikey Moriarty - Leestrand Tralee
2. Hugh Mcsweeney - Currow CC.
Vets (40+)
1. Sean McCarron - Tralee Manor
2. Canice Walsh - Chain Gang
3. Mike Leahy - Tralee Manor
Vets (50+)
1. Kevin Griffin - Tralee Manor
2. Tom Barrett - Currow CC
3. Tom Daly - Kanturk
Team Prizes
1. Killarney CC
2. Tralee Manor
3. Killorglin-Credit Union CC.
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