Fraser Duncan strikes a familiar pose as he takes another victory for the Dave Kane Cycles-Northern CC team this year at the Red Hand Trophy, with Ronan McLaughlin just behind in 2nd place.
By Gerard Cromwell
With four wins from seven starts, the mild mannered Fraser Duncan has quietly become the most prolific rider on the domestic scene this season.
Duncan began the year with victory at the Spires Grand Prix and has since quietly followed that up with three wins in a row at the John Moore Memorial, the Red Hand Trophy and most recently, the Tour of Ards last weekend.
While he didn’t manage to take a fifth victory at the Ben McKenna Memorial yesterday, Sunday, he did pull a podium spot out of the bag and perhaps could have been placed even higher if he hadn’t missed the race winning move with four laps to go.
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“It was quite a funny race,” said the Belfast man afterwards.
“There was a lot of to -ing and fro-ing, with groups forming and then other groups coming across and those groups splitting again and new groups reforming. It was hard to know what to do.
"I suppose the best thing was to try and ride it from the front all the time but as it turned out I ended up missing the move and sort of had to do a bit of chasing the last two and a half laps.”
Duncan’s move back to former club Dave Kane Cycles-Northern CC this season seems to have paid dividends and given the former Eurocycles rider a new lease of life.
“I’m back to my old club. I know all the guys," he said.
"They’ve always helped me, even when I was with Eurocycles, so they’re my friends as well; the ‘Kaners’. I’m enjoying the craic again and getting out with them.
"I like to go out to race hard and sort of get the training done and if you’re in a position to be up there, then go for it. I’m lucky enough to have a half decent sprint so if it’s a small group coming to the finish I’m normally okay.”
Although he has yet to meet the criteria for selection, the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh this summer are now a firm target for the 29-year-old.
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“It’s certainly on my mind now," he says.
"I haven’t met any of the criteria yet, so I just need to make sure I meet some of the criteria and leave it at that. Then it’s out of my hands.
"Hopefully I can meet the criteria and give somebody a selection headache. I want to push on and see what I can do.”
A ride in the An Post Rás in May is also a target if he can find a team. But before that Duncan will line up at the Tour of the North with a Dave Kane trio that includes Adam Armstrong and veteran and former international star Mark Kane.
“Mark rode the Tour of Ards last week," said Duncan of the comeback veteran and Olympian.
"I think the last time he rode it was 1993, when he won it. He was sixth last week, so he’s going really well. I think he’s 42 or 43 now but he still loves the bike.
"He’s still out with a wee group every Wednesday night and takes a few young lads from another club out on a Tuesday night. It’s been a few years since he rode the Tour of the North so it should be a bit of craic.”
Highlights of last weekend's Tour of Ards, won by Fraser Duncan
Left to right: Mark Kane, Fraser Duncan and Adam Armstrong will all tackle the Tour of the North in the colours of the Dave Kane Cycles-Northern CC.
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