Charlie Prendergast takes Loughrea GP from Mike Storan as Chris Reilly fades from escape

Charlie Prendergast is going well ahead of his departure for France, winning the Loughrea GP in Co Galway today.

Charlie Prendergast (Cunga CC) has won today’s TriBikes-SIP Energy Loughrea GP from Mike Storan (Liquidworx-Fitscience) on a cold and wet afternoon in the west.

Prendergast, the national junior road race champion from 2009, was the strongest at the end of the hard and hilly 102 kilometre race.

He had to be on his toes to see off the challenge of Storan and his Liquidworx-Fitscience team, from which Paddy Clarke was 3^rd and Gareth McCormack 5^th.

Louisburgh man Prendergast, who will head to France next month to join up with the Brittany-based Hennebont Lochrist cycling team, is clearly in good form after having taken his first win of the season.

He was in the main move of the day that featured Storan and his team mate Chris Reilly. But when Reilly uncharacteristically blew up in the latter stages, Prendergast just had one man to beat and made not mistake in that regard in the charge to the line.

More to follow.