Daire Feeley takes strong win after aggressive racing in wet Bellewstown

*Daire Feeley looks delighted with his win after he beat Darnell Moore. They powered clear of a breakaway in the Leinster Autumn Classic (Photo: Sean Meade)*

Daire Feeley (Strata 3-Velorevolution) has won the Autumn Leinster Classic in Co Meath after getting clear from the breakaway with Darnell Moore (Vitus Pro Cycling).

Feeley said he was unsure of how he
would go today having had a very busy week in work but added he was delighted
to put in a good performance at take the victory.

He did it the hard way; getting clear in
a breakaway and then escaping from it with Moore, the former U23 road race
champion and former elite Irish cyclocross champion who stepped up to
Continental level this year.

At the finish after a very wet 83km race
or very hilly roads, Feeley and Moore went head to head to the victor just
taking it on the line.

The rain made what was a hilly and
technical course even harder and went an early breakaway got clear in the main
event it was full of impressive fire power.

Feeley and Moore were there along with Mark Dowling (Strata 3-VeloRevolution), Cyrus Monk (EvoPro Racing), former national junior champion Adam Ward (Powerhouse Sport), John Buller (Banbridge Cycling Club) and George Peden (Prologue PC).

*Nathan Keown wins the A3-Junior race from a breakaway, with Dean Harvey 2nd and Ryan Geraghty in 3rd place (Photo: Sean Meade)*

While that group combined very well,
their cooperation was relatively short-lived and with three laps, of eight,
remaining on the near 12km circuit, the breakaway split.

This time Moore and Feeley forged clear
with Dowling; Strata 3-VeloRevolition with two men up there as was the case in
recent weeks in Limerick. Behind them, the rest of the breakaway was caught by
a chasing group.

However, up front Strata
3-VeloRevolution didn’t get to use its numbers in that three-man move as
Dowling abandoned the race due to illness.

That left just Feeley and Moore up front
and after both riding strongly they arrived at the finish together with Feeley
getting the upper hand in the final sprint.

Best of the rest was Andrew Maguire, the
Spellman-Dublin Port rider rounding out the podium from yesterday’s winner Ben
Walsh (EvoPro Racing).

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Cyrus Monk (EvoPro Racing) was 5th followed by Liam Curley (South East RC), Mark Downey (Cote D’Armor), John Buller (Banbridge CC), Darragh McCarter (Spellman-Dublin Port) and Conor Murnane (UCD Cycling Club).

*Cian Ibbotson takes a solo win the A4 race (Photo: Sean Meade)*

In the A3 race, one of the best juniors
in the country last year, Nathan Keown, took victory after a five-man breakaway
contested the finish.

Now riding for Dan Morrissey-MIG-Pactimo,
Keown took the victory from a number of riders who have been going very well of
late.

Dean Harvey (VC Glendale), a winner at
the Kinning Series in recent weeks) took 2nd place while Ryan Geraghty, the
BikeWorx Celbridge man now ever-present in the results, claimed 3rd place.

Junior rider Odhran Doogan (Caldwell
Cycles), also in the think of the action every weekend since the re-start of
racing was 4th just ahead of the emerging Liam Crowley of O’Leary Stone Kanturk,
won the recent Willie Reen Cup.

National elite TT champion Kelly Murphy
(Storey Racing) lined up in that A3-Junior race and after her win in the
Leinster TT Championships midweek she rode very strong today and claimed 10th
place.

Cian Ibbotson (McNally Swords CC) took a solo win the A4 race with Fintan Stewart (Unattached Leinster) 2nd and Ian Donnelly (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) in 3rd place.