Darley-Ronan and O'Reilly take Towers CC 1-2 in wet Stickybottle-Orwell latest round

Eventual winner, Lisa Darley-Ronan leads the limit group on her way to victory in the latest round of the Stickybottle.com-Orwell Series in Brittas, Co Wicklow (Photo: Brendan Culleton)

Lisa Darley-Ronan of Towers Cycling Club took the win from teammate Eimear O’Reilly in round five of the Stickybottle.com Orwell Wheelers Women’s League in Brittas, Co Wicklow.

Having raced a time trial and then three criteriums in the past four weeks, the league moved to road race format last night which was run off in very difficult wet conditions.

The B group were first off and they worked hard to make the most of their three minute advantage they were awarded by the handicapper.

In the A group the wet conditions and some tactical riding hampered efforts to get a good chase going.

Orwell’s Ciara Kinch jumped clear of the group with Sandra Fitzgerald (Garda CC) and Anne Dalton (DID Electrical) also going clear.

That trio gained a gap on the rest of the group, but the lack of organisation in the scratch group conspired with some strong riding by those up front to result in the limit group staying clear.

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In the sprint up the finishing drag, Towers CC scored a superb 1-2, but for once it was Lisa Darley-Ronan who got the better of teammate Eimear O’Reilly.

While Darley-Ronan is the current leader of the B category, this was her first win. Her overall lead had come from consistency in recent weeks though a win had eluded her.

While this win will widen the points difference, it will remain tight at the top between the Towers duo who have taken the B category by storm this year.

Next week is the final round, a return to Batterstown for a repeat 10mile TT that opened the series. It will decide the final placings and allow riders to see how their abilities have improved over the six weeks.