Shane O’Brien (Fermoy Cycling Club) may be a first-year junior, just riding his first cyclocross races having moved up from the U16 ranks, but he is already impressing.
The younger brother of Liam O’Brien – now riding for Lidl Trek Future Racing – Shane won the junior men’s race at the opening round of the National Cyclocross Series 2025-26 at Falls Park, Belfast, promoted on Sunday by VC Glendale.
Racing over seven laps, he put in the two fastest laps of the day across all races - including the senior men’s race, which served up a battle between the eventual 1-2, Richie Barry (St Finbarr’s) and Robin Seymour (Team Worc).
And aside from those two fastest lap times, set on consecutive laps, his times through the race were faster, or in line with, the lap times of the best in the senior men's race.
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Racing over seven laps of the course – compared to the nine passages of the circuit the senior men completed – O’Brien clocked times of 6:15 and 6:14 on the second and third lap. That was followed by 6:21 and 6:22 for laps four and five.
That compared with the fastest lap in the senior men’s race of 6:20 – clocked by Seymour
In the end, O'Brien was victorious by 43 seconds - over seven laps - from Curtis McKee (Spellman Dublin Port).
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Conor Regan (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) was 3rd, just six seconds behind McKee. Rian McCrystal (Bear Group) was 4th, at 59 seconds and James Armstrong (VC Glendale) placed 5th, at 1:19.
In the U16 boys race, Eoin Davis (Bohermeen CC) won by from James Cunningham (Team Worc) and James Gaery (Fermoy Cycling Club).
The U16 girls race was won by Ava Baker (Breffni Wheelers), with Ciara O'Connor (Drogheda Wheelers) 2nd and Vera Cork Davis (Bohermeen CC) in 3rd.
Ronan O'Flynn (Orwell Wheelers) claimed the Masters 40 men's race by 1:26 from Darragh McCarter (Spellman Dublin Port), Barry Kellett (Dromara CC) 3rd at 1:43.
Fearghal Regan (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) won the Masters 50 race from Barry Convery (Newry Wheelers) and Chis Byrne (Park Wheelers).
For full results, please follow this link.
