Killeen best after intense four-way battle with Regan, Byrne, Seymour in Wicklow

Tadhg Killeen has taken another win on the cyclocross scene, though his young team mate, Conor Regan, top road rider, Ruairí Byrne, and Olympian, Robin Seymour, pushed him all the way (Photo: Toby Watson)

Tadhg Killeen's collecting another win on Sunday in Co Wicklow may have looked like business as usual for the Irish international, but this time his young Kilcullen CC Murphy Geospacial team mate, Conor Regan, really put it up to him.

And top road rider Ruairí Byrne of UCD Cycling Club will rue not getting away from the start a bit faster. Indeed, both Byrne and Robin Seymour (Team WORC) were at the front of the contest right until the last lap, when Killeen and Regan just managed to get ahead of them.

It was Byrne, who is not known for his cyclocross prowess, who lapped most consistently. He rode a really controlled race and proved the strongest of the top three over the closing laps in the Bray Wheelers promotion at Belmont Demesne in Co Wicklow.

Byrne shipped 22 seconds to Killeen and 17 to the impressive Regan on the opening lap and slipped a further 10 seconds behind the leading duo on the second passage of the circuit. He then pressed harder, and closed on Killeen and Regan

In the battle for victory, Killeen got a handful of seconds ahead on the opening two laps before Regan caught and passed him on the third lap and extending that lead on the fourth passage of the circuit.

At that point, with four laps completed, the junior rider was just over 20 seconds ahead of his team mate, though Killeen then pegged back 3 and 18 seconds respectively over the following two laps.

That meant that going out onto the penultimate lap, the duo were effectively together. Killeen nudged ahead, just a little, and led by a couple of seconds starting the final lap, during which he was 10 seconds quicker than Regan and took victory from him by 12 seconds.

Behind them, in the finishing order, Byrne and Seymour were never too far away from the front, with Byrne even catching and briefly pressing ahead of Killeen around the halfway point. He also briefly got ahead of Regan in the closing laps, before being forced to settle for 3rd place.

Similarly, though Seymour finished one place off the podium in 4th, he too put up a very strong fight through the race, and was among the leaders until he lost a little ground on the final lap.

Killeen took it by five seconds from Regan, with Byrne just a further second behind and Seymour crossing the line six seconds later in 4th place.

In the women's race, the order at the front was not as close, and leading positions did not change hands as they did in the men's race. Doireann Killeen (Kilcullen CC Murphy Geospacial) took an early lead in the six-lap event and extended it through the contest.

She led solo after the opening lap from MTB Olympian Jenny McCauley of Bray Wheelers; the gap between the two just 15 seconds after that opening loop. Leah McCarthy (K Capital Rocky Mountain) and Fiona Lally (Team WORC) were evenly matched just behind in the battle for 3rd.

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Killeen then continued to work away at her effort and slowly but surely extended her advantage over McCauley through the race. In the end, she claimed victory by 1:29 over her nearest rival.

The fight for third between McCarthy and Lally remained a close one through the race; the duo trading places a couple of times until McCarthy had a little bit more on the final lap. She finished 4:53 down on winner Killeen and eight seconds up on 4th placed Lally.

Sun, Nov 23rd | Belmont Demesne Cyclocross GP

Round 4, Leinster Cyclocross League

Promoted by Bray Wheelers

Women’s Race