Liam Crowley, far left, comes around Daire Feeley in the charge to the line that decided the C1 race at the Seamus Kennedy Memorial in Navan (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Liam Crowley had the backing of serious team support from his new Pinergy Orwell Wheelers team mates at the Mick Lally Memorial on Saturday, only to come up short after all the hard work had been done. But in Navan on Sunday he hit the bullseye by claiming victory in the Seamus Kennedy Memorial at the expense of some of the best riders in the country.
And not far behind him was his team mate Evan Keane, who broke through to the top tier domestically last season and is now combining with Crowley to create a formidable duo that could do serious damage this year. Though the numbers in the races this weekend perhaps weren't as high as was hoped for, the pointy end of Sunday's main event was stacked with firepower.
Advertisement
Crowley won from a three-man breakaway that also included Daire Feeley (Burren CC) and Gareth O'Neill (Athlete Nutrition Coach Nordic Labs).
Feeley was left frustrated again, after having to settle for 2nd yesterday at the 'Mick Lally' in Summerhill and having also finished 2nd in the 'Seamus Kennedy' last year, to Ruairi Byrne (UCD Cycling Club). Today O'Neill rounded out the C1 race podium.
Keane won the sprint from the chasing group, for 4th place, from Cian Keogh (APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery) and Mitchell McLaughlin (Wheelbase-Cabtech-Castelli).
Because hosts Navan Road Club ran four races today, each had a compact field. At C1 level, smaller fields can often make the racing harder, especially if it splits. And so it came to pass today around the end of the first lap, of three, when a large breakaway group got clear after an aggressive first passage of the grippy circuit on a windy day.
Related News
Orwell's men seem to have started the season with real purpose, bringing back the Mick Lally breakaway with a couple of kilometres to go on Saturday in a bid to set up Crowley, who placed 3rd. And again today they were to the fore in the early stages with Crowley, Keane, Sean O'Kane and Sean Landers trying to jump into moves.
When the key group went, with two laps to go, Crowley and Keane were in it, as the gap grew to almost one minute over the second passage of the circuit. However, the breakaway numbered more than 10 riders and there was as much attacking as cooperation. The inevitable fracturing of the group began to unfold with one lap to go.
Crowley attacked just after the leaders passed through the start-finish line to take the bell. Feeley and O'Neill, always two serious contenders, responded. And once they formed a trio, it always looked good, especially as Keane was policing the counter-attacks in the group behind.
The leaders worked quite well, and built their advantage of over a minute. However, in the closing stages, they played out a really cagey final, obviously all keen to take a win from the first weekend of the new season.
Thankfully, they had enough time in hand to mess around – slowing right down with about 1km to go. And though there were some attacks approaching the finish, it came down to a three-up sprint.
Crowley finished 2nd in this race a couple of years ago after going too early, and was wary of doing the same today, especially into a headwind finish. Feeley was the rider who opened it up, and when he jumped it was a powerful kick that saw him surge clear of the other two.
But as he blasted away for the line, into the breeze, he had gone a bit too early as the road continue to kick up to the line. Crowley just about managed to fight his way onto Feeley's back wheel. He then came off it and pipped the Burren CC man just before the line, with O'Neill taking 3rd place.
More to come.
