Maes, Stapelbroek win in Greenmount as Team Wiggins O’Loughlin debuts | Sticky Bottle

*Richie Maes takes the win in the main event at Greenmount Cross (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

Richie Maes and Lisa Stapelbroek have taken the main events at Greenmount Cross in Limerick on a day when Team Wiggins rider Michael O’Loughlin put in a very solid debut.

However, while O’Loughlin pressed Paidi O’Brien (Verge)
hard for 3rd place, bad luck intervened to rob him of a shot at the podium.

There were similar problems up front for Maes, who led solo from the start, when he punctured in the latter stages of the contest.

However, he simply rode most of the lap on a flat. And by
the time he got a new bike he had relinquished none of the lead he had built
from the gun.

The Strata 3-VeloRevolution rider has been in great form on the Munster scene so far this season.

And while today’s race was not part of the Munster series, that didn’t stop Maes going for it from the gun.

*Lisa Stapelbroek was out front on her own in the women's race (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

*Paidi O'Brien was chased hard in the men's race but nobody could catch him from behind and he took 2nd place on the day (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

*Michael O'Loughlin of Team Wiggins looked to have 3rd in the bag but a late puncture saw him drift back to 7th place (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

Maes got the best start of the field, moving clear of the opposition immediately and building his lead all the way.

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By the finish he had just over 2½ minutes on the line,
with plenty of time to celebrate his win over O’Brien.

The runner-up, a former top road rider An
Post-Chainreaction, was hunted down by Michael O’Loughlin for much of the
contest.

O’Loughlin had started the race near the back but came
through to close in on O’Brien who had pulled clear in the battle for the
runner-up spot behind the flying Maes.

However, as O’Loughlin was closing right in on O’Brien he
suffered a puncture on the final lap.

And perhaps without he cyclocross craft that Maes had
shown to brush off his puncture, O’Loughlin slipped a few places back.

O’Brien wrapped up 2nd place from Patrick Clifford
(Strata 3-VeloRevolution), who got the better of Evan Ryan (Team Worc) in a
tight battle for the last place on the podium.

In the women’s race Lisa Stapelbroek of Kenmare Cycling
club enjoyed a very clear win, with plenty of time to savour it.

She got the verdict from Grace Young; the Strata
3-VeloRevolution rider making a welcome return to competition after breaking
her collarbone while riding for Ireland at Rás na mBan last month.