O'Loughlin (47) takes win nine weeks after breaking leg, shoulder

Martin O'Loughlin spent a month in a wheelchair with a broken leg and shoulder. But this is him winning on Sunday just nine weeks after his horror racing crash (Photo with thanks to Barrow Wheelers)

Just nine weeks after breaking his leg and shoulder in a racing crash, veteran Martin O’Loughlin is back competing.

And on Sunday he was first home in the A3-Junior race at the Barrow Wheelers GP in Co Wexford.

The 47-year-old was leading solo in Carrick on St Patrick’s Day when he collided with an oncoming vehicle, breaking his leg and shoulder.

Such were his injuries that he was in a wheelchair for four weeks. And though he is still feeling the ill effects of his smash in mid March, he appears to be back in some good form.

Sunday saw around 80 riders line out for the Barrow Wheelers race near Old Ross, with the field taking in five laps of the undulating 19.7km course.

Jamie Blanchfield leads Lucas Furman in the early escape in the A3-Junior race (Photo with thanks to Barrow Wheelers)

From the gun, O’Loughlin’s Carrick Wheelers team mate Jamie Blanchfield broke clear with Lucas Furman of Newbridge CC.

As they built a lead that topped out at around 1:30, their team mates back in the bunch were busy chasing down any counter attacks.

However, after three of the five laps the leaders were caught and the field stayed intact until it was heading out onto the fourth lap.

O’Loughlin was one of the main drivers of the action on the last kilometre of the third lap, which consisted of a drag that continued into the opening couple of kilometres of the circuit on lap 4.

There the field split into three large groups, with O’Loughlin pulling clear in an escape of six with Blanchfield and another Carrick Wheelers man Declan Hanrahan in that move.

Martin Mizgajski of Rossbury Racing taking victory in the main event in Wexford on Sunday (Photo with thanks to Barrow Wheelers)

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However, when that breakaway was neutralised, it has Hanrahan that lit it up on the final lap; jumping clear with around 7km remaining and riding hard up a long climb on that section of the course.

Once he had established a lead, O’Loughlin jumped after him and the duo survived to the finish where the crash comeback man took victory from his team mate.

Just behind them, Blanchfield took the sprint for 3rd to complete a Carrick clean sweep of the podium places.

In the A1-A2 race Martin Mizgajski of Rossbury Racing took victory from Conor Hennebry of Carrick Wheelers, with Dermot Radford of Tipperary Wheelers rounding out the podium.

The emerging Gareth McGonagle of Dublin Wheelers took the unplaced A2 prize on the day.