O'Reilly signals National Champs intent with strong Cork win

Paul O’Reilly (UCD CC – formerly of Fixx Rouleurs) won today’s ‘Pi cyclocross 2’ event promoted by Revolution CC in Cork, beating top junior David Conroy and Anthony Doyle (Photo: Brendan Slattery)

By Brian Canty

Paul O’Reilly warmed up for the National Cyclocross Championships next weekend with a very impressive win in the Pi Cyclocross 2 event promoted by Revolution CC in Castletownroche, Co Cork, on Sunday afternoon.

Having made the switch to UCD CC for 2016 after racing for Fixx Rouleurs in recent years, O’Reilly made light work of a strong field.

Emerging junior David Conroy (Donnybrook Landscape-Scott Bikes) and Anthony Doyle (Strata3-VeloRevolution) rounded out the podium in second and third, respectively.

O’Reilly showed his intent as early as the first lap when he broke clear and was never caught thereafter.

Conroy initially gave chase but said that after a big block of training he was too fatigued to hang onto the winner.

“Paul was strong today but I wasn't rested up for it," he said.

“I still felt good and I’m feeling good for the nationals but when Paul put in a big attack I just couldn't hold his wheel.”

The next two laps saw the gap between O’Reilly and Conroy stay around the 40-second mark, with the race turning into a battle for second.

Doyle made little ground on Conroy over the course of the afternoon but won’t be too concerned about that as he focuses his attention on defending his Masters 40 title next weekend.

A young rider to keep a very close eye on; Emily Birchall of NRPT-Magnet.ie winning the women's race (Photo: Brendan Slattery)

Having suffered ill-luck on a few occasions throughout the season so far, O’Reilly has now muscled his way into the ‘big favourites’ bracket for next weekend.

He erred on the side of caution when he went clear, though the course was in superb condition given the recent heavy rain and wasn't as muddy as anticipated.