Padraig Marrey takes Westport House cyclocross after lapping entire field but one

Padraig Marrey on his way to victory in the Connacht cyclocross series at Westport House (Photo: Oliver Whyte)

A renowned strongman on the road, Padraig Marrey demonstrated his off-road skills today on taking victory in the cyclocross fixture at Westport House, Co Mayo, today.

Over 15 circuits of a 1.35km undulating and technical course, Marrey got to work early and distanced the rest of the field with Sean O’Malley for company after just two laps.

That leading pair established their lead over Westport’s Padraic Conway and Colm Staunton as the gap between the four out front to the rest of the field grew large very quickly.

From his early leading position, Marrey powered on to distance O’Malley and lapped the entire field - some several times - save for his early breakaway companion, to take a very strong victory in the second of three rounds of the Connacht league.

The third and final round will be held in Tuam at the Palace Grounds next Sunday, January 5th, with sign on at the SuperValue carpark from 10am with the race starting at 11am.