After a slightly more muted May Bank Holiday Weekend of racing last weekend, due to the loss for this year of the Kanturk Three Day, a busier schedule of competition is in store for the weekend ahead; May 11th and 12th.
And as Rás Tailteann nears, many riders will be looking to test themselves with two hard days of action in advance of the big showdown in a couple of weeks time. There are a total of six road race fixtures this weekend, including the Bray Wheelers Shay Elliott Memorial promotion.
There are also other open race fixtures midweek - among them the not-so-small matter of National Criterium Championships in Banbridge, Co Down on Friday evening. You can get all the details by following this link.
This evening, Tuesday May 7th, the Appleby Orwell Women's Beginner League - Round 5 Road Race - is in Brittas and you can enter by following this link. And tomorrow evening, Wednesday May 8th, Shelbourne Orchard CC promotes its Armagh Criterium, which you can enter by following this link.
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Saturday, May 11th | Meath, Armagh, Clare
In Co Meath Drogheda Wheelers - in conjunction with Skryne CC and Navan RC - will host the third annual Sean Lynch Memorial. The event remembers Sean Lynch who was tragically killed while racing in 2019.
The events will be run on a 15km circuit, with race HQ in Skryne and with entries available at this link. The A4 race starts at 9.30am, for four laps and total race distance of 60km.
Then at 11.30am the A1-A2 and A3-Junior races roll out for events of 90km and 75km respectively, six and five laps of the course.
On the same day, in Richhill, Co Armagh, the Grouchos GP is being promoted by Orchard Shelbourne CC and you can enter those races by following this link.
The main event will be for A2-A3-Juniors and at a distance of 93.5km and with almost 1,200m of ascent, it will be challenging. There is also a separate A4 race, of 65km, with sign on open from 9:30am and racing rolling out at 12 noon.
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Also on Saturday, the Crotty-Cotter Cup will be promoted in Co Clare by West Clare Cycling Club, with four separate races including a women's only event. You can enter the races by following this link.
The three men's races will be run on a 44.25km circuit, with elevation of 300m, while the women's race is one lap of a 52km circuit. The women's race is the L&L Ladies Cup, part of the Intermediate League, and is open to W2 and W3 riders.
For men, the three events are: A1-A2 race, three laps, 132km; A3 race, two laps, 88km; A4 race, including M50 and M60, two laps, 88km. Sign on is from 10am at Kilrush Community School.
Sunday, May 12th | Wicklow, Limerick, Louth
On Sunday Bray Wheelers hosts its annual Shay Elliott Memorial and Ken Duff Memorial races and you can enter the events by following this link.
The start is from Laragh GAA Club, with sign on open from 8am and roll out of both races at 10am. The Shay Elliott for A1-A2 riders will complete four laps of the 24km circuit before racing for the finish at the Shay Elliott climb, for a total race distance of 124km
The A3 Ken Duff Memorial will be two laps of the 24km climb before the big finish, which will result in a total race distance of 76km.
On the Sunday in Limerick the racing - a packed schedule - will be on flatter terrain, as there is criterium action at Limerick Race Course being organised by Greenmount Cycling Academy. You can enter the events - Shanahans Family Foods Greenmount Raceday 2024 - by following this link.
Racing around the 2km oval gets underway with a fun event for U8-U10 riders at 10am followed by the U12s at 10.10am, the U14s at 10.30am and the U16s at 11am.
This is followed at 1pm by the A4-M50-M60 race, of 40 minutes and three laps and the women's race at 2pm, with 40 minutes of action plus three laps. And the busy day concludes with the A1-A2-A3-M40-J-W1 race at 3pm, which will be 50 minutes plus three laps.
The Leinster Youth Championship, with time trials and road races take place in Co Louth. And we will bring you more details on that shortly.
