James Jenkins wins the senior men's race at the National Criterium Championships in Dublin city centre from John Buller (Photo: Toby Watson)
James Jenkins (Rapha CC) has won the elite men’s race at the National Criterium Championships in Dublin city centre after attacking late in the contest and holding off former champion John Buller (Banbridge CC).
After one hour of racing, plus five laps, on the very technical course – finishing on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay – Tadhg Killeen (Kilcullen CC Murphy Geospatial) was 3rd.
Junior James Armstrong (U19 Academy Région Sud powered by Giant) was 4th – after an incredible ride, doing much of early damage from the very start – and Luke Smith (Moynalty CC) was 5th.
There were just eight finishers, after a savage race, with juniors Curtis McKee (Spellman Dublin Port) and Rian McCrystal (Cannibal B Victorious) 6th and 7th. Matthew Walls (APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery) was 8th.
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The largest bunch of the day by far – with 41 riders – started very fast, with the pace of the opening five laps resulting in splits and riders being spat out the back door.
About five laps in, the bunch was down to about 20 riders, as some of those left behind – including Jack Conroy (Velo Performance) and Evan Keane (Pinergy Orwell) - battled to get back on.
As the pace remained high, junior rider James Armstrong did a monster turn on the front for about two laps, with the front group splitting again.
John Buller (Banbridge CC), James Jenkins (Rapha CC) - who declared for Ireland five years ago - James Armstrong (U19 Academy Région Sud powered by Giant), Tadhg Killeen (Murphy CC Geospatial), Oisin Ferrity (Caldwell Powerhouse) pulled clear.
There were being chased by Matthew Walls and Conn McDunphy (APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery), Ruairi Byrne (UCD Cycling Club) and junior Rian McCrystal (Cannibal B Victorious).
That group later swelled by three, as Curtis McKee (Spellman Dublin Port), Luke Smith (Moynalty) and David Harrington (Lucan CRC) got across to them.
After 25 minutes of racing, the lead group and the chasers were separated by 10 seconds, with the others in the race too far behind to have any chance of seeing the front again.
However, just as it looked like the gap between the leaders and chasers was growing, around the halfway point of the race, Buller had an issue in the front group.
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He lost his place there, with the leaders down to four riders, though Buller later rejoined that group, doing so very quickly and revealing his fine form today.
At the 35-minute marker, the gap between the five leaders and seven chasers was 18 seconds; staying steady and perhaps closing by a couple of seconds, with the field down to just 18 riders.
With one more lap completed, the gap was just below 16 seconds, with the chasers definitely getting closer to the leaders, who had perhaps knocked off the pace a little.
Within a couple more laps, the gap went over 20 seconds for the first time, as both groups began to split. Up front, Jenkins and Killeen took flight, forcing Buller into a chase, accompanied by Ferrity, with Armstrong starting to slip off the back.
In the chasing group, junior McKee and Moynalty’s Smith had dropped the others in a bid to bridge up to the leaders.
After 50 minutes of racing, Jenkins and Killeen were looking good up front, leading Buller, Ferrity and Armstrong by nine seconds; the kind of distance not easy to make up on a very short and technical course.
However, Buller put in a monster one-lap turn and got Jenkins and Killeen back to just five seconds with 15 laps remaining. Junior Armstrong, doing a great ride, was on Buller’s wheel, with Ferrity letting a gap go.
Behind them – 22 seconds off the front of the race – were Smith and junior McKee, still riding very hard in a bid to get across to those up front.
As the leaders came through the finish line with 14 laps to go, Buller was back up to Jenkins and Killeen, with Armstrong and Ferrity – digging really deep – now just a few lengths back.
With 11 laps to go, Ferrity had lost his place in the front group due to a crash – leaving Buller, Jenkins, Armstrong and Killeen leading, before Smith and junior McKee caught them.
The leaders stayed together for the next few passages of the circuit but with five laps to go Jenkins attacked. He got a gap of five seconds, chased by Buller and Armstrong, with a gap of a few lengths back to Killeen, McKee and Smith.
As the leaders took the bell, Jenkins was still leading by three seconds from Buller, with Killeen another three seconds back, also on his own, in 3rd. Young Armstrong was a further five seconds back in 4th place.
And that’s the way it stayed; Jenkins from Buller and Killeen, with Armstrong 4th and Smith 5th – the top five all finishing solo after one hour and five laps.
