Banbridge riders were out in force on a busy weekend of open racing.  Saturday seen the Tommy given Memorial races in Hillsborough, held over a gruelling circuit that was sure to test the legs with mixed sections of fast moving flat roads and repetitive short sharp climbs.

The ‘B’ race saw Adrian Peake, Michael Curran and Scott Daly representing the unmistakable yellow, red and black of Banbridge.  As has become the norm in these ‘B’ races, numerous attempts to break clear were unsuccessful and in the end it was down to the those who were left in the bunch to sprint it out for their day of glory.  Adrian Peake showing a tremendous sprint for the line narrowly missed out the win taking a superb second place behind Glen Cobain of Team Madigan.  Scott Daly also showing some fine form finished closely behind, but still very much in the thick of the action and picking up points in 6th place.  Michael Curran finished safely in the bunch satisfied with a great team performance.

 

The ‘A’ race was held over the same course as the ‘B’ but with the addition of a few extra lap to test the riders stamina.  Banbridge was represented in the A3 bunch by comeback king Terry Mackin and the ever reliable Liam McKiverigan.  Both riders performed consistently, Liam taking his usual position at the head of affairs and driving the bunch in the hope of holding off the fast chasing bunch of A1’s.  The A1’s proved to be too strong and quickly closed the gap to the front of the race with the ex Giant Asia professional and commonwealth games competitor Ryan Connor taking the win from Lurgan’s Thomas Martin who has recently returned from international duties with the Irish under 23 squad.  Terry, undeterred by the A1 ones mixed it up and finished a very respectable top 20 placing and gained his first points in the Slane Cycles Ulster Classic League.

 

Sunday brought the combined Northern Ireland Championships and North Down Grand Prix.  The ‘B’ race seen some aggressive riding once again from both Banbridge CC’s Adrain Finnigan and Daniel Purdy, both making brave attempts to form a successful breakaway.   The race also seen the return of Kevin McAlinden to the open road race scene, finishing just outside the top 10 and giving him enough of a taste to perhaps make his return more than a mere cameo.

 

Undeniably the finest result of the weekend came from Mark Downey, the star Banbridge CC star adding to his already growing list of titles by winning the under 14 championship event.  Mark has really raised his game this year and won the NI title in convincing style after the race had split into several groups on the road following some aggressive attacking.  Congratulation to Mark from all at Banbridge CC.