The penultimate round of the Wheelworx Orwell Ladies Crit League was held at Corkagh Park last night. To spice up the action the races were run as Points races, with riders collecting points in a sprint every second lap. It was Bray Wheelers' Michelle Carter and Orwell's own Trish Buckley who amassed the most points in each race, and each climbed the division tables as a result - Buckley to silver, and Carter to take the lead.

With Carter and her clubmate Sarah Pratt respectively occupying positions two and one of the Division B table coming into this week's round, it was hard to picture anyone else muscling into the upper tiers of the podium. In third spot was Catherine McAteer (Garda CC), but she needed a sizeable 17 points to overhaul Carter. Snapping at McAteer's heels was Adamstown's Finóla Lawlor, only a point behind. The top five was rounded out by Orwell's Celeste Marin, a further 14 points back.

The Points race format was run over 12 laps for the B riders, meaning six sprints in each race. The limit and semi-limit riders grabbed the first two sprints, with Sarah Dennedy, last week's solo heroine Jenny Neenan and most notably Becky Heaney hoovering up the early points, but a determined chase from the Scratch group saw it all come together shortly before halfway.

From that point on Bray's Carter began to clean up, with Pratt, McAteer and experienced track rider Natalie Grieve battling it out each lap for the minor points. In the final sprint rising star sprinter Carter showed the rest of the bunch a clean pair of wheels, with team mate Pratt once again taking second, though Heaney's haul of points from the early laps were just good enough for her to hold on to second overall.

Michelle Carter now grabs the lead in the B standings from her her fellow Bray Wheeler Pratt, but there's not too much change below that. Catherine McAteer is still in with a slim shout of the overall league win, but it seems almost certain at this stage that one of the Bray women will win the B division at the end of the league. Finóla Lawlor is also almost assured of being in the overall prizes next week, but behind her there will be a scramble for the last few medals.

B Race Top 10 results

1 Michelle Carter (Bray Wheelers) 19 sprint points
2 Rebecca Heaney (SERC) 13
3 Sarah Pratt (Bray Wheelers) 12
4 Sarah Dennedy (Dunboyne CC) 8
5 Natalie Grieve (Sundrive) 7
6 Catherine McAteer (Garda CC) 7
7 Jenny Neenan (Usher IRC) 6
8 Una May (U/A) 5
9 Marianne Checkley (Usher IRC) 3
10 Finóla Lawlor (Adamstown CT) 2

The above placings may differ from those announced on the night, but are the correct and final placings - where 2 riders are on the same points total at the placings in the final sprint are used to split them. We apologise for any confusion caused.

Division B League Table (after Round 5)

1 Michelle Carter (Bray Wheelers) 137 points
2 Sarah Pratt (Bray Wheelers) 130
3 Catherine McAteer (Garda CC) 104
4 Finóla Lawlor (Adamstown CT) 99
5 Sarah Dennedy (Dunboyne CC) 89
6 Nicole Evans (SERC) 83
7 Celeste Marin (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 82
8 Grainne Coghlan (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 74
9 Rebecca Heaney (SERC) 74
10 Natalie Grieve (Sundrive TT) 62

World Champions, side by side: Orla Hendron shares a pre-race moment with Sonia O'Sullivan

(R-L) Heaney, Neenan, Checkley, Dennedy scooping the early points

Marin and McAteer are tailed by Grieves

Carter taking the sprint from Pratt

The top of the A table has consistently been a lot tighter than the Bs. Martina Cronin (Carrick Iverk) was the jersey holder on 103 points, Muirna Walsh (Lakeside Wheelers) was 97, Sandra Fitzgerald (Garda CC) was 96 and Monica Marconi and Trish Buckley (DTC Orwell Wheelers) completed the top five on 91 and 87. Fitzgerald was sadly absent last night after a crash in the Bedford 3 Day at the weekend, we hope she's well on the road to recovery.

The A race was a much more tactical affair than the B race which had preceded it, and after an initial frantic chase to reel in the Limit group as quickly as possible the bunch settled down to a steady pace interspersed by bursts of aggression every sprint lap. Rachael Kaye-Mellor's Bedford-strengthened legs took a string of placings in the early sprints to ensure her of a good overall result, but perhaps predictably former World Champion points racer Orla Hendron picked up most of the placings, riding a tactical race that saw her appear at the front just in time for each sprint.

Between the sprints most of the bunch were content to catch their breath and wait, with the one exception of Róisín Kennedy who was attacking at almost every opportunity, though with lots of people happy to chase it was all to no avail. Going in to the final sprint Hendron held a slim lead over Trish Buckley, but Buckley put in her by now trademark attack from half a lap out) holding on to beat Hendron by the narrowest of margins on both the sprint and the overall.

That's the first Orwell win of this year's league, and the club managed to conquer the entire podium. Martina Cronin's fourth place earned the Carrick woman another day in the leader's jersey, but Trish Buckley and Orla Hendron have leapt up the standings behind her. Muirna Walsh is also right up in contention after another fine placing, so we appear to have a four way shoot out for the overall win going in to next week's final round.

A Race Top 10 results

1 Trish Buckley (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 25 sprint points
2 Orla Hendron (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 24
3 Rachael Kaye-Mellor (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 14
4 Martina Cronin (Iverk Carrick Wheelers) 5
5 Muirna Walsh (Lakeside Wheelers) 4
6 Monica Marconi (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 4
7 Fiona Guihen (Navan RC) 3
8 Susie Mitchell (Sundrive TT) 3
9 Siobhan O'Connor (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 1
10 Róisín Kennedy (Adamstown CT) 1

The above placings may differ from those announced on the night, but are the correct and final placings - where 2 riders are on the same points total at the placings in the final sprint are used to split them. We apologise for any confusion caused.

Division A League Table (after Round 5)

1 Martina Cronin (Iverk Carrick Wheelers) 130 points
2 Trish Buckley (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 127
3 Muirna Walsh (Lakeside Wheelers) 122
4 Orla Hendron (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 117
5 Monica Marconi (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 114
6 Rachael Kaye-Mellor (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 108
7 Sandra Fitzgerald (Garda CC) 96
8 Isabel Cogan (DTC Orwell Wheelers) 92
9 Niamh Stephens (UCD) 88
10 Noreen Garahy (Wolftrap CC) 80

The start line

Buckley pushing hard, ahead of jersey holder Cronin

Adamstown's Kennedy in attacking form, alongside Orwell's Kaye-Mellor

The Orwell trio taking the final sprint placings

In the meantime we would like to thank our entourage of volunteers, Brendan for the photos as always, and Wheelworx for sponsoring the league. The sixth and final round of the league takes place in Sandyford Industrial Estate next Tuesday, 14th May. Sign-on is from 6.30pm at the Cosy Kitchen Café, Carmanhall Road, with the first race start scheduled for 7pm. For further information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone Aideen Collard on 087 4179967. All female riders still welcome and bring along your friends too!

The races will be followed at 8.30pm by a prize giving and social in the Blue Light pub. This will also serve as a fundraiser for the Orwell Rás team, entry is €10 a head. The Rás lads will be providing entertainment, but are keeping details under wraps for now!

In the meantime, the next round of the Joe Daly Cycles' Women's National League takes place this weekend in Dunsany. We wish all our league riders the best of luck, and we especially hope to see Sandra Fitzgerald defending her leader's jersey!