The A2/3s were off first, starting on a sunny Saturday afternoon, with the pace quickly escalating as riders tried to break away. The first Orwell involved in any action was an unfortunate Brian McArdle, who punctured at the 8km mark. With legs exhausted from his exertions on the previous Thursday at the Hill Climb, McArdle was unable to chase back on to the 55kmph bunch, and was unceremoniously dropped. His wish for a nice spin in the sun was fulfilled, until he fell in with the A4s.

The races were two very different affairs, with Aidan Collins constantly attacking the A2/3s, while the A4s rolled along at a sedate pace for the first 30km. It was only at the 50km mark that significant breaks appeared in both groups. Despite Collin's aggressiveness, it was Pat O'Brien who got in the move of the day. 12 riders got clear and stayed away until the finish line, where O'Brien managed a magnificent 4th place in the sprint. Though he missed out on time bonuses, he now had at least a 37" advantage over the rest of the bunch.

In the A4 race, the peloton fractured on the same climb, with wheels being dropped all along the line. Philippe Bourdarias and Neal Hudson had spent most of the race in the front 20 riders, and now their positioning paid off, as a group of about 15 took the lead. A few riders managed to chase back on, but it was a group of 20 coming into the last 10km.

Hudson went off the front with 4km to go, hoping to stay away. A valiant effort that looked to be paying off, until he was caught about 400m from the line, and overtaken by the bunch sprint. Bourdarias galloped home in the middle of it, taking 9th place. Hudson finished 4" behind, drained by his breakaway attempt, but still well up on the majority of the field.

Day two started with a light drizzle, meaning a damp road for the TT. It only got worse as the morning progressed, meaning the A4s had to deal with wet roads and rain, on top of the headwind that all the riders had to battle. With O'Brien at 4th on GC, Collins and McArdle were under orders to save themselves in the TT, so that they could ride for him in the afternoon stage. McArdle finished second-last on the stage, his best result so far. Pat went all out, but was out-gunned by the stronger TTers, moving him down to 19th on GC.

In the A4 TT, Neal pipped Philippe by 0.15", both finishing about 40" down on the stage winner. Jamie Busher suffered a mechanical - a snapped gear cable - but refused to throw in the towel, finishing only a minute down in a tremendous performance against the odds.

Heading into the final stage then, each rider was free to ride their own race. When O'Brien punctured on the first major climb of the day, Collins and McArdle responded in true Orwell fashion by attacking off the front. They chased onto the break, but it mostly came back together on the narrow twisty descent. The pair were still with the lead group on the second climb, when Collins came down due to another rider's sudden switching. Hitting the tarmac hard, he got back up, back on the bike, and chased back on. A true Man of the Rás!

The finish of the A2/3 was fast-paced, with two riders staying away in front. Both remaining Orwellians were contemplating an attack from a couple of kilometres out, but the speed was too high. Denied positions for the sprint, they finished with the bunch, and O'Brien crossed the line with a later group, the nail in the coffin for his GC hopes.

The A4 race was a more composed affair than the previous day, with neither climb being sufficient to break up the race. What cracks appeared were closed up on the descents. The run-in to the finish was a carbon copy of the A2/3, with two riders dangling out in front, and crossing the line together. All three Orwell riders were clearly visible at the pointy end of the bunch sprint, with Philippe Bourdarias placing sixth. That result sees Philippe upgraded to A3, a well-deserved promotion for the Frenchman.

All of the A4s were partaking in their first stage race, and acquitted themselves admirably. In the A4 team prize, Orwell were third last time we saw the GC sheet. More than can be said for the A2/3s - Pat O'Brien's poor performance on stage 3 has a lot to answer for... Nevertheless, with two placings amidst the bad luck, the club didn't come away empty-handed, and every rider headed home wishing the season wasn't over just yet. The Christmas Hamper race will be hard fought!

A2/A3 race - Stage 1
1 T Fallon (Seven Springs)
2 2 B Long (Cork County CC)
3 L Corcoran (Castlebar CC)
4 P O’Brien (Orwell Wheelers)
5 J Prendergast (Cunga CC)
6 G Robinson (Bray Wheelers)

Stage 2 TT
1 D Foley (St Finbarr’s CC)
2 B Long (Cork County CC)
3 M Rice (U/A)
4 M Power (Dungarvan CC)
5 T Fallon (Seven Springs)
6 V Gleeson (West Clare)

Stage 3
1 M Power (Dungarvan CC)
2 L Corcoran (Castlebar CC)
3 B Griffin (Comeragh CC)
4 B Martin (Seven Springs)
5 A O’Neill (Usher IRC)
6 T Fallon (Seven Springs)

Final Overall
1 D Foley (St Finbarr’s CC)
2 B Long (Cork County CC)
3 M Power (Dungarvan CC)
4 T Fallon (Seven Springs)
5 J Prendergast (Cunga CC)
6 M Rice (U/A)
7 A O’Neill (Usher IRC)
8 M Brookfield (UCD)
9 A Stanley (Slaney CC)
10 V Gleeson (West Clare CC)

55 A Collins (Orwell)
62 P O'Brien (Orwell)
97 B McArdle (Orwell)

Team prize: Cork County CC

A4 Race - Stage 1
1 B Meade (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk)
2 D O’Connell (Slaney CC)
3 H Gallagher (Naas CC)
4 B O’Keeffe (Waterford racing CC)
5 M Vereker (St Tiernan’s)
6 E O’Connell (C4SC Hibernia)

Stage 2
1 P O’Connell (C4SC Hibernia)
2 G Robinson (Comeragh CC)
3 B Meade (Kanturk CC)

Stage 3
1 B Cassidy (Killarney CC)
2 B Meade (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk)
3 A Brosnan (Dublin Wheelers)
4 A O’Halloran (Burren CC)
5 D O’Connell (Slaney CC)
6 P Bourdarias (Orwell)

Final Overall
1 B Meade (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk)
2 P O’Connell (C4SC Hibernia)
3 L Cullen (DID Dunboyne)
4 B Cassidy (Killarney CC)
5 H Gallagher (Naas CC)
6 M Vereker (St Tiernan’s)
7 D O’Connell (Slaney CC)
8 E O’Connell (C4SC Hibernia)

13 P Bourdarias (Orwell)
14 N Hudson (Orwell)
24 J Busher (Orwell)

Team prize: Wexford Wheelers