Placings Round 5:

Top 6 B Placings Round 5:

Top 6 A Placings Round 5:

PHOTOS FROM ROUND 5 - CLICK HERE

ROUND 4: Corkage Park Crit Race, 9th May 2023

Photos thanks to Matthew Lysaght Photo here: R4 Photos

Corkagh Park avoided the thunderstorms and rain on Tuesday and it turned out to be one of the sunniest evenings in Corkagh Park this year!  It was again great to see some new faces along with some returning after a break. Racing in both groups was very honest and there was no time for tactics and playing around.

As per last week the B group was divided into two with a handicap group getting a 30 seconds advantage. The B2 riders stayed away for much longer than last week. The pace was high despite the fact that we were missing four from last week’s top 6 and other strong legs that drove the pace in round 3 but were outside of the podium.  The race was won by Hannah Hayes from TC Racing who first bridged over to handicapped group, then stayed and worked for a while with Carmel Moran (2nd) and then decided to give it all she had. After doing few laps on her own Hannah went on to take a great solo win. There was a bunch sprint finish for the reminder of the placings with Gabrielle Fox winning it and taking last place on the podium.

After the finish of the B race the A race riders lined up raring to go. In order to make for more exciting racing these riders were split up in two groups for first time this series.  The bigger group was set off first and the smaller second groups was held for 30 seconds before being released for the chase.  After initially making up 10 seconds, the gap stayed at 20 seconds for around 10 minutes, gaining and losing a few seconds per lap.  Eventually the chasing group lifted the pace and the catch was made. 

Annalise Murphy put in few test surges to see if she could get a response but didn't get away with those. She then put the hammer down and went for a hard jump followed by a very steady solo effort. A 10 second gap was held initially but then grew and it was clear Annalise was going to be the winner of the night. In the group behind her the sprint to the finish was won by Autumn Collins, followed by Orla Walsh in third. The handicap system of two groups certainly made for more interesting racing, both for spectators and riders.

Thanks again to Appleby jewelers for their continued support of the league and a big thank you also goes to all those who helped to run the race smoothly with Orwell’s Turner family leading the pack and winning the best supporters category of these crits!

We hope to see you all next week for the open road race!  (Report thanks to Beata and Marijke)

B Placings Round 4:

A Placings Round 4:

POINTS AFTER 4 ROUNDS:

A RACE

B RACE:

ROUND 3: Corkage Park Crit Race, 2nd May 2023

Round 3 of Appleby Orwell Women’s League brought us back again to Corkagh Park for another crit race. We were lucky to have another dry weather evening and we also welcomed slightly higher temperatures than last week.

In the B- Race, a field of 17 riders was divided into two groups and both were encouraged to work better together to stay away from each other for as long as possible. First group was given a 30 seconds advantage over chasing group and they managed to stay away for around 7 minutes.  All riders felt more confident in bunch riding than a week before and with some of them putting a lot of effort at the front of the group average pace rose which made this race more challenging for all.

Two groups stayed together for the rest of the race with few riders dropping and few trying go slightly harder to lose some of their colleagues but this only led to a bunch spreading out into a nice, long single file.

Since bunch riding is not that scary anymore we expect some stronger riders to try their luck next week and maybe commit to some attacks to make the race even more entertaining for those watching.

Race finished with a bunch sprint that was again won by around 2 bike lengths by Ellen Ní Cleirigh.  She was followed by Aoibhe Murray in 2nd and Ciara Meagher in 3rd.

The A Race started shortly after the finish of the B race as one group of 12 riders for their 30 minutes and 3 laps of racing. Similar to last week there was a break away from the go, but once that was brought back the group stayed together for three laps before there was some fragmentation and a group of 6 leaders was formed, followed by a group of 2 and another group of 4 riders. One of the 6 dropped into the group of 3 but it was very clear that the group of 5 were going to determine the placings of the race. There was some surging and slowing down in the group but no one made a final break, meaning that it came to the final sprint. The first two finishers were once again Orla Walsh who just pipped Cleo Harvey to the line, followed closely by Jenny Neenan in third.

Well done to all that raced, for the last crit race we will split the A race into 2 groups with a handicap to make for even more exciting racing.

Once again a huge thanks to The Bear Group for providing the toilet, Rituals for their goodies and Appleby jewelers for their continued support of the entire league.

B Race Placings

 1. Ellen Ní Cleirigh
 2. Aoibhe Murray
 3. Ciara Meagher
 4. Zoe Shakespeare
 5. Meadhbh O'Neill
 6. Hannah Roche

A Race Placings

 1. Orla Walsh       UCD
 2. Cleo Harvey      Dublin Wheelers
 3. Jennifer Neenan  Longcourt NCW
 4. Annalise Murphy  Longcourt NCW
 5. Yvonne Doran     Pinergy Orwell
=6. Jennifer Bates   Longcourt NCW
=6. Elizabeth Kent   Spin the Bean p/b Coffee

B Race Standings, after three rounds.

Pos Name              Pts
 1. Ellen Ní Cleirigh  33
=2. Aoibhe Murray      20
=2. Danya El Gahzel    20
=4. Ciara Meagher      17
=4. Marijke Beltman    17

A Race Standings, after three rounds.

Pos Name            Pts
=1. Yvonne Doran     22
=1. Orla Walsh UCD   22
=3. Jennifer Neenan  20
=3. Cleo Harvey      20
 5. Annalise Murphy  17

ROUND 2: Corkagh Park Crit Race, 25th April 2023

Tuesday night saw the first of the three criteriums of the Orwell’s Women’s league take place on the Corkagh park race track.

(All smiles in the B Race!)

The less experienced racers went of in the B race for 25 minutes and three laps. The 13 minute women in this race largely stayed together until the last lap, sharing turns at the front and getting familiar with optimum race lines. We expect the experience of the first night will lead to more race activity next week! The sprint for the podium places was nearly a full lap and had Ellen Ni Cleirigh come out on top, closely followed by Aoibhe Murray and Ciara Meagher.

After their finish the B racers then got to watch some tactical racing with a break from the get go in the 12 rider strong A race. When this break was brought back another attack happened but at the same time there was a small crash in the main bunch which led to a neutralisation and a restart to allow the crashed riders to get back into the race. Both riders were able to shake off the adrenaline of the crash and be well in the mix during the rest of the race. In the end a group of five riders broke away and managed to keep the gap to the chasers. The sprint for the podium places was won by Orla Walsh, closely followed by Cleo Harvey and Annelise Murphy.

(the 5 rider winning break in the A race)

Thanks to all the racers, D squared from Sundrive for their help trackside, Bear Events for the portaloo (a lot to be said for a little comfort) and Appleby Jewellers or their continued support of the league. Well done to all tonight, hopefully see you all next week - same time, same place!

(report thanks to Marijke Beltman)

(The B group getting used the the track and some cagey racing)

PHOTOS FROM THE RACE HERE

A Race

B Race

ROUND 1: 10 MILE TT @ Batterstown, 18th April 2023

Round 1 photos HERE