Club season comes to an end for 2015.

Sunday, August 30, 2015
Ballymena Road Club – Chain Reaction Cycles – concluded their 2015 Northstone sponsored series of mid-week club events with two races last week.

Wednesday saw the Will Henry cup 20 miles road race at Glarryford while the series was concluded on Friday night with the Sherdan Caldwell memorial hill climb at Crebilly.

The entrants at Glarryford were set off in four groups with zero, 3, 4 and 5 minutes starting handicaps. The race resulted in another win for scratch rider Ryan Bankhead who not only won the Will Henry cup on the night but also successfully defended his road racing league title, for the William Smyth cup.

Only four seconds covered the first four finishers with Bankhead being followed home by Matthew Brennan, Breandan McCavana and Philip Morrison.

Results Will Henry cup.
(1) Ryan Bankhead 50 minutes 03 seconds 
(2) Matthew Brennan same time 
(3) Breandan McCavana at 2 seconds 
(4) Philip Morrison at 3 seconds 
(5) Dale Bonnar at 17 seconds 
(6) Gary McCappin at 2 minutes 43 seconds 
(7) Laura Blair at 2 minutes 56 seconds 
(8) Jon Hilditch at 2 minutes 56 seconds 
(9) Martin Ruddy at 10 minutes 41 seconds.

Breandan wins Sherdan Caldwell memorial hill climb at Crebilly.
Junior rider Breandan McCavana won the Sherdan Caldwell memorial Crebilly Hill Climb title on Friday night when he recorded 1 minute 24.20 seconds for a 9 seconds winning margin over second placed Dale Bonnar who clocked 1 minute 33.70 seconds. 
(3) Adam Torrie 1 minute 37.37 seconds (4) Philip Morrison 1 minute 42.56 seconds.
Last year, as a youth rider, Breandan was runner up to winner Colin Scullion with 1 minute 30.83 seconds.

The event record is held by Ryan Connor who recorded 1 minute 12.81 seconds in 2007.

Thanks from David. 
Last week’s action concluded the 2015 club race programme. Race secretary David Dougan, however, had hoped to fit in a 25 miles time trial which had been "postponed” earlier in the year because of wet and dark conditions.

However he has run out of time to re-schedule as it is now too dark midweek even for a 6.30pm start. The combat Cancer cup will be awarded to the handicap winner of the 25 miles event held at Woodgreen on 12th August.

It was a difficult season for the club’s racing committee because of the disruption caused both by poor weather and also the A26 Lisnevenagh road improvement works. In my opinion the club perhaps has too ambitious a programme with 23 mid-week club race events, including scratch and handicapped road races, time trials and a hill climb. As we have found out this season it only takes a little bad weather and a few minor road works to cause major headaches.  

David said "We found ourselves unable to meet the required period of notice for the PSNI notification and at the same time have enough daylight to hold the event. At least the Ernie Mark and Combat Cancer cups have been settled.

At this stage I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support over the last two seasons and wish my replacement at the end of this year all the best for 2016” added David