Early season win for Karl at Newry.

Monday, March 3, 2014
Karl Taylor gave Ballymena Road Club – Chain Reaction Cycles – an early season win when he sprinted to victory in Sunday’s A3 senior race at the John Haldane memorial on the Newry to Warrenpoint dual carriageway course.
There was a big entry for this A3 race, which initially started very fast before settling down to a steadier pace. 
The riders had five laps, 45 miles, to complete and there were many attempts to break away and gain an advantage on the chasers. However none of these attacks were to prove successful and it was to all finish with a bunch sprint. This suited Karl perfectly and he took the honours ahead of Foyle's Lawrence Watson. Angus Fyffe (Omagh Wheelers) narrowly beat Ciaran McVeigh (Phoenix) to take third while James Wilson of (Apollo) and Donal Byrnes (Strabane Lifford) were fifth and sixth.
The first race on the day’s programme was the A1's and A2's which saw the A2's getting a short starting handicap over scratch.  They completed six laps of the nine mile circuit.
Gary Cranston of East Antrim, who had been second the day before at Ballyronan, showed he had recovered well overnight as he was one of the first riders to bridge the gap to the A2's. Joining him were , among others, Matty Blayney (North Down) Des Woods (Newry Wheelers) and Fergus Rooney (Phoenix). A number of A2's such as Johnny Taylor of Carn Wheelers, Stephen Hutchinson of Cookstown and Tony Boyle of Slane Cycles were then to stay with the lead group.
In the end it was Cranston who seized his chance in the closing stages when, along with Woods and Taylor, he opened a small gap on the chasers.
Cranston was to prove strongest and he took the win being followed in by Des Woods (Newry Wheelers) and Johnny Taylor of Carn Wheelers. 
 John Haldane Memorial A Race Results
(1) Gary Cranston (East Antrim) (2) Des Woods (Newry Wheelers) (3) Johnny Taylor (Carn Wheelers) (4) Rory Devlin (North Pole) (5) Marc Buchanan (North Pole) (6) Alan Gray (Cuchullain)
B Race Results - A3’s (1) Karl Taylor (Ballymena Road Club -  Chain Reaction Cycles) (2) Lawrence Watson (Foyle) (3) Angus Fyffe (Omagh Wheelers) (4) Ciaran McVeigh (Phoenix) (5) James Wilson (Apollo) (6) Donal Burns (Strabane Lifford)