Ballinrobe Races 9 and 10 Aug 2014

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

ONLINE ENTRY OPEN NOW.Please click HERE for online entry or type the address below into the cursor: http://challengeireland.com/westernlakescc/ballinrobe-2-day-2014/

ENTRY CLOSES: 10:00PM, Thursday the 7th August 2014 NO REFUNDS OR TRANSFERS.  Entry Queries: David Mac Dermortt – davidmacdermott@gmail.com

Now in its ninth year the Ballinrobe 2-Day on the 9th and 10th of August is still going strong. In a bid to keep the race fresh and interesting, the promoting club Western Lakes have decided an overhaul of the routes was needed for 2014. With mass starts for the two road stages this year, the decisive moves and wins as a result of handicapping seen previously will not be so prevalent this time round. Most prominent of these victories was last years coup on Stage 1 which saw Mel Spath, the Irish women’s road race champion, use the handicap to maximum advantage when she time trialed away from her ladies bunch at the bottom of the Cat 1 climb of Lally’s mountain. In doing so she took all of the top points for the next 4 climbs thus led the mountains competition by a huge margin and claiming all 3 jerseys going into the time trial.

This year the curtain opener on Stage 1 will undoubtedly be the assent of the Cat. 1 climb of lally’s Mountain which comes inside the first 30KM of racing. Position on this one will be important forcing the ‘mountain goats’ to show their hand for the remainder of the 110KM stage. However with four more categorised climbs to come before the finish it will all still be to play for.Stage 2A will see riders return to Lally’s Mountain for this year’s individualtime trial. This time the route will take competitors 5KM up the front of the climb descended the previous day. This will be a tough test of fitness and it will be interesting to see how the time trialist deal with it. Stage 2B in the afternoon will be a matter of formality, or will it… With the previous days racing and the morning’s tester in the legs this stage will show who has made the most of their recovery. Again with a revised route the first 50KM will see riders tackle some undulating terrain encompassing Clonbur, Cloughbrack, Corrnamona and the outskirts of Cong. After the previous day’s leg burner the two climbs in this stage will be mere pimples! After 50KM the race returns to last year’s flat circuit for the finale. Riders will pass through the finish line in the town three times before the finish with Primes to be had on some of the laps.

The Ballinrobe GP on Sunday 10th will cater for A4 riders and  will follow Stage 2B of the main race and will finish the first time the riders see the finish banner in Ballinrobe after 60KM. Entry for the A4 race is on the day.

The race is sponsored by Marrey Bikes of Ballinrobe. This race has all the frills with jerseys, Yellow (Overall) Green (Sprints) and Polkadot (Mountains) plus 4 perpetual trophies and cups for stage and overall winners. The addition of A2 and A3 leader’s jerseys along with the Most Aggressive Rider jersey this year should keep the racing interesting and lively on the road throughout the weekend. We try and cater for every category with €2000 in prizes.

See this website for more details http://westernlakescc.com/ballinrobe-2-day-2014/