Shimna Wheelers Sportive
The Club is gearing up for the annual Shimna Challenge sportive on Sunday the 10th of July with members working hard behind the scenes.
The sportive has been a huge success the last two years and this year is shaping up to be even bigger and better than the last two!
With the help of all club members we aim to continue building the Sportive into one of the best one day leisure events in Northern Ireland. The Committee would encourage all members to lend a hand in the organisation and to support the event by asking friends, colleagues and fellow cyclists to get signed up for the challenge.
The 50-mile option will take cyclists up the ‘S’ of Spelga which features in the Gran Fondo. In 2014 then Team Sky rider Richie Porte was heard describing the climb as one of the most picturesque he had ridden so why not come along and see it for yourself!
There are full details of the challenge available on the club website so please keep an eye there for any updates:
www.shimnawheelers.com
Rockets glow in Castlewellan!
The Rockets enjoyed a great in Castlewellan at the weekend. The weather was awesome which gave everyone a real lift and increased enthusiasm for cycling.
There were a number of different groups who headed for the trails in the bright sunshine. With the Rockets decked in yellow high-viz jackets they had the trees glowing as they weaved through the forest.
The kids must be offered full kudos as they have continued to improve week on week. The level of confidence they are bringing to the sessions in the last few weeks has been apparent to the coaches and the parents. Finally top marks must go to the coaches who continue to develop the programme and make it the success that it is.
World Enduro Series
Last weekend the sun shone on Carrick Mountain, County Wicklow for round 3 of the World Enduro Series.
Enduro mountain biking continues to increase in popularity with the number of competitors in each field growing each year. Teams from around the world descended on Carrick on Friday for practice day one when competitors had the chance to practice stages 1-4. Stages 5-7 were open for practice on Sunday. Spectators lined the stages on Sunday creating an atmosphere in which some pro riders described as the best race they have ever been to.
Four Shimna Wheelers went head to head with the best in the world in their various categories.
Edmund Hawkins competed in the Masters category and finished in a creditable 26th place. Winner of the master’s category was Robin Seymour who has dominated the Irish mountain bike and cyclo-cross scenes since the 1990’s and has represented Ireland at Olympic and World level.
18 year-old Alistair Baron and 17 year old Aidan Hawkins competed against much older and stronger riders in the U21 men’s category. Being in the middle of their A levels both didn’t arrive in Wicklow until Saturday so missed the practice day on Friday which was not ideal preparation.
Determined and buzzing from the atmosphere both set off for a long day in the saddle covering over 50km, 6hrs in the saddle and almost 7000ft of climbing. Alistair finished in 27th place and Aidan, 1min 30 behind Alistair, finished in 42nd place. The club is certain that there is lots of success ahead for these too young talented men when they have more time to dedicate to their sport.
The U-21 category was won by Irish rider Killian Callaghan and the U21 womens category was won by another Irish rider, Leah Maunsell
In the Pro men’s category, James McFerran competed against the some of the fastest mountain bikers in the world but unfortunately he punctured on stage 2 and again on stage 3 and finished in 188th place. The highlight of the weekend was when last years men’s winner Greg Callaghan was declared winner again which almost gave the Irish a clean sweep! The women’s category was won by the legendary British rider Tracy Mosley.
