Bikedock Belles

The torrential rain had subsided overnight Saturday to leave a dry start to Sunday – i.e. there was no rain....the ground was far from dry!

As usual the U8s were first off, with Fraser Harrower taking an early lead and fending off a couple of early attacks by Shea O'Kane to pull away in the 2^nd lap of the grassy, muddy 2-lap course. Not only has Fraser developed a "race face" but he pulled a spontaneous one-armed salute as he crossed the finish line. That's my boy!

Moreover, for a day, Adam McCaughtry was also my boy..... because his neglectful mother had chosen to be a domestic goddess rather than a MTB supporter! But boy did she get her come-uppance when Adam had a ding dong (pardon the pun!) of a battle in 3^rd/4^th and crossed the line in 3^rd for his first ever podium place ! His mum missed the glory because she chose all things domestic, and also because she didn't take heed of last week's race report which stated, "Adam will no doubt soon end up on the podium at the rate he is progressing" ! Ha.

Christopher Duncan also put in his best ever ride and ranking at Seacourt, and his mum was actually there to see it this time !!

In the same vein of prophecy as for Adam and the podium, last week's report for the U10s said that Ben Wilson had his closest finish yet to the podium and he would no doubt make it in coming races. Ben raced hard, showing grit and determination from the starting whistle and did indeed end up with his first medal – silver at that! Kelly Wilson showed the same grit and determination to take 1^st place for the second consecutive week. Sam Duncan again smiled his way around and ended 9^th.

The U12s is hotly contested every race and sees Max Melville always vying for 3^rd place, which was his target at Seacourt. An early collision took top 3 rider Craig McCarthy out of the equation for much of the race, with Max pushing strong in 2^nd place for much of the 6-lap course – and wishing he had ear plugs in for the amount of shouting and instructions from Andrea at the sidelines! With 1 and ½ laps to go Max attacked and went into 1^st position – but only briefly as Max Anderson fought back and retook the lead. However with Andrea hollering for Max Melville to race up the drag at the start of the final lap, taking the lead there, he found another gear (pardon another pun!) and hammered it with all his heart, lungs and guts......crossing the line in a fabulous 1^st position. Awesome! Great credit must be given to Craig, who picked himself up after a lengthy fall and played catch-up for the race – but still managed to work his way back into 4^th position by the end. A great display of attitude, that is an example to us all.

After the kids races, came the adult MTB race. Last week for the first time in a long time Andrea felt a buzz of competition pre race, in a positive way. At Seacourt she just felt nervous, and even moreso when Fraser said, "right mummy, i have completed a hat-trick of wins in the first 3 rounds – it's up to you now to make it a mummy & son hat-trick" !!

After completing the first lap it was clear that this was going to be a short and very fast race – which endurance legs, and more importantly lungs!, are found wanting at! Andrea hammered off at the start on the muddy, grassy, non-technical course of 5 short laps. Not having caught sight of any other female behind her, she was surprised at the end of lap 3 to be told that Diane Wilson (Ben and Kelly's mum) was only 10 seconds behind her. 2 laps to go and the tension was rife – as Diane said afterwards, this was a high intensity mountain runner's race....which unfortunately she is! And an extremely talented one at that! Andrea held onto the lead until the end of lap 4, when Diane chose her moment perfectly (grrrrrrrrrrrr!) and moved ahead into the lead. Andrea stuck with her until half a lap to go, but knew she was beaten (grrrrrrrrrrrr!) fair and square when Diane started to pull away. It was an awesome ride by Diane, who has immense talent and a fantastic attitude, and the win drove home a third prophecy from last week's report, which in relation to Diane's great 3^rd place in that race read "No doubt she is still analysing her last lap! And gunning for 2^nd position in the next round ... never mind 1^st !".

Jeepers, three prophecies after Round 2 came true in Round 3 ! On that basis then, this report is categorically saying that in Round 4 Adam and Ben will remain on the podium....and Andrea will return to winning ways ! LOL. Joke! If only it was that easy !!

Jenny Melville, having made her debut in Round 2, was back for more again in Larne – and loved??!! it so much that when she was told to stop and the race was over, she decided to do another lap. The reasons being: for training (that's the spirit!!), to get her money's worth, and to work off the Indian takeway from the previous night. Not to mention the Green&Blacks and the 2 bottles of wine! Joke. This was a great ride by Jenny in tough conditions, and she had a good battle with Eileen Regan, moving ahead of her in the 3^rd lap only to be overtaken again in the 4^th.

There is a growing interest in these races by females, newcomers to MTB in particular, and they are perfect for having a go. So c'mon the rest of you.....dust down those wheels and come have some craic....and a little mud treatment!

Photos can be viewed (even if you do NOT have a facebook account) on the Belles facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bikedock-Belles-Race-Around-Ireland/128284588076#!/media/set/?set=a.10150365879843077.375626.128284588076&type=1

Ding Dong !

Andrea