Bikedock Belles

Heavy snowfall on Friday and Saturday nights was going to make for a challenging trip to Rostrevor anyway, but continued blizzards into early Sunday morning did put some people off and many others questioned whether the race would be cancelled by the time they reached the event.

However there was less snow further south and the light covering, and eagerness of all those who had braved the journey down, meant the race went ahead! There was no mud in sight, but rather hard ground and frost and snow.

Racing began at 1115am with the U8s, who were all dressed for the arctic, with numerous layers on, that were only peeled off at the very last minute – and even before the start many were in tears from the Baltic conditions! There were more tears while the race, which was an excessively tough, long one lap course, was underway! Particularly on the uphill, frosty grass section to the finish line….where Fraser showed his mummy’s hike-a-bike skills and jumped off his bike to run, head down, pushing it up the incline to victory.

Fraser had led from early in the race, but on a couple of occasions Daniel Donnelly (Newry Wheelers) caught up with him and it was a close battle at the end with Fraser taking the Ulster Championships title with a margin of about 10 metres.

The next placed Young Gun was 4^th, with a fantastic ride by Dillon Cook and his best placing of the series. Saving the best until last! Dillon has been improving every week and showed true grit and determination in this tough event at Kilbroney. Next year promises great things for Dillon.

Adam McCaughtry finished a great 7^th and not only learnt a lot from the inclement conditions, but also got a life lesson from his mum, Monthly McCaughtry, as he was inching his way up the final straight! “Mummy, I need you to help me push my bike up this hill”….”Son, you’re a leading Young Gun – you have an example to set. Do it yourself or don’t do it at all!”

Adam was closely followed in 8^th place by Sam Duncan, who bettered his finishing position again this week. Sam loves his racing and smiles his way through…..although the conditions and course at Kilbroney did wipe the smile off his face temporarily on a few occasions!

Zak Tsoutsas found the course and the extremely cold conditions taxing, but still managed to finish in 11^th place. And most importantly, he enjoyed the event. The fact these Young Guns turned up at all in such weather is reflective of their spirit – they were the ones that cajoled their parents into making the journey! The parents wanted to stay tucked up at home!

Giving a glimmer of hope for the female side of the Young Guns, there was a debut race for Hettie Cook (Dillon’s sister) and she was fab! The biggest challenge was getting her Minnie Mouse fleecey expedition snow hat off her head to get the helmet on. In true Belles style, Hettie was kitted out in pink … and that’s in addition to the pink bike! She loved her first race and looks forward to more races in 2011.

Alex, Fraser’s wee 3 and ½ year old brother, again started at the back of the pack at Kilbroney. Alex was feeling good after a warm-up pushing his Grandpa, and provided much amusement when he took a diagonal short-cut soon after the start and cut out 95% of the course! Unable to pedal up the finishing hill, he lured the help of Monthly Irvine! She was about to undertake her first MTB cyclo-cross race and wasn’t sure that her efforts in pushing were a good idea from an exhaustion point of view before she even started her own event!

All the Young Guns were exhausted and absolutely freezing at the end of the race, so quickly bundled into the clubhouse for snacks and then the prize giving, before heading for home to get warmed up and changed…..to brave the elements again and head to the Harrower house for a post-series Young Guns party – where they enjoyed a bike-specific cake, the new jerseys were unveiled, and customised “Young Guns 2010” medals were given to all the young riders!

Ding Dong!

ps click on thumbnail pics to enlarge and use arrows to scroll

Andrea