National Cyclo Cross Championship see gold and bronze for Cucuhalainn

Dundalk's Cuchulainn Cycling Club had a very successful weekend in Armagh, where the National Cyclo Cross Championships were held at the Palace Demesne. The park's fields, woodland and trails provided a tough, demanding course that was especially muddy due to the current wet weather. Support crew in the pits were kept very busy providing clean bikes for the cyclists on every lap, such was the level of mud.

 
In the Master's 60 race, stalwart Johnny McCabe claimed the gold medal after a close battle with Paul Birchall. In fact it was an effort by McCabe towards the end of the 3rd lap that finally put some daylight between the pair, with McCabe taking the win with only 14 seconds to spare after almost an hour's racing.  In the Masters 50 former champion Aiden McDonald couldn't recapture his winning form of old, but had a great race to finish inside the top 10 . In the Masters 40 another Cuchulainn rider PJ Hynes finished inside the top 10 in 7th place.
 
In the Under 14 girls, the club produced a masterclass to place it's 4 riders in the top 10 to take the team prize. First home for the club was Ffionn Dolan, who picked up the bronze medal. This gave her another trip to the winner's podium after her success in the road nationals in 2021. Close behind in 4th place was Holly McCaffrey. Then in 7th and 8th respectively were Grace O`Rourke and Edith Murphy. Grace's younger brother Michael competed in the Under 12s. In the under 14 boys Sean  Delaney had a good outing and gained some valuable experience. 
 
In the Under 16 boys Callum McCaffrey missed out on a top 10 place by less than 30seconds when he came home in 11th place. His teammate  Aj McAreavey was further back in the field. In the Under 16 girls Rhiannon Dolan overcame an early mechanical to ride her way up to 9th position. Finally on the other end of the scale from Johnny McCabe in the Masters 60, Logan McAreavey took part in the under 8s fun face and most certainly did have fun!