Racing

Orwell Wheeler's is delighted to announce that Claire Diffley has been selected to represent the Leinster team at Rás na mBan 2026, her second year competing in the prestigious stage race. Claire heads into the event in excellent form, having recently achieved an impressive three consecutive victories, winning the Maxi Maguire, Collins Christle and Mondello races. She will be joined on the Leinster team by fellow Orwell Wheeler's member Ysabella Huele, who rides with the Shay

Orwell Wheeler's secured a significant provincial championship success at the Leinster Road Race Championships in Clonard, Co. Meath, with Padraig Moran taking first place in the Senior Men category. The 2026 Leinster Road Race Championships were contested over six laps of a 12.5-kilometre circuit, with the senior and junior riders competing together. The demanding nature of championship racing produced an unsettled contest, with a number of attacks and attempts to establish

Evan Keane produced a ride to remember on Sunday, taking a brilliant victory at the Munster Road Race Championships in Whitechurch, Co. Cork. Keane claimed the Munster title after launching a huge long-range attack and riding solo for around 70km to take the championship gold medal in emphatic fashion. The Orwell rider, who has built a reputation as one of the strongest roadmen and sprinters in the domestic peloton, decided there would be no sprint this time around. Instead,

The Bray Wheelers Festival of Racing takes place on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September, with five races across what will be one of the biggest racing weekends the club has organised. The countries top male and female riders will descend on Wicklow. To make it happen, we need volunteers — and plenty of them! We know giving up your time is a big ask, so we want to be as clear as possible about the commitment involved. Saturday 19th September There are two races: 12:00 – P

Really happy with my last nationals as a youth. It’s always hard to put together the whole weekend but happy to podium across all three events .  The TT was an out and back with a drag on the way out which meant the way back was fast. I knew the biggest difference would be made on the way out and the way back would be about getting the legs spinning. Happy to win it and pleased to see Jennifer on the podium . The road race was a rolling 56km course with a bit of a kicker on t

Orwell Wheeler's recorded a number of strong performances at the opening day of the 2026 Irish National Track Championships, held at Sundrive Velodrome in Dublin on Saturday, 22 August. The club was represented across a range of senior track disciplines, with Sean Landers, Fionn Sheridan and Orla Hendron all producing competitive performances against Ireland's leading track riders. Landers Fourth in Individual Pursuit Sean Landers delivered one of the club's leading performan

Orwell Wheeler's enjoyed a strong showing in the IVCA race in the Curragh on Sunday, August 23rd, with several excellent performances across the groups. Neal Hudson continued his fine form throughout the season with a smashing ride in the Red Group. Neal got away with Ro Killeen with 10km remaining and held on brilliantly to take 2nd place. In the White Group, Harry Rochford produced another strong performance to take silver, while Terry Ferries battled hard to finish 4th in

The final round of the 2026 Inter Club League took place on Thursday 21 August, bringing another successful season of racing to a close. It was a particularly successful evening for Orwell Wheelers’ Sean O’Kane, who came into the final round knowing that a victory was required to secure the Orwell club league title. Sean delivered when it mattered, finishing the season with 85 points and placing sixth overall, while also taking the Orwell club league championship. In his firs

Sunday, 16 August 2026 The Orwell Wheeler's were represented at the Bobby Crilly Classic, promoted by Phoenix Cycling Club, on a wet morning on the outskirts of Belfast. The men’s main event was initially halted after one lap of the original circuit due to the heavy volume of traffic on the course. At that stage, Luke had just managed to establish himself in the breakaway. Once the race was restarted, the attacks came thick and fast, with Sean O’Kane making his way into one o

Orwell Wheeler's rider Claire Diffley made it three wins in a row with a strong run of performances across the Maxi Maguire, Collins Christle and Mondello races. With just three weeks to go until Rás na mBan, Claire's run of form comes at an ideal time. Race 1 – Maxi Maguire The Maxi Maguire started with a smaller group, with the C3s setting off together. Over the three-lap race, we were caught by the C2s after about a lap and a quarter, which brought a big surge due to the s

Athea isn't far from home. I grew up in Abbeyfeale, just ten kilometres down the road, so lining up for the PJ O'Riordan Memorial felt less like racing and more like riding on home roads. Two days, three stages, a points-based GC, but my one goal going in was simple: win a stage. Stage one was a nice, short 16km circuit with a 2km drag uphill to the finish. On the third lap, a break of 11 riders went clear and I made sure I was in it. The gap held, just about, and with 400 me

Sunday’s IVCA race was an age-categorised handicap event. As is often the case with this format, the handicap presented a significant challenge, with the groups separated by a considerable time gap from the outset. The red group maintained a very strong pace throughout, working hard and riding consistently. However, despite the effort being made, we were still approximately three minutes behind the front of the race when we took the bell, making it extremely difficult to clos

A weekend of racing around Kilmessan awaited us, with the same circuit being in action both days. On Saturday it was a short 50 minute race, so it was going to be fast from the gun. While usually with a handicapped race, there is a degree of cooperation at the beginning, there was attacks from the start with Gareth O’Neill and Matthew Walls being the main protagonists. With these short races, you have to take a more proactive approach with there usually being a smaller bunch,

Sean O'Kane finishes 6th Sean O'Kane produced another strong ride to finish 6th in Sunday's North Down GP after an aggressive and fast-paced handicap race. The C1 field was much larger than in the previous round, with around 20–25 riders on the start line. Racing alongside the C2 category in a handicap format, the course wasn't especially hilly but was exceptionally quick, with long exposed roads and plenty of flat, fast sections. The C1 group worked well together from the st

Sun, August 2nd | Noel & Kieran Hammond Memorial TT Beehive, Co Wicklow Elite Men Noel Hammond TT 34.5km Johannes Rom Dahl Roadman CC 41.28 Matthew Wall APS PRO 42.46 Colin Clavin Steamstown CC 44.39 Elite Women 34.5km Linda Kelly Dan Morrissey 45.26 Sarah Diamond Unattached Leinster 48.22 Merve Kaygisiz Pinergy Orwell Wheelers 52.20 Road Bike Category Daniel Stone Roadman CC 47.39 Joe Nathan Matar Pinergy Orwell Wheelers 48.44 Stephen Connor Roadman CC 50.50 Junior Men Kiera

Mark Kelly takes 3rd at 500m TT at the Masters Nationals

The race was short and fast-paced. Although it was run as a handicap, the majority of the field consisted of C1 riders, so there was never any real expectation of catching the groups ahead. Instead, we approached it as if there were no groups in front and focused on racing from the gun. From the start, Sean and Liam were active and looking to get away. However, Liam was struggling with stomach issues, while Sean found himself out of position. A small group managed to slip awa

A strong turnout of 135 riders lined out for the IVCA Hatchet Circuit on Sunday, with our club once again featuring prominently across the various groups. In the Red Group, Diarmuid Collins produced an excellent ride to finish 2nd, earning 8 points after edging out clubmate Neal Hudson, who crossed the line in 3rd. The Blue Group also saw a podium finish, with Barry Greene taking a well-deserved 2nd place. In the Orange Group, Alan O'Dowd continued his impressive run of form

A fantastic turnout of 155 riders lined out for Sunday's IVCA races at Hatchet/Mullagh Cross, with our club well represented across the groups. Results: Black Group: John Anslow 2nd 🥈 and Orla Hendron 9th Blue Group: Garrett Greene 7th White Group: Harry Rochford 2nd 🥈 Red Group: Neal Hudson 2nd 🥈 – continuing his superb form and flying it this season! Congratulations to all our riders on another strong day of racing and some excellent results.

A great evening of racing at Dunsany/Kilmessan with 127 riders on the start line. Our riders produced some excellent performances: Orange Group: Alan O'Dowd 7th, Damien Long 8th White Group: Harry Rochford 3rd Well done to all who raced and represented the club!