Ladies and gents, we have the final info on the weekend away! Make sure to have a read through – there’s lots of pertinent info! Update: dinner is at 7pm on Saturday evening. GPX Files included inside. Update #2: On arrival, the store room is at the back of the hotel.

Sometimes among all the reports of popping champagne corks on the top step of the podium, it’s easy to forget that races contain many other stories – stories of tenacity, teamwork, comradery…. and sometimes just good old fashioned hilarity!

The first of two Sallygap finishes ran over a tougher than usual circuit, and produced one worthy winner in the shape of Diarmuid Collins. All the action below!

As the IVCA league spent August drawing to a close, the Orwell vets weren’t spent just yet, with Barry Dace clocking up another couple of results, and Arthur Ebbs, Romano Morelli and William Parnell all getting top ten finishes, including a podium spot for Ebbs.

The Orwell vets have been cleaning up again, with Ciara Kinch, Barry Dace and William Parnell all notching up wins since our last update. Read on for all the action!

Four of Orwell’s youngest members were out last night to fight for victory in the opening round of the Underage Interclub League – Killian O’Brien, Alice O’Brien, Andrew Ryan and Uisneach Sheridan. Read on to see how they got on!

Last week we had two wins from two breakaways, as Pat O’Brien showed just why he’s top of the league at the moment, then leaving his rivals Barry Dace and Jamie Busher behind. Graham Scanlon and Keith Harte did the same to the rest of Limit and Semi-limit, with the former coming out on top for a fine win.

Last weeks league crit saw a repeat win for Conor Murnane, and Liam Rowsome taking a maiden triumph from a break, while the weekend was packed with results – Barry Dace winning in the vets, Neal Hudson taking silver on the road, and Orla Hendron an actual silver on the track. Fionn Sheridan also won bronze, and Ciara Kinch placed in the National League race.

A weekend’s worth of racing in Roundwood paid dividends for Fionn Sheridan, taking two prizes, including the coveted Kieran Hammond trophy. Keith Harte and David Maher placed in the Roundwood GP, while several members scored results in the Hammond Memorial TT event. And last week in the league, Uisneach Sheridan, Paul Tansey and Brian Ahern won the sprints in Corkagh Park.

Not long after the Giro bunch passed over the Stelvio, Orwell’s David Fitzgerald tackled it too! The Passo dello Stelvio features endless switchbacks of suffering, and Dave takes us through it all below!

Last week’s club action saw two bunch sprints taken with small gaps by classy winners Bryan Geary and Owen O’Flaherty. Read all about it!

Here’s a little piece from the archives, Brian Ahern’s Rás diary from 2004, ten years ago. An eventful race for the Orwell legend, he goes into great detail on what is an eight day sufferfest for most. It’s revised and updated, as he claims he originally typed it with one finger of one hand (spoilers!).

On the same day that Marcel Kittel sprinted to victory in Belfast, our own Bernard English did the same a little further south. Mark Mulcahy and Eamon Finn also placed at Dunsany, while earlier in the week Claire McEntee chalked up a superb time in Dundalk to take the Leinster 10TT title.

Nearly sixty riders signed on in gorgeous conditions last night, with two riders coming out on top in the senior races – Davids Maher and Halpin. A tie in the junior race meant both Uisneach Sheridan and Andrew Ryan claimed first place.

The winners of the first 2014 Orwell crit came from both ends of the spectrun – young rising star Conor Murnane, and experienced Rás veteran Brian Ahern. Read on for more!

Eric Downey increased his lead in the club league at round 16 in Corkagh Park after netting a convincing win in the A race over breakaway companion Gavin Dodd. In the B race a break of three stayed away, with Julian Moore taking the win ahead of Ronan Grimes and Brian Doyle.

The Orwell results started pouring in last Tuesday, with two placings at Corkagh Park courtesy of Isabel Cogan and Siobhán O’Connor. Cogan repeated her success with 7th at the weekend in Bunclody, while Oisín Boland earned himself an upgrade with a super 3rd place in the A4 race, and Neal Hudson broke his barren streak with a fine 8th in the A3 edition.

Strong winds were a deciding factor in both races at Corkagh Park last night, and emerging victorious into the headwind were Valdis Andersons and Brian McArdle. For both riders, it was their second result of the season – Andersons’s being the R7 crit, and McArdle’s his recent stage win in Donegal.

The June bank holiday saw Orwell riders in action both on the track and on the road, in racing and leisure, with two standout performances in Isabel Cogan’s excellent victory at the Boyne GP, and Brian McArdle’s superb stage win in the Rás Dhún na nGall. Plenty of other Orwell riders scooped prizes, most notably Orla Hendron who was second overall at the Duane Delaney GP.

Round 7 of the Orwell League was the first opportunity for those who had joined late to race, and league debutant Valdis Andersons took the Limit group by storm, sprinting to win on his debut! In the A race, Gavin Dodd showed his continuing good form to take first ahead of a fast closing Scratch group.