Montague and Walsh on top in Corkagh Park

Orla Montague of Dublin Wheelers capped an effervescent display by taking the win in the A race in Round 3 of the Orwell Women’s Crit League, while the B race saw Scott-Orwell’s Muirna Walsh take the win in a storming sprint finish.

Orla Montague of Dublin Wheelers capped an effervescent display by taking the win in the A race in Round 3 of the Orwell Women’s Crit League, while the B race saw Scott-Orwell’s Muirna Walsh take the win in a storming sprint finish.

With a raft of promotions into the A ranks, this week’s A race was split in two, with the less experienced A-riders given a decent handicap over a A+ group. The A- group didn’t rest on their laurels and co- operated well in their bid to fend off the chasers. Behind them, the A+ group had to pull out all the stops to close the gap with Montague, Fiona Guihen, Orla Hendron, Catherine McAteer, Roisin Kennedy and Jennifer Bates taking massive pulls.

When the groups eventually came together, it was Guihen who launched a solo bid for victory with a powerful attack that saw her stay away for several laps. When the Navan woman was brought back she still have enough to stay with a group of four who clipped away from the bunch, also containing Montague, Bates and McAteer.

The gallop for the line saw Montague come out on top, closely followed by Guihen. Garda’s Catherine McAteer was third, with Clondalkin’s Jennifer Bates taking fourth. Behind, Sundrive’s Sofie Loscher took the bunch gallop for fifth, just pipping Scott-Orwell’s Orla Hendron on the line.

The B riders were meanwhile given a workshop on attacking by Montague prior to their own race. Her advice clearly didn’t fall on deaf ears, with three Scott-Orwell riders throwing down the gauntlet by attacking early and forming a break that stayed away for much of the race. Charlotte Stevens, Ciara Ní Fhlathartaigh and Orla Walsh worked incredibly well together to pull out and maintain a gap on the chasing bunch and only some determined riding saw them pulled back.

With the catch made, the race was decided by a bunch sprint and it was Scott-Orwell’s Muirna Walsh who bested everyone else with a well-timed sprint. Beata Golczak nabbed second spot, with Walsh getting up for third. St. Tiernan’s Jessica Lamb was fourth, while Stevens and Ní Fhlathartaigh had enough left in the tank after their earlier efforts to round out the placings.

Photos thanks to Brendan Culleton, more available on Facebook.

Scott-Orwell Women’s Beginner Crit League – R3 (19/4/2016)

A Race

1 Orla Montague (Dublin Wheelers) 2 Fiona Guihen (Irish Centre for Cycling) 3 Catherine McAteer (Garda CC) 4 Jennifer Bates (Clondalkin) 5 Sophie Loscher (Sundrive) 6 Orla Hendron (Scott-Orwell Wheelers)

B Race:

1 Muirna Walsh (Scott-Orwell Wheelers) 2 Beata Golczak (u/a) 3 Orla Walsh (Scott-Orwell Wheelers) 4 Jessica Lamb (St. Tiernans) 5 Charlotte Stevens (Scott-Orwell Wheelers) 6 Ciara Ní Fhlathartaigh (Scott-Orwell Wheelers)