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Tonight sees the second round of the Orwell women�s criterium league take place in Sandyford industrial estate. Despite the name of the series, the first race last week was actually a five kilometre time trial, held on the Glencullen � Pine Forest road. The results of this will be used for handicapping purposes for the remaining five events, which will all take place on a circuit in Sandyford.
The Orwell Wheelers � Dundrum Town Centre team has seen a staggering growth in membership in recent years, with some very good efforts being made to cater for female members. There are now over 50 women in the club and a sizeable proportion of these turned up at last week�s Glencullen race.
The event was also open to riders from other clubs and one of those, Roisin Kennedy (Lucan) was quickest. She covered the distance in a time four seconds faster than Joanna Hickey (Usher IRC), with Heather Boyle (Ravens) netting third.
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Kennedy said afterwards that she will try to make it to the other events. �The rest are all crits and that wouldn�t be my strong point, but I�ll get to as many as I can, work permitting.�
She paid tribute to the Orwell club, singling out Aideen Collard for special praise, and said that the input was very valuable in helping new people get involved. �Aideen has done a lot of work, with trips for beginners and lots of instructions for them too.�
Hickey was enthusiastic about the new league, which will enable riders of all levels to compete against each other. �This is very exciting for women�s cycling, there are quite a few coming into it,� she said. �The national league would have long courses, hilly courses, but this will suit a lot of the girls in that it�s shorter, faster stuff. And for the track riders like myself, it will be good fun.�
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Newcomers to competition:
There were several riders doing their first race, amongst them the Orwell members Charlotte McDonald and Jessica Byrne.
McDonald finished a solid ninth and stated afterwards that she enjoyed pushing herself. �The time trial today was grand, it was a lot of work but I am going to treat it as my baseline, so I suppose I can improve on this,� she said. �But for a first experience it was really positive and it was great having lots of people around � it was really well organised.�
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She came to the sport after using the bike to commute around Dublin. She enjoyed those trips, expanded into leisure cycling spins and then joined the club in January. �I love cycling, it is a big part of my life now,� he said. �I really wanted to find a club that incorporated ladies and treated them very much as part of it. I think there are about 50 women in Orwell now�they have a really large ladies contingent, so that was a big part of it for me.�
Her route into the cycling � going from commuting to leisure riding and them some racing � is one which could end up being followed by many others in the months and years ahead, particularly as awareness increases. Schemes such as the Bike to Work initiative should also play a part in swelling the numbers of those practicing the sport.
Jessica Byrne also came from a non-competitive background, and has recently ramped up the type of cycling she does. �This was my first race�I actually only started properly three weeks ago, I�ve just moved from a hybrid to a racing bike. So I found it very strange to be so low down on the bike. But I enjoyed it.
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�I have done cycling leisurely for a couple of years, but nothing hard-core like this. So it is a big change. I am interested in the social aspect, in becoming fitter and the rest. I am really enjoying it, enjoying the spins on Saturday and hope to do the rest of the races. I am going to put the head down and get training for them.�
One of the youngest competitors was Aisling Fitzpatrick, who travelled up from her hometown of Gorey with Sam Darcy. She had a long journey, yet hopes to do the other races, if possible. �My friend was into cycling and I just decided to try it out,� she said, when asked about her background. �I got into it then. I got a bike myself first, then I got a lend of one from Sam, and now I have my own bike again.�
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Blast from the past:
It�s been a long, long time since Fiona Madden lined out in a race, but the former multiple national champion was back on her bike in Glencullen and shaking off the cobwebs. She enjoyed the experience and said that college exams permitting, she�d try to do some of the criteriums.
�I am literally only starting back and am only in it for the fun,� she explained. �My daughter has started racing now and she is interested�she has me back on the bike. I probably wouldn�t be out on it otherwise.�
Madden was one of the strongest Irish female competitors in the 80s, holding various time trial records and winning two big women�s stage races in 1987. She also did the Junior Tour that year, and then decided to race abroad.
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�1988 was my first time to race in France. I did a few races, then went over in 1989 and stayed there. I was with a team up in Brittany for two seasons. After that, I went to a team in Vendee, the ones who run the big Chrono des Herbiers time trial at the end of the season. They signed me up in the club and that was the last season I raced then, in 1991.�
The following February she was out training, preparing for another season, but collided with a pedestrian who walked out in front of her. She hit her head hard and fractured her skull. �I hung up the bike then, I didn�t want to see it for 20 years,� she said.
�But I am enjoying it now. It is great to get back out, and I am meeting up with people I haven�t seen in 20 years. It was mainly my daughter who got me back into it�she is saying �come on, mom, you have got to do it.� I have no training, I have nothing really done over the winter�I am just taking it for the fun of it now.�
Yet the competitive instinct is still there, lurking under the surface. �I guess there is always a chance I could get hooked again and work at it. When you have it there, it is like having this virus in you and it just wakes up in you,� she said, laughing.
Some of the newcomers to racing may well experience the same thing in the weeks ahead. When the competitive bug bites, it can be an addictive thing indeed. But whether or not all the girls commit to racing long-term, the most important aspect is that the numbers are soaring and that women�s cycling is on the up.
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Additional details:
Orwell Ladies Criterium League 2010 � (All Beginner, Junior & Underage Ladies welcome)
Tuesdays 20th April, 27th April, 4th May, 11th May & 18th May 2010 � 30 min Criterium at Sandyford Industrial Estate. Sign-on @ 6.30pm for 7pm start, followed by prize-giving & refreshments each night
- Separate A & B Races handicapped by ability
- Cash Prizes each Night & Trophies for First A Rider &
Most Improved Rider at the end of the League
Best 5 out of 6 races count � Scoring system is as follows:
5 points for sign-on & race/marshal plus 6 points for 1st place, 5 points for 2nd place, 4 points for 3rd place, 3 points for 4th place, 2 points for 5th place & 1 point for 6th place in both A & B Races
Club Competition License Required or One Day Licenses Available
�5 for Entry & �10 for a One-Day License
For more details, please contact Aideen Collard on 087 4179967 or aideen.collard@gmail.com
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