Rose of Tralee Launches National weekend of racing for South Mayo
Claremorris to host first every National cycling Championship event.
On the evening of Friday August 7th Claremorris town centre will host the National Criterium championships the following two days the racing action will be based in Ballinrobe on August 8th and 9th.
The cycling scene in the West of Ireland will truly be awake this August when the National Criterium Championship returns West for the first time since Westport in 2006. After staging a very successful Crit on the streets of Claremorris for the last 2 years, Western Lakes have been rewarded with the staging of the 2015 National Crit Championship. To really make this a weekend to remember the host club has paired this event to their annual marque race “The Ballinrobe 2day”.
Starting on the 7th of August the elite riders of Ireland will get a chance to test their bike handling skills on the tight fast circuit on the Claremorris streets. This tricky 1.1km lap, where Jason Pendergast won in convincing style for Fit Science last year, will prove a to testing course for the like’s of Peter Hawkins to defend his title which he won in Mondello Park from Damien Shaw.
On the Saturday the riders will take to the roads for the 11th edition of the “Marrey Bikes Ballinrobe 2day”. This difficult 3-stage race which takes place on the mountainous roads on the Mayo/Galway border finishing in Ballinrobe, has a long history of attracting the best riders in Ireland. Past winners of this race include Morgan Fox, David O’Loughlin and in the 2014 version Paudi O’Brien prevailed against Damien Shaw on a difficult course.
On Friday the 6th of February the Rose of Tralee was on hand to launch the Crit in Claremorris a Mayo woman herself from Shrule she has a strong sporting backround and follows the cycling scene.
Also in attendance were local riders who need will no introductionwas Paddy Clarke Fit Science Ballina and Western Lakes CC strong man Sean O Malley both are expected to help highlight what should be a weekend that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.