Swords McNally Grand Prix, Ballyboughal

A/B Race

A strong field contested the Swords McNally Grand Prix over six laps of the Ballyboughal – Naul course. One of the pre-race favourites, Stephen O’Sullivan (unatt) made an early exit with a broken chain, and a crash on the slippery roads on lap 1 at the Ballyboughal Monument delayed some others. The main move of the day came on the 2nd time up the Nags head when Simon Whelan (McNally Swords) attacked and went clear with 4 riders incl Paddy Moriarty (Dub Skip), Shane Baker(Usher), Peter Dunne (Avonmore) and Brian Lennon (St Tiernans). Two laps later the break was down to three riders (Moriarty, Whelan & Lennon) and the gap was hovering between 1 an 2 minutes. On the second last time up the Nag’s, Moriarty launched a savage & decisive attack on a 53×16 and his fellow escapees were unable to respond.The Team Ireland Initiative rider then proceeded to open up an unassailable gap over the closing laps, while Whelan and Lennon held off a strong chasing group. This group which incl three Cycleways riders made serious inroads into the gap over the closing miles but after being out there for so long Whelan and Lennon weren’t going to be denied and dug deep to hold them off. Paddy Moriarty finished a clear and worthy winner and heads off now to partake in the Surrey 5 Day.

C/J/V Race

An early attack by Mark Nestor (Shannonside) was joined by local rider Anthony McMahon and this duo stayed clear for the rest of the race with both riders sharing the load while Nestor lead on the climbs, the heavier McMahon drove it on the faster sections. Meanwhile an abundance of Swords riders in chasing bunch made sure that these two stayed clear and after a hard race they sportingly crossed the line together to take 1st Junior and 1st Vet. Over the closing stages Jason Ludgate escaped from the bunch to take 1st C.