Ben McKenna

Having pre-rode the course earlier in the week I had a fair idea of what to expect. I knew the race was going to be selective with small groups coming to the finish. It was extra important to be aggressive from the outset to avoid getting stuck in a negative group.



I'm starting to make a good habit of picking the right move. I don't know how this change has come about but it's certainly something I have tried to work on. No one magic bullet has brought about the change. The main thing I am focusing on is being more observant in races. It's amazing how many lads just drift through a race without being fully aware of what's going on in front or behind them. Hopefully I can continue this nice habit as the season progresses.



The race sprang to life for me after a large enough group of the scratch riders caught the A2 bunch. I managed to jump clear of the A2 bunch with Paídi O’Brien (Sportactive) and Mark Dowling (Team Dectek). After some serious work on the hardest part of the course we were joined by Martin Irvine (Giant Asia). The four of us worked fairly well together and made contact with the early breakaway with around 70km of racing still to go.

I remember when I started cycling I bought a magazine with Paídi O’Brien on the cover - it's amazing to be in selective groups with a man of his pedigree.

We had a big advantage back to the next group on the road so the pace wasn't flat out. On the way down the main road just before we began the last lap the breakaway split. I am not entirely sure what caused the split - it didn't seem like anyone attacked but I know I was on the wrong side of the split. Once the front half realised what had happened they drove hard to increase the gap. Game over!




I was now apart of the second group on the road. We never regained contact with the leaders, probably as a result of our half hearted, disjointed chase. We sprinted it out for 6th place in the race. I lead the uphill sprint from the front early but two hundred meters was too early to open up into a headwind. I placed 8th.

It's a good result on a tough course with another top class field. Maybe it's a measure of how I am progressing, i'm not sure, but I was fairly disappointed at the finish to have not been apart of the group contesting the race win.

For the power geeks, I had an average of 284 watts for around four hours of racing.

1, Sean Downey (Cotes Demour)
2, Adam Armstrong (Eurocycles)
3, Paídi O’Brien (SportActive)
4, Greg Swinand (Usher IRC)
5, Martyn Irvine (Giant Kenda)
6, Mark Downing (Dectek)
7, Thomas Lavery (Comeragh)
8, Anthony Walsh (UCD)


photos from Irishcycling.com

Jazzer Wherity Memorial

Friday evening saw the return of the Balbriggan town center criterium. The course was just over two kilometers per lap with forty five minutes plus five laps set for the evenings agenda. The event was superbly run from start to finish and in return the gathered crowd were treated to some great racing.

The pace was fast from the off as the contenders attempted to maintain position near the front of the bunch. The course proved to be very technical with fast sections and hard cornering. Mid way through the fifth lap I had a mechanical issue - my rear tubular tyre rolled off and I nearly ended up going for a swim in the harbor. As per crit rules I took a lap out to sort the issue and rejoined what I thought was my group on the road. The problem was at the time I had the mechanical the front group of the race was changing a lot with riders bridging and being dropped. The commissaire made a call - he felt I was in the second group on the road, so after some misguided adrenaline fueled protests I returned to the second group on the road.



The second group on the road weren't working very well together and were struggling to make any inroads into the advantage of the leading four riders. With about twelve laps remaining I attacked and tried to close the gap which was under the minute mark. Despite a chase,which hurt like you wouldn't believe, I never made contact with the leading four riders. The race turned into some nice time trial practice and I rolled across the line in 5th position.




This was the most enjoyable race of the season so far. A great circuit coupled with a superb atmosphere made this the race which other organisers must strive towards.


1, Paídi O’Brien (Sportactive)
2, Daniel Clifford (Sporactive)
3, Mark Dowling (Team Dectek)
4, Stephen O’Sullivan (Team Dectek)
5, Anthony Walsh (UCD)







Pictures from Irishcycling.com

Track in Canada

It seems with the economic boom a distance memory in the Irish psyche and the recession touching everyone in a unique way the opportunity to build an indoor velodrome in Ireland has passed. The selection of London for the 2012 Olympic games brought an optimism in the Irish cycling community. The project made economic and political sense in the run up to the games. It seems that Irish athletes now face an unfortunate dichotomy; travel abroad in search of appropriate facilities or endure sub-standard facilities at home.

The Irish track commission have made the best of a bad situation and used limited funds available to great effect in re-surfacing the track in Sundrive Park, Crumlin. Unfortunately a minority of local youths seem intent on destruction, vandalism and theft. A series of regretable incidents has culminated in serious damage to the racing surface caused by a deliberate fire a couple of months ago.

I have been lucky enough over the past couple of months to be based near a velodrome in London, Ontario. The track is a lot more compact than traditional two hundred and fifty meter Olympic tracks, measuring a mere one hundred and twenty five meters. The angle of the banking on the track is also more severe than I have become accustomed too.

The compressed nature of the track serves to exaggerate and magnify any mistakes made on the track. A poor change in a team pursuit drill sees one trail meters behind team mates, while holding the black line for a pursuit is almost impossible with g-forces forcing one onto the red line at every corner.

Most of the work I have been doing on the track is skills based with intensity far from one hundred percent - this suits me fine considering it is still November and many months away from my first A-priority race of the season.

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iBlogger

Excuse the condensed nature of this post. This is my first update from a new app I have found called iBlogger.

Training was been going well here in Toronto. The conditions at the moment are pretty much ideal for cycling; it's dry almost every day but I do have to endure single digit temperatures most days.

The key is dressing for the weather and the absence of rain makes that job a lot easier. I have had to invest in a pair of lobster style gloves and some heavy wind proof over-shoes but everything else is the same as I was wearing back home.

Multiple but breathable layers are the key for staying warm and dry in this weather.

I will try get a blog post up about how I am adapting to track racing soon.

Annual Awards

Last week I was lucky enough to be voted UCD rider of the year. The award was made all the more ponient by the fact that the honour was voted on by my peers.

Ciaran O' Conluain picked up the special achievement award for an outstanding season consisting of in excess of fifty races including eight grueling Ras stages.

The season has finished up for most of the UCD riders and reflection can begin. Most riders will take a short break in an attempt to mentally and physically recuperate from a draining season while others will throw themselves into track or cyclocross for the off-season. Regardless of ones preparation, all will endeavor to be in decent physical shape for a domestic training camp in December and a foreign one in January.

The talk at the UCD awards night was of tales from this years Ras and the swell of opinion seemes to be that a second consecutive Ras could be a possibility.

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Lenister Track Championships

The Lenister Track Championships took place last Saturday at the outdoor track in Sundrive, Crumlin. The problem with having the racing surface exposed to the elements is, on occasion, weather necessitates that racing must be postponed or even cancelled.

The forecast for the day was for a scattering of showers but as the day unfolded it was clear racing could proceed - largely uninterrupted. I was planning on riding just the Scratch Race as the other event offered to the Senior men was a sprint event, to which I am not well suited. It turned out that the five hundred meter time trial was scheduled to take place before the Scratch race. I decided to race the time trial event as a warm-up for the scratch race.

I rode the five hundred meter time trial with no expectations. I went hard in the race but as soon as it finished I began my warm-up for the scratch race and did not concern myself with the results from the previous race.

The scratch race consisted of twenty two laps of the Sundrive circuit. The race was aggressive from the beginning with attacks going inside the first lap. I did not respond to any of the early attacks and relied on my competitors to close down the moves. On the third lap as one of the early breaks was caught I launched a speculative attack, not sure of the impact it would have -the purpose was to test legs around me. I opened a substantial gap immediately and was soon joined by John Lynch and Derek Cunningham - this was to develop into the race winning move.

Our group of three worked well together, sharing the pace setting and it soon became clear that this move would contest for the Lenister title. After some attacks and counter attacks the decisive move was made by John Lynch, attacking two laps from the finish for a fine solo win. I placed in the silver medal spot beating off Derek Cunningham in a sprint finish.

As I was standing around watching the five hundred meter presentation I heard my name being called. In my rush to get warmed up for the scratch race I had overlooked a bronze medal.

All things considered, it was not a bad day at the track. I would have liked to take a win in the scratch race but the unexpected bronze in the five hundred meter time trial lessened my disappointment.

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Lenister Track Championships

The Lenister Track Championships took place last Saturday at the outdoor track in Sundrive, Crumlin. The problem with having the racing surface exposed to the elements is, on occasion, weather necessitates that racing must be postponed or even cancelled.

The forecast for the day was for a scattering of showers but as the day unfolded it was clear racing could proceed - largely uninterrupted. I was planning on riding just the Scratch Race as the other event offered to the Senior men was a sprint event, to which I am not well suited. It turned out that the five hundred meter time trial was scheduled to take

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

UCD Hill Climb Championship.

Bad weather was forecast for this evening hill climb champs, to be held on Howth Hill. Contrary to the forecast for doom and gloom the evening turned out to be perfect conditions for cycling.

Our hill climb coincided with the boards.ie hill climb, being held on the same course, albeit from a different starting point. It was great to see so many folks out on the bike; participation levels in the sport really seem to be on the increase.

As a reference point for times, when the race was over we carried out some tests, at race wattage, to enable comparisons between the times posted. It took thirty three seconds to get from the UCD starting point to the boards.ie starting line.

A full list of UCD times will be available on www.ucdcycling.com tomorrow.

For now, I can tell you that I had the fastest time of UCD starters, posting 7.24 for the ascent to the summit shop.

My wattage for the duration of the race was a leg sapping 441 watts. The effort was made all the more painful due to the lack of a structured warm-up. The shorter a race, the longer and more intense the warm-up really needs to be.

Brendan Campbell Memorial

This past Sunday I made the short journey for the Brendan Campbell Memorial. The race was run off over an undulating 80km course on a handicap basis.

I got a chance to ride a lap of the course for a warm-up and it soon became apparent that I was going to be in for a tough day; the layout of the course provided little rest break with rolling hills, technical corners and fast decents.

The race attracted probably the best field of competitors for a one day race since the National Championships; when the quality of the field was combined with hot humid conditions and the difficult terrain, it was going to be a day that would sting the legs for a while.

The race was aggressive from the off in the scratch group with attacks going from the drop of the flag. Early in the first lap I followed the right wheels and found myself in what would become the main break of the day. The group was comprised of, amongst others, David McCann, Neil Delahey, Tim o`Regan, Paul Kennedy and Colm Cassidy.

The group didn`t work especially well together but the pace remained very high. I wasn`t having one of my best days and every lap was torture. The only rest bite came when we caught the A3 and A4 group. I was very thankful of the shelter provided in the larger group but this cease-fire would not last long. The elastic holding the scratch riders to the A3/A4 group soon broke and we were on our way again.

The race was thirteen laps long. In the early part I suffered really bad (as can be seen from the pictures) but as the laps ticked past my legs began to come around. David McCann made his move with 4 laps to go - no one in the break was strong enough to follow his `pro tour`legs and he soloed to a well deserved victory.

The rest of the placing would be decided in the last couple of kilometers. Keith Fox and Neil Delahey may a good move just before the group began to wind up for the sprint and secured 2nd and 3rd place. I finished in 10th position after poor position leading into the sprint effectively meant I never contested it.

I learn a couple a couple of lessons at the weekend. Although I did suffer, almost immeasurably, for over half the race I did come around and the legs were getting better.

Secondly; Sprints are all about position. Next time I am in a situation that requires a sprint I am going to try put myself in a bag to get good position into the sprint and hopefully that will be a more successful strategy.

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