After last week's prologue, the bunches got into some fast and furious crit racing this week, with separate nights for the Limit and Scratch groups. John Blennerhassett emerged triumphant from the winning break on Wednesday, while Valdis Andersons once again displayed his dominance on Thursday.

Ahead of tomorrow's Shay Elliot classic, we've put together an account of one of the other tough events of the Irish calendar - the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan. This year the riders were blessed by blazing sunshine for three of the four days, with standout rides from Aidan Collins and Eric Downey, though many of the Orwell contingent's chances were scuppered by crashes. Read on for all the details!

The June bank holiday saw Orwell riders in action both on the track and on the road, in racing and leisure, with two standout performances in Isabel Cogan's excellent victory at the Boyne GP, and Brian McArdle's superb stage win in the Rás Dhún na nGall. Plenty of other Orwell riders scooped prizes, most notably Orla Hendron who was second overall at the Duane Delaney GP.

The first of two Sallygap finishes ran over a tougher than usual circuit, and produced one worthy winner in the shape of Diarmuid Collins. All the action below!

A slightly delayed posting after a lovely Sunday spent between the Gerry Brannigan Memorial and the couch, this one comes in from Luke GJ Potter. He reports on the Orwell performances in the CX races across August and September, and we hope to see more as the season progresses!

Nearly sixty riders signed on in gorgeous conditions last night, with two riders coming out on top in the senior races - Davids Maher and Halpin. A tie in the junior race meant both Uisneach Sheridan and Andrew Ryan claimed first place.

Mark Holland made it two in a row by following up his 2nd place last week with a fine win at the head of a bunch sprint in Corkagh on Wednesday, while yesterday Conor Murnane claimed his latest result from a three man sprint. All the action below!

The June bank holiday marks the first long weekend of the summer, and this year marked the first edition of the Deenside Cup in Kilkenny. Ciara Kinch, Aideen Keenan, Rachael Kaye-Mellor and Bryan Geary all came away with prizes, while in the north-west of the country, an Orwell contingent was ripping up Glengesh, with a star turn from newly minted sprinter Fionn Sheridan.

With the Rás dominating the weekend racing, we thought it an appropriate time to catch up with one of last year's Men of the Rás, Diarmuid Collins, and find out a bit more about the Limerick man.

Two full handicap road races over two weeks saw two winners take to the line with clear gaps over the bunch. The difference in the size of the gaps was substantial, as Scott Gilchrist's race-long solo break last night ended two minutes ahead of the chasers, while Brian McArdle's late attack last week gave him just enough for a comfortable victory.

It was a week for the testers, as the Club 10TT Champs clashed with the Nationals, with some outstanding results in both - Dick O'Brien dominating the former, and Claire McEntee setting a blistering time in the latter. Corkagh Park saw first a Horan haul, then an Orwell clean sweep, while three of the men completed the National Road Race Champs on Sunday.

After catching up with the women's incredible haul of medals, it's time to turn our attention to the feats of the (mostly) men, with Neal Hudson getting on the A2 podium in the Wexford 2 Day, then grabbing gold in the Leinster Hill Climb. Conor Murnane brought home bronze for the Junior cat in that event, while back in Wexford Stephen Barry put in a great hill climb to take 4th in the A4 event. There was also a haul of medals from the track league, thanks to Fionn Sheridan, Stephen McNally, David Swift, Uisneach Sheridan - and also Naoise Sheridan (who obviously doesn't belong in the men's category, but all the medals look well together).

Aideen Keenan proved herself no flash in the pan with a dominant win in Bohermeen at the Waller Cup yesterday, followed up by Rachael Kaye-Mellor in 4th and Orla Hendron in 6th. Keith Harte took 8th in the A4 race, while Diarmuid Collins earned a fine 3rd unplaced A2 at the Shay Elliot in Wicklow yesterday. We’re also covering last weekend’s one day results, with Gavin Dodd 5th in Rás Chonamara and Rachael Kaye-Mellor top Junior in Ros an Laois.

The wet and wild roads of the Corkman saw some solid Orwell performances last weekend, with Brian McArdle riding strongly throughout, and Conor Murnane getting up in the final sprint.

Two weeks have passed since the Easter stage races, and as well as Conor Murnane's sprints there, the club have been picking up prizes since. Conor and younger brother Seán both featured in Stamullen, along with Jules Cantwell. And this weekend in Drogheda, Paul Kane, Garry Blair and Dick O'Brien all took home envelopes. Full details below!

The first races of the league saw two strong performances in each, with Seán Murnane and Brian McArdle each on the attack in their respective races. Murnane capped it off with a strong sprint, while McArdle did it the hard way with a solo effort from the halfway mark.

With no Orwell results in Clonard on Saturday, all eyes were on Newbridge to salvage the weekend, and the club did not disappoint! Diarmuid Collins, Mark Mulcahy and Ciara Kinch all took home prizes, read about them below.

While Pat O'Brien unleashed his trademark sprint to take the Scratch race, the talk of the night was newcomer Greg O'Donnell's outstanding win from Limit.
Update: Now with extra on-bike footage from Scratch race!

Since our last update from the track, the prizes and medals have been pouring in. Uisneach, Naoise and Fionn Sheridan, Seán and Conor Murnane, alongside Andrew Ryan, David Swift, Daniel McElroy, Dick O'Brien and Eddie Lynch have all been spotted on the boards. Find out how they fared below!

With both the DCCX and Fixx series of Cyclocross races decided, the sport transitions into championship season. The Leinster title has been awarded to Robin Seymour. The Irish National Cyclocross Championships are taking place in Rostrevor on January the 10th. Nestled neatly between these championships is the Orwell Wheelers Cyclocross Championships.