We've been remiss in our racing coverage, with the women in particular scoring a number of fine results - Sandra Telford with a Corkagh Park win, and Ciara Kinch 4th in the Meath GP. Read on for much, much more!

40 riders signed on in Roundwood on Saturday morning to give their all in the Noel and Kieran Hammond Memorial time trial. With plenty of prizes on offer, competition was tight, but defending champion Ian Richardson took the overall from Sean McKenna with 22" to spare. Conor Murnane walked away with the Kieran Hammond trophy, awarded this year to the top Junior.

We've a pile of racing to catch up on apart from the Roche GP, with the Sallygap race being won by Séamus Nolan, the vets getting a slew of results including 2nd in the As for Barry Dace, and the Sheridans flooding the track league final overall.

With a great haul over the last couple of weeks, it's time we covered the club's senior open racing results for the last month or so. Diarmuid Collins' CX win stands out, as does Jules Cantwell's 2nd out west - he gives his account below! Envelopes also for Monica Marconi, Garry Blair, Kilian Doyle, Ken O'Neill while the Juniors are always picking up prizes regardless! We've also got some more of the women's results from Aideen Keenan, Ann Horan and Emily Brick!

A weekend’s worth of racing in Roundwood paid dividends for Fionn Sheridan, taking two prizes, including the coveted Kieran Hammond trophy. Keith Harte and David Maher placed in the Roundwood GP, while several members scored results in the Hammond Memorial TT event. And last week in the league, Uisneach Sheridan, Paul Tansey and Brian Ahern won the sprints in Corkagh Park.

Aidan Collins brought home the best results of the weekend for the club, with a 4th in the Stamullen GP on Sunday, and an unplaced prize on Friday. Odhrán Connors and Stephen Barry also featured in Stamullen, while the Orwell women were active in Nenagh, with a TTT win, and placings for Ciara Kinch and Monica Marconi.

The Youth and Junior members of the club have been extremely active and successful over the last few weeks, not least on the track! Below we cover the prolific road exploits of Ciaran Keogh, Andrew Ryan, Naoise and Uisneach Sheridan, and Conor and Sean Murnane, with the latter giving us an account of his experiences at the National Youth Championships.

It's a pleasure to have Ciara Ní Fhlathartaigh expanding her vocabulary and exercising her authorial muscles, giving us a gripping account of the penultimate round of the Scott-Orwell Women's Crit League ahead of the final round tomorrow... 

Previous holder of the 25TT title, Tom Blennerhassett retook it in imperious style in R15 of the club league, while Ann Horan blazed to the women's title by nearly a minute over her nearest rival. R16 saw the lowest turnout yet for a round, with Eoin Byrne emerging triumphant in horrendous conditions.

The National Junior Track Champs and Team and Keirin Champs took place in Sundrive Road last weekend, and three of Orwell's former champions came away with medals - Juniors Naoise Sheridan and Rachael Kaye-Mellor, and veteran Orla Hendron. Their haul was an impressive seven medals across five events and the Keirin, while the men's team were denied the podium in the sprint by a mere half second.

We have two set of thanks addressed to club members, from Simpson's Hospital following the Joe Daly Memorial Cycle Rally, and Jen Sheridan after the International Track GP.

On the women's open scene, Monica Marconi scored an emphatic victory in Wexford for the final round of the National League, while Ciara Kinch came home a fine 5th. Kinch then went on to notch up Gold in the Leinster Hill Climb Champs, with Aideen Keenan in silver a mere 7" behind her. And Orla Hendron displayed rude form at the Track Champs to take home two national medals, while Rachel Glendon also won silver in the National Middle Distance Triathlon Champs.
Update: now with hill climb podium pic, and news of Naoise Sheridan's track league medal!

The Orwell women sent a team of eight women to compete in the inaugural Newcastle West 2 Day stage race two weeks ago - Mary Brady, Orla Hendron, Ann Horan, Breda Horan, Helen Horan, Monica Marconi, Siobhán O'Connor and Naoise Sheridan. Along with them was Stephen Rowan in a supporting role, and together the team got through a weekend of hard racing - check out Ann Horan's account below!

Last Sunday, the Orwell Youths went on an away day to Lucan BMX club. It is one of a series of a trips they will be doing over the winter, introducing them to different disciplines and will include MTBing, CX, Track and Crit cycling. If anyone of you thought that BMXing was easy peasy, be warned - there is a reason they insist on full face masks.