Sean O'Kane receives his trophy from Dick O'Brien
Sean O'Kane triumphed last night at the club road race championships in Corkagh Park, taking another win in what has been a stellar debut season. In a hotly contested race, O'Kane saw off competition from veteran powerhouse Brian McNally (silver) and defending champion Diarmuid Collins (bronze). McNally and and Collins also scooped the Veterans medals, with Cahir O'Higgins taking bronze in that category.
Run as the final race in the Inter-Club League, the race is always a tactical affair. Although it involves riders from six clubs, each rider is only racing against members of their own club for medals. McNally made the early running, attacking from the gun out of the Semi-Scratch group in the company of Ken O'Neill. The pair worked well together to close the gap to Semi-Limit and then leave them behind. O'Neill's early efforts caught up with him, leaving McNally to forge ahead solo, clearly keen to win another trophy after his brace of time trial championships. He was only reeled in after Scratch caught the remaining Semi-Scratch group, adding new impetus to the chase.
O'Kane rode a canny race, measuring his efforts until the final ten minutes when he began to feature in some probing attacks. He positioned himself well on the final lap, well ahead of the rest of the Orwell contingent and virtually assuring himself of victory by the time he'd rounded the final bend. Behind McNally surged for silver while Collins just edged out O'Higgins, who had been boxed in for the sprint.
Last night's race also saw the final positions for the club league decided, with Cesar Lopes winning the trophy for the best Orwell rider for the second year running. Another 2024 racing debutant Michael Hickey secured second place, capping off a fine season, while O'Kane secured third spot and another medal to add to his collection.
Full list of all 2024 championship medallists below.
Cesar Lopes with his Club League and Best All Rounder trophies
10 Mile Time Trial Championship
Gold - Brian McNally
Silver - Cesar Lopes
Bronze - Dick O'Brien
10 Mile Time Trial Veterans
Gold - Brian McNally
Silver - Dick O'Brien
Bronze - Stephen O'Shea
25 Mile Time Trial Championship
Gold - Brian McNally
Silver - Cesar Lopes
Bronze - Shaun Kelly
25 Mile Time Trial Veterans
Gold - Brian McNally
Silver - Shaun Kelly
Bronze - Ian Devlin
Hill Climb Time Trial Championship
Gold - Sean O'Kane
Silver - Shaun Kelly
Bronze - Diarmuid Collins
Hill Climb Time Trial Championship Veterans
Gold - Shaun Kelly
Silver - Diarmuid Collins
Bronze - Cahir O'Higgins
Road Race Championship
Gold - Sean O'Kane
Silver - Brian McNally
Bronze - Diarmuid Collins
Road Race Championship Veterans
Gold - Diarmuid Collins
Silver - Brian McNally
Bronze - Cahir O'Higgins
Club League
Gold - Cesar Lopes
Silver - Michael Hickey
Bronze - Sean O'Kane
Best All-Rounder (BAR)
Gold - Cesar Lopes
Silver - Sean O'Kane
Bronze - Dick O'Brien
