The Orwell results started pouring in last Tuesday, with two placings at Corkagh Park courtesy of Isabel Cogan and Siobhán O'Connor. Cogan repeated her success with 7th at the weekend in Bunclody, while Oisín Boland earned himself an upgrade with a super 3rd place in the A4 race, and Neal Hudson broke his barren streak with a fine 8th in the A3 edition.

Tuesday night was wet and windy, with the weather being described as hideous by one rider - "like racing in Cormac McCarthy's The Road". With that in mind, the race was a little shorter than normal, but it lost none of its usual intensity.

Isabel Cogan, who appears to have still not taken any time off since her top ten spot in the Nationals, braved the elements to cross the line in a superb 4th place, while Siobhán O'Connor wasn't far behind, taking the last of the prizes in 6th. The night belonged to DID's Anne Dalton, who took the win by a considerable margin.

The night was well organised by Adamstown CT, with www.bicycledesigncentre.com sponsoring the prizes.

Orla Hendon leading the bunch, with Cogan on her wheel, and O'Connor at rear (photo courtesy of Brendan Culleton)

Fast forwarding to Sunday for the open racing action of the week, with Slaney CC promoting a set of races in Bunclody. The day was a stark contrast to Tuesday, with the sun splitting the stones.

Five Orwell riders contested the women's race, with early attacks from Monica Marconi testing everyone's legs, and a solo effort by Orla Hendron lasting half a lap. Charlotte MacDonald and Rachael Kaye-Mellor chased down breakaways from the likes of Fran Meehan (Aquablue) and Róisín Kennedy (Adamstown CT).

Isabel Cogan jumped with Anne Dalton (DID Electrical) with 10km to go, but they were also brought back, but Dalton went again to take her second win of the week. Cogan then jumped after Niamh Stephens (UCD) under the flamme rouge, holding on for the 7th place prize. Cogan's consistency has been stunning this year, with a string of placings as well as victory in the Boyne GP to her name. The rest of the Orwell contingent can take pride in their aggressive racing - those efforts will stand to them in the fast-approaching Rás na mBan.

In the men's races, Neal Hudson was first Orwellian home in the A3 race. Hudson attacked hard on the finishing drag, opening a gap on the chasing bunch - clearly his two falls in Newry haven't dented his drive or his form. The bunch didn't make the catch, but seven riders managed to overtake him, leaving him just inside the prizes in 8th. Hudson will be disappointed with the placing, but happy to finally break his barren streak, and further his progress to the A2 ranks.

In the A4 race, Oisín Boland earned his upgrade to A3 with his second ever placing. Following from his 4th place at the Mullingar GP less than two weeks ago, Boland had his sights firmly fixed on a top four in Bunclody to take him to A3. Though the race was mostly a bunch affair, Mark Donnelly of the Merseyside-based Birkenhead North End CC broke away solo to take the win.

Unware of the man out front, Boland made his way to front as the finish approached and was only pipped on the line by Derrick Ryan (Ossory CC). Considering Boland's freshman status (his first open race was six weeks ago), his swift promotion to A3 is an indication that Boland is one to watch for the future. His next ambition is to try his hand at stage racing, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in Wexford and Charleville.

Of the two other Orwell riders in the race, Ronan Grimes was caught out by a crash on the second lap, and Paul Kane got stuck on the left hand side of the road behind a tractor near the finish line.

Watch Sunday's race finishes (video courtesy of SCC)

The Junior Tour took place over the last week, running from Tuesday to Sunday on the winding and hilly roads of Co. Clare. While Eddy Dunbar (Stena Line Ireland) was the talk of the race, our own Darragh Long was riding for NRPT, and did a smashing job of helping Mark Downey to take second place in the overall.

In other Junior news, Rachael Kaye-Mellor and Fionn Sheridan were in action on the track at the Internatinal GP at Sundrive Road on Saturday. The meet was the first UCI-ranked one in 50 years at the venue, with the day being a massive success by all accounts, partially due to the glorious sunshine, but also to the organisational prowess of CI and the large numbers of riders who turned up to take part.

U16 Champion Kaye-Mellor took fourth in the junior Scratch race, while Sheridan was one of only two juniors competing against the international seniors - the likes of Eoin and Ryan Mullen, and World Track Champs gold medallist Andy Tennant. He was the only junior to compete in every event, and will have gained a huge amount of experience from that.

Sheridan displaying his multi-discipline abilities on the track (photo courtesy of Adamstown CT)

Last Thursday's club league night in Corkagh Park produced two worthy winners in Julian Moore and Eric Downey. While Moore has placed several times in the league this season - including a second place in Corkagh Park - this is his maiden win, and it was a strong one. He might have escaped the last round of upgrades, but we suspect this win will push him up to Semi-limit, and that he'll rise well to the challenge there.

Moore was away in an early break with Paul Burgess and Jim Carey Jr, which was joined by two more before the finish. It was that small bunch that sprinted for the top placings, with Carey just behind Moore for 2nd, and Owen O'Flaherty 4th on Ronan Grimes' wheel. Burgess was the last of that group - the only Limit rider in the prizes, with Fionn Sheridan rounding out the placings in 6th.

Moore taking the lead in the sprint (photo courtesy of Brendan Culleton)

While the first race of the night was a war of attrition, Gavin Dodd and Eric Downey pulled off from the bunch of Scratch and Semi-scratch riders to make it a two-man sprint, with Downey beating Dodd to the chalk. Newly minted A2 rider Philippe Bourdarias used his finishing kick to outsprint the recently upgraded Valdis Andersons, who along with Nick Watson were the only two Semi-scratch men in the placings. Liam Rowsome took the last of the points in 6th.

Next week is the 25m TT Champs, followed swiftly by the Noel and Kieran Hammond Memorials on Sunday, organised and promoted by the club. If you've not already signed up for marshalling, head over to the forum now!

Corkagh Park Ladies Racing - R5

A race
1 Anne Dalton (DID Electrical)
2 Róisín Kennedy (Adamstown CT)
3 Niamh Stephens (UCD CC)
4 Isabel Cogan (DTC Orwell Wheelers)
5 Silvia Gallagher Bespoke)
6 Siobhán O'Connor (DTC Orwell Wheelers)

A race
1 Tania Finn (3D Tri)
2 Finóla Lawlor (Adamstown Cycling Team)
3 Martina O'Malley (Lucan CRC)

Eddie Tobin Memorial - A1/A2

1 Mark Dowling (Polygon Sweet Nice)
2 Dermot Radford (Tipperary Wheelers)
3 Greg Swinand (Usher IRC)
4 Ryan Sherlock (Polygon Sweet Nice)
5 Martin Mizgayski (Iverk Carrick Wheelers)
6 Neil Long (Dublin wheelers)
7 James Davonport (SDCC)
8 Aaron O’Donohoe (SDCC)
9 Andrew Stanley (DUCC)
10 Barry Horgan (Tralee Manor West BC)

Noel Redmond Memorial - A3

1 Hugh McMahon (DID Dunboyne)
2 Dermot Gough (Dungarvan CC)
3 Joseph Breheny (UCDCC)
4 Eoin Healy (DUCC)
5 Dermot Gregan (Slipstream CC)
6 Enda Donnelly (Dungarvan CC)
7 Stephen Duggan (Wexford Wheelers)
8 Neal Hudson (DTC Orwell Wheelers)

A4 Race

1 Mark Donnelly )Birkenhead North End CC)
2 Derrick Ryan (Ossory CC)
3 Oisin Boland (DTC Orwell Wheelers)
4 Diarmuid Kavanagh (SERC)
5 James Maddock (Wexford Wheelers)
6 Martin McNamara (Lucan CRC)
7 Shane Murphy (Dublin Wheelers CC)
8 Andrew McCabe (Deenside Wheelers)

Ladies Classic League Round 2

1 Anne Dalton (DID Dunboyne)
2 Emma Walsh (DCC)
3 Niamh Stevens (UCD)
4 Geraldine Gill (Bohermeen CC)
5 Emma Domlan (u/a)
6 Roisin Kennedy (Adamstown CT)
7 Isabel Cogan (DTC Orwell Wheelers)
8 Jennifer Fortune (De Ronde Van Cork CC)

International Track Meet

Full results on stickybottle.com.

Orwell League R13: Corkagh Park Criterium

Race #1 (L/SL)
1 Julian Moore (SL)
2 Jim Carey Jnr (SL)
3 Ronan Grimes (SL)
4 Owen O'Flaherty (SL)
5 Paul Burgess (L)
6 Fionn Sheridan (SL)

Unplaced woman:
Monica Marconi

Race #2 (S/SS)
1 Eric Downey (S)
2 Gavin Dodd (S)
3 Phillippe Bourdarias (S)
4 Valdis Andersons (SS)
5 Nick Watson (SS)
6 Liam Rowsome (S)