Boot Inn League Race 3

Click here for all images from race 3 in our photo gallery.

Round 3 of the women's 2009 Boot Inn League was won by Orla Hendron of Orwell Wheelers in a sprint finish on a windy night. The race was hosted by Ravens CRT, who pulled out all the stops, with primes up for grabs for all the groups.

As we pass the halfway point in the Boot Inn League, things are hotting up. The league consists of 6 races this year - with each rider's 5 best counting towards their overall ranking. Lucan's Roisin Kennedy heads the table with 27 points with Caroline Ryan (Garda CC) a close second.

Round 3 saw a good turnout for the league, which is already looking to be one of the best leagues so far. We have new faces every week - and strong aggressive racing. The limit group was given a 4.5 minute advantage over the next group in the 20 mile race - and they were determined to hold their advantage, driven by Niamh Stephens (UCD) and Sandra Telford (Orwell) who were looking to capitalise on the points they gained last week.

Semi Scratch were next off, strengthened by Boot Inn regulars Fionnuala ní Bhradaigh (Bray Wheelers) and Monica Marconi (Orwell Wheelers). They had a 2 minute advantage over the Scratch group, which was strongly represented by Orwell and Ravens.

It took the Scratch group a bit of time to organise themselves before they started to reel in the groups ahead, but once they got going they were clipping along at a nice pace - 44 kmph up the main road is not bad for a Wednesday evening. By the last lap, the groups were all together and the attacks were starting. Limit and Semi Scratch were able to jump in with Scratch as they passed and much of the bunch stayed together.

The most notable attack was made by Orla Hendron, the most experienced rider in the field. When Orla puts in an attack, it is time to get scared. For about half a lap, Orla kept her gap, with muggins here trapped on the front of the bunch. With only half a lap to go, nobody wanted to chase and risk missing out on all-important points. With curses and expletives firing around my head, I took on the task. With just over 1 km to go, we were all together once more and the pace got edgy and fast. Scratch had broken clear from most of the field over the last couple of kilometres and, on the line, Orla took the sprint from Jenn O'Reilly (Ravens) with Caroline Ryan (Garda CC) taking 3rd. Michelle Geoghegan (Orwell) was 4th, Roisin Kennedy (Lucan) 5th and Siobhan Jacob (u/a) 6th.

Another exciting race in the 2009 league! The primes were won by Sandra Telford (Orwell) in the Limit group, (tbc) in Semi Scratch, and Joanna Hickey (Usher) in the Scratch group.

Thanks to all the Ravens for coming out and hosting a great race - those birds sure know how to throw a party! Thanks to Sean Lally for marshalling and to Paddy Doran for his pre-race coaching advice. As always thanks to super cameraman Brendan Culleton for taking all the photos. See you all next week for Round 4!

Results

Race 3

1. Orla Hedron (Orwell Wheelers)
2. Jenn O'Reilly (Ravens)
3. Caroline Ryan (Garda CC)
4. Michelle Geoghegan (Orwell Wheelers)
5. Roisin Kennedy (Lucan)
6. Siobhan Jacob (Unattached)

Ranking after Round 3

1. Róisín Kennedy (Staggs Lucan CRC) - 27 points adj.
2. Caroline Ryan (Garda Cycling Club) - 23 points adj.
3. Michelle Geoghegan (Orwell Dundrum TC) - 19 points adj.
4. Monica Marconi (Orwell Dundrum TC) - 18 points adj.
4. Sandra Telford (Orwell Dundrum TC) - 18 points adj.
6. Siobhan Jacob (Unattached) - 17 points adj.
6. Niamh Stephens (UCD CC) - 17 points adj.
8. Heather Boyle (Ravens CRT) - 16 points adj.
8. Orla McEvoy (Bray Wheelers) - 16 points adj.