Hat-trick of victories for Madden

He finished first in the Bann Wheelers event on Tuesday and was the first veteran (aged 40 plus) and second over all in the other two races on Thursday and Sunday.

The first race took place on Tuesday night and was hosted by the Bann Wheelers Cycling Club, of which Madden is an associate member, taking place between Ballybogey and Ballymoney.

The second event was part of the Dave Kane cycling League and took place in Ballydonaghy.

The final race took place in Toome on Sunday and was part of the Super 6 time trial league which Madden won last year. Madden also won the Dave Kane league in 2009.

Madden, despite the windy conditions on Sunday morning, rounded off another winning week in Toome by taking the veterans section by finishing only 22 seconds behind the over all winner, 20 year old Thomas Martin, who has recently been selected for the Tour of Britain.

“I enjoyed racing this week since it meant I could compete in my favoured discipline of Time Trial. For much of the year I have been competing within the road racing side of the sport but the Time Trial event is my specialty and it is the event to which I am most suited. Having won both the Super 6 and the Dave Kane Time Trial leagues last year I decided to do something different and have enjoyed considerable success with the road racing and probably more importantly have had a great time. I needed to start doing a few time trials to gain the training effects to try and sharpen up for a few big events towards the end of the season. I have the Ulster 10 and 25 mile Time Trial Championships coming up and I would like to continue my gold medal winning form from last year in these races” said Madden.

Madden, who lives in Ballycastle and is an associate member of Bann Wheelers cycling club in Coleraine, won three time trials this week. He will be racing locally again next week in preparation for some important races in September.

Meanwhile, John has been nominated for Sports Veteran of the Year in the 2010 North Antrim Sports Awards organised by the Ballymoney and Moyle Times in association with Complete Gyms on Saturday, October 16 at Lissanoure Castle. J

ohn received the award last year and his cycling performances this season must make him a strong contender once again.

He said “I have been very fortunate to have been nominated once again for the North Antrim Sports Awards and it promises to be another well organised and supported event with BBC presenter Joel Taggart and a host of other sporting celebrities raising the profile of local athletes.

“It is fantastic to have all the hard effort recognised locally through the North Antrim Sports Awards and my thanks go to all those involved in the organisation. I have once again had an incredible season in 2010 and events like this awards night motivate me to continue to train really hard and I hope to continue to be competitive years to come.”