McKnight goes fastest at Ballynahinch

ROUND 10 of Dromara Cycling Club's Thursday Night League took place on the Downpatrick Road just outside Ballynahinch.

The road is quite busy with little room for cars to park and the club wish to thank the management at the Millbrook Lodge for the use of their car park.

Forty four riders gathered, among them three guests from other clubs, to complete the 10 mile time trial. It was a fine summer's evening with only a slight breeze which the riders experienced further out the road.

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First away was Anne Maguire, who was one of four women taking part, with the rest of the riders following at 30 seconds intervals.

Fastest on the night was David McKnight who set a time of 24.05. Next fastest was guest Tony Hare (Apollo CT), who set a time of 24m 23s, with Darren Weir finishing in 25m 06s.

Nigel Sudlow and Damien McDonald both set a time of 25m 12s with Simon Welby only four seconds slower.

The fastest of the women was Caroline Patterson who set a time of 27m 41s with Val O'Neill second (29m 03s). Fastest youth rider was Ryan Mallon who finished in 28m 44s with Christopher Weir finishing in 30m 27s.

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With regards to league points the times above are compared to the average set by the riders this season. Those who improve upon their average times get more points than those who do not.

Winner of the 40 points this week was Massimo Manganaro, who was out on his new bike, and managed to knock four minutes off his average time.

Next improver was Peter Swann who was 3 minutes quicker than his average time, and Connor Mallon, one of the youth riders, went just over two minutes faster than his average. Ian Proctor also had a good event when he went 2.06 seconds faster than his average.

The Dromara CC league in growing ever more popular as club membership increases. With nine events so far completed out of 24, 81 members of Dromara CC have taken part, as well as many other guests.

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Stephen Wallace tops the league with 291 points after a great win in the Annahilt road race on June 3. Fifty points separate the top 10 but just each rider has to drop three round scores so the final result is always tight.

Gavin Magowan has continued his strong improvement and takes second place with 281 and third is Jonathan McBride with 269. The strongest veteran, over 40 years old, is Ronnie Smyth holds fourth place with 268 points.

Top lady Caroline Patterson holds seventh place overall and also a 40 point lead on Mary Hunter in the Women’s league.

In the Youth league Chris Weir has be training hard this spring under the guiding had of his open racing father Darren Weir. Christopher holds a commanding lead in the youth league and is 24th overall. Zak Hanna his nearest vival, but great friend is in second with Eoghan McGuigan a close third.

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Many thanks to timekeepers Trevor Annett and Stephen Wallace and to all the marshals for keeping the riders safe. The next round is a 10 mile time trial starting from Spa Lake on Thursday 10 June 2010 starting at 6:50pm.