April saw the start of VC Iveagh’s RACE LEAGUE calendar with a 2UP time trial on the Rathfriland Road, Banbridge. 2UP’s are a traditional and entertaining way to get the season kicked off and although it is certainly competitive it’s mainly viewed as a season opener with the majority of the guys not taking the event just as seriously as the actual club races and individual TT’s. With a strong group of 26 riders in attendance from nine different clubs including a few solo riders, it was a great night even though the elements were seemingly conspiring against us. However as the riders rolled up to the start line the skies cleared and miraculously we had a dry race.

Kicking off proceeding were two new members of VC Iveagh, Jonathan Burns and Stephen Pepper. Only having taken up cycling in recent months, they were determined to give racing a go and this was very much a baptism of fire. The two guys certainly didn’t shame themselves with an excellent 31:38 time; well done lads a great base level has now been set. Proceedings then continued with each riding partnership in turn rolling up to take their place, the only blip was when Neil ’Bosty’ Boston decided to take his warm up to a whole new level and missed his time slot but with Louise and Alan on the clocks we rode the storm and got things back on track.

This TT was also the official start of our new partnership with Rice’s Hotel who shall be sponsoring the 2016 VC Iveagh RACE LEAGUE, not only are we running an internal club league but we have also introduced a visitors league. The visitors league is open to any rider from any club, simply compete in over 50% of our races throughout the season for a chance to win a meal for two in Rice’s Hotel, all details can be found in our Sponsorship Announcement post.

A special mention has to go the both the visiting clubs and overall race winners, so thank you to the following clubs:

TVR
SMCC
Phoenix CC
Maryland Wheelers
Dromara CC
Keevan CC
NRPT
West Down Wheelers

The overall winners on the night were the ever present Tim Beattie (TVR) and Mark Short (Phoenix CC) with a winning time of 24:27, well done lads, that was a really great performance in some testing conditions, we hope to see you both at are upcoming events.

So it’s now onward and upwards to our next event, a 10 mile individual TT on the Castlewellan Road, Banbridge on Thursday the 21^st April. We hope to have a very special guest rider on the evening, none other than recent Ras Mumhan race winner Chris ‘Kipper’ McGlinchey, Kipper is coming along not only to show his support to VC Iveagh but also to put his TT skills to the test on his new Vitus Chrono on the tricky TT course.

Below are last nights results and the internal and external Race Leagues:

Club Race League	7 April 16	Total
Gordon Brown	20	20
Scott Daly	20	20
Mervyn McKeown	19	19
Ronnie Massey	19	19
Jonathan Burns	18	18
Stephen Pepper	18	18
Ryan Harshaw	17	17
Mark Johnston	17	17
Neil Boston	16	16
Brian Halliday	16	16
Simon Keery	15	15
Neil Seffen	15	15
Davey Cartmill	14	14
Paul Rice	14	14
Russ Deuchar	5	5
John Davison	5	5
Ivan McConville	5	5
Dean McDowell	5	5
Alan Priestly	5	5

Visitor Race League	7 April 16	Total
Tim Beattie TVR	20	20
Mark Short  Phoenix	20	20
John Clyde  WDW	19	19
Trevor Wright DCC	19	19
Mark Casey  TVR	18	18
Stevie Bucannon	18	18
Darren Cusack M’land	17	17
Colin McKee M’land	17	17
Richard Yarr  SMCC	16	16
ColinAbernethy SMCC	16	16

10 Mile 2UP TTT : Rathfriland RD

Club Race Results

Name	Target	Actual	Difference	Position	Points
Gordon BrownScott Daly	26:48	25:40	-1:08	1	20
Ronnie MasseyMeryvn McKeown	27:38	26:43	-0:55	2	19
Stephen PyperJonathan Burns	32:00	31:38	-0:22	3	18
Mark JohnstonRyan Harshaw	28:00	27:43	-0:19	4	17
Brian HallidayNeil Boston	29:50	29:32	-0:18	5	16
Neil SeffenSimon Keery	25:02	25:21	+0:19	6	15
Davey CartmillPaul Rice	26:48	27:50	+1:02	7	14

Visitor Race Results

Name	Target	Actual	Difference	Position	Points
Tim Beattie TVRMark Short Phoenix	NA	24:27	NA	1	20
John Clyde WDWTrevor Wright DCC	NA	25:43	NA	2	19
Mark Casey TVRStephen Buchannon TVR	NA	26:49	NA	3	18
Darren Cusack MarylandColin Mckee Maryland	NA	27:53	NA	4	17
Richard Yarr SMCCColin Abernethy SMCC	NA	29:18	NA	5	16