Lakeside Wheelers Enjoy Successful Tour of the Lakes
9/6/20263 min read
Maurice Molloy, Kieran Moore, Nuala Nolan, Nuala Kerrigan, Pat Morrissey, Nicky Quinn and Clare Lyster at the Tour of the Lakes Sportive.
Lakeside Wheelers staged its main leisure spin of the year last Sunday with over 130 riders signing on for the Tour of the Lakes sportive. It is a long standing tradition in cycling whereby most clubs host a leisure day and invite cyclists from neighbouring clubs to participate.
With Mullingar being very strategically located close to many big cycling clubs, the annual Lakeside Wheelers tour is always very well supported. Organisers were delighted to see a very favourable weather forecast and as the start time approached it was great to see such a big number ready to ride.
Club Chairman Pearse Murphy delivered a welcome speech and safety briefing as everybody enjoyed pre-ride coffees and at 10.00am sharp the first of the groups departed. The Tour is divided into various groups depending on the distance and speed desired. This year the club arranged for leaders to take two groups @ 130km and two @ 85km which catered for everybody’s needs.
While there are clearly no mountains within striking distance of Mullingar there are definitely several hilly roads and in a sadistic sort of way, that’s what most cyclists enjoy. The Tour of the Lakes routes are mainly focused on the roads north of Mullingar town and bring riders through Crookedwood, Multyfarnham, Coole, Castlepollard and Fore before stopping for well earned refreshments. Once refuelled the groups depart again for home with either 70km or 25km remaining depending on distance chosen.
Thanks to club members Breda Brady and Ulrika Maher who looked after the sign-on desk, to the staff of Castle Varagh Hotel in Castlepollard for the catering, to the Midlands Moto crew who ensured everyone got around safely and to Westmeath Civil Defence for medical back up. Finally, Lakeside Wheelers would like to thank all riders who came and supported from places like Athlone, Edenderry, Ferbane, Naas, Dublin, and further afield and we hope to see you all again next year.
Eugene Duffy, Adrian Dorr, Martin Quinn and Jacub Palej at the Tour of the Lakes
Club Nominated Sportive
Members are reminded that the nominated sportive for 2026 is the Lynx CC charity spin on Sunday, September 27th. The club will be paying the entry fee for any member who wishes to participate in the event so put the date in your diary.
Aoife O’Brien Wins at Ras na mBan
Aoife O'Brien crosses the line in Gorey to win stage 2 of Ras na mBan
Ireland’s only international stage race for ladies, Ras na mBan was held last week and it proved to be a very happy return to stage racing for Mullingar’s Aoife O’Brien. This year’s edition was held mainly in the Kilkenny, Wexford and Carlow region and it was on Stage 2 which started and finished in Gorey that Aoife, riding with the Irish National team came to the fore.
It was definitely a day to remember as O’Brien not only took the stage win on day two, but she also went into the race leaders magenta jersey. This was another amazing achievement for the highly decorated Lakeside Wheelers Lifetime member who is only recently back racing after recovering from a broken shoulder sustained in a race in Belgium in the Spring. Having placed 2nd on Wednesday’s opening stage, Aoife kept the pressure on once she got into the lead group on Thursday and kept it up as the finish line in Gorey approached. With 5km to go the Irish team started to organise and as the speed ramped up the run to the finish became a little chaotic. O’Brien used all her experience to capitalise on this disorganisation in the bunch and with 300m to go, she jumped on the pedals and sailed across the line arms aloft for her first Ras na mBan stage win. In her post race interview she was clearly excited and stated that it was an unbelievable feeling to get a win at the Ras and to come good under pressure. The win left her 10 seconds ahead of her nearest rival on General Classification going into the next day’s 102km stage around Carrick on Suir.
With her reduced programme of racing following the shoulder injury and her focus on track racing since her return, the ascent of Seskin Hill stung and proved to be a step too far and the leader’s jersey slipped from her grasp. Aoife completed the remaining stages and after Sunday’s final race she ultimately finished winner of the Points classification and 26th overall. Well done and congratulations Aoife from everyone at Lakeside Wheelers.
