McCrystal sets new national record for Ironman event in Barcelona

Bryan McCrystal

Local triathlete Bryan McCrystal set a new national record for the Ironman event in Barcelona on Sunday.

The Jenkinstown native, who runs Mint by Baldwins in Earl Street, came home in a time of 8 hours 41 minutes and 29 seconds in the Barcelona IronMan event.

That was enough for a very impressive 22^nd place in the international field despite coming straight off the back of the road racing season when his swimming and running training would have been minimal.

McCrystal put in a time of 1hr 2mins 47 secs for the 3.8km swim in Barcelona yesterday afternoon.

He followed that up with a time of 4hrs 17mins 11secs for the 180km bike leg; rounding out his effort with a time of 3hrs 18mins 30seconds for the 42.2km concluding run leg.

His bike leg was raced at an average of 41.99kph and was faster than any of the competitors who finished ahead of him.

Indeed, only former international bike rider Démétrio Fernandez from France was quicker than McCrystal on the bike.

The new Ironman national record holder, subject to ratification, competes in the colours of Team ASEA in the Irish peloton and won the new National Road Series this year.

His time in Barcelona was almost four minutes faster than the national record set by fellow local man Liam Dolan in Copenhagen two years ago.

Dolan, who has also since turned to cycling with local club Cuchulainn, set a time of 08:45:26.

McCrystal is a former pro football who played for Leeds United until injury cut short his career in England after four years.

He then played League of Ireland football with Dundalk FC before being hit by further cruciate knee ligament injuries.

Having then gone on to triathlon he quickly became an international before moving to cycling.

The Bike Station Summer Cycling League gets underway

Aaron Trainer with his second place trophy from the Under 12s event in Bohermeen on Sunday

While the changeable weather may not suggest that summer has arrived, Thursday last saw the start of The Bike Station Summer Cycling League.

The event commenced under glorious sunshine and saw the race head out to Dunleer and back, a relatively short starter. As per the new format introduced in 2014 there were two separate events and in the first race it came down to the wire with the final group only being caught with 1km to go.

Cuchulainn’s Val Gargan produced an impressive kick to take the win from the large group. Close behing Val in the fast sprint was Eve McCrystal, showing all the men a clean pair of heels to take the runner up spot, with Ray O’Shuaghnessey in 3rd.

In the second race again the three groups came together to contest the sprint and it was Benny Smith of Killeavy Cycling Club who took the win ahead of Ardee’s Alex McDonnell, with another Killeavy man Damien Philips in third. This week the league continues on the Carlingford Road, for the deceptively difficult Greenore and back route.

The mountain bike league moved into the second round with the first open mountain event, which saw a record entry of 42 riders. The riders tackled a 6.5km lap and after lap one Ray O`Shaughnessey led from last week’s victor Aiden McDonald and Brendan Callaghan in third. These positions remained until the finish with Ray taking the win. Round three sees the league return to Bellurgan Park.

An open race was held in the County Meath village of Bohermeen on Sunday. The main event was an 80 mile affair with Dundalk’s Bryan McCrystal in third position and Cuchulainn’s Liam Dolan also in the winning break coming home in 7th. In the support race Alan Bingham was fourth.

Eve McCrystal continued her great run of form by taking her second win in as many weeks in the women’s race. In the under 12s event Cuchulainn’s Aaron Trainer was an impressive second place, having come agonisingly close to his first win.

The IVCA racing season also got underway in Newbridge, Co Kildare and Cuchulainn as always had a large contingent taking part. Best placed was Enda McKeown who took third place in race two, with team mate Aidan Delaney right behind in the main bunch.

Aiden McDonald shows off his MTB skills in the first round of the Off Road League

Aiden McDonald in action in the Mountain Bike League in Bellurgan Park

Tuesday last saw the commencement of Cuchulainn’s 2015 Mountain Bike League in Bellurgan Park.

Under the stewardship of Liam Burns, 33 riders signed on for the first night of action. From the flag drop, off road expert Aiden McDonald took the lead, which he continued to build upon over the three laps, to take the win from Andrew Baldwin in second and Niall O’Flaherty in third.

As is always the case in off road racing there were a few mechanicals and punctures but all 33 riders made it home safely. The league will continue every Tuesday night over the summer.

This Thursday night April 23rd sees the start of the Bike Station Summer Cycling League. The first night of racing will see the riders sign on at the Geraldines pitch in Haggardstown and race out to Dunleer and back.

On the open racing front, the weekend was a hive of activity for the club’s road racers. On Saturday evening Colm Quinn took the first A2 rider in the main event, the 50km handicapped race.

On Sunday the main action was the Visit Nenagh Classic in the Tipperary town. The 160km route featured seven categorised climbs and attracted all of Ireland’s top riders and a Dutch team. Bryan McCrystal was fourth home in the gruelling race with Cuchulainn’s Liam Dolan not far behind in seventh.

Eve McCrystal won the ladies support race, which featured a very strong field, including an international Welsh Team. Sunday also saw Drogheda host another race and in the A3 event Val Gargan came home in the bunch sprint to claim fourth position.

Cuchulainn Cycling Club to host Traders’ Cup on Sunday week

Dundalk man Jim Curran won the inaugural Traders’ Cup in 1942

Sunday February 22nd sees Dundalk’s Cuchulainn Cycling Club hosting one of the first races of the year, with the annual Traders’ Cup.

First run in 1942, the race covered 25 miles, starting on the old Dublin Road, going out to beyond Dunleer and back. The name the Traders’ Cup came from the fact that it was sponsored by local traders, as a way to boost sales in the town. The perpetual cup put up for the first race is still given out to the winner every year to this day.

The inaugural winner was Dundalk’s Jim Curran, at the time riding for Cuchulainn CC. Jim also came back in 1943 to successfully defend his title. For the next 29 years the race came and went, being held 14 times. Since 1970 the race has been held every year, bar two exceptions in 2000 and 2002.

A serious accident involving a cyclist and a car did see the race abandoned in 2006. The last Cuchulainn rider to win the race was Karl Dolan in 1991, however in 2014 Dundalk man Bryan McCrystal, riding for AquaBlue at the time, was a dominant victor riding away from the rest of the field. Bryan is sure to be back this year in the colours of his new Team ASEA squad.

As has always been the case the race is run on a handicapped basis with the A3 riders been given a head start before the A2s set off in pursuit and finally the A1s. This year’s race starts at the Fane Bridge and follows an out and back course to Dunleer, Ardee, into Dundalk on the Ardee Road and back the way it came, for a total distance of 75.6km or 47miles in old money.

The race starts at 10am and sign on and awards are set to be held in St Joseph’s GFC clubhouse at Cluskey Park in Dromiskin. Also on the day will be a women’s race of 40km and an A4 race covering the same course as the main race.

Happy ending for McCrystal as he is reunited with prized bike

Bryan McCrystal

There was a happy ending to a frustrating few weeks for local triathlete Bryan McCrystal after he was reunited with his €11,000 bike in his shop, Mint by Baldwin, in Earl Street today.

The Jenkinstown man had taken the bike on a trip to Frankfurt in Germany before Christmas to mark the launch of his new squad Team ASEA.

However, on his return to Ireland it emerged that Aer Lingus had misplaced it and could only offer compensation of €1,200 for the Trek Speed Concept 9 Series TT machine.

However, commenting via social media last night, McCrystal said he was “glad, pleased, thrilled, overjoyed” to say Aer Lingus had found the bike. It was then delivered to him today.

He also thanked all those who had spread news about the bike, saying “I’m convinced the fact I went public with this and received huge support sparked Aer Lingus staff to do their job.”

He added: “It feels like a member of the family is returning!”

A picture of McCrystal’s bike, which was finally returned to him today

Aer Lingus misplace local rider McCrystal’s bike following trip to Frankfurt

Bryan McCrystal

Local triathlete Bryan McCrystal had a flight to forget before Christmas when Aer Lingus misplaced his €11,000 bike following a trip to Frankfurt.

The Jenkinstown man, who runs Mint by Baldwin in Earl Street, had travelled to the German city to mark the launch of his new squad Team ASEA.

The former Leeds United footballer had brought his time trial bike, valued at €11,000, to use in a display at a business conference in Frankfurt but on his return journey the bike went missing and has not been seen since.

To make matters worse the maximum the airline will pay out in compensation is €1,200, almost 10 times less than what it would cost to replace it.

The bike is a Trek Speed Concept 9 Series TT machine. The frame is two years old but has recently been resprayed in the livery of his new team. All of the other components are new including a Shimano Di2 Ultegra groupset, a Fast Forward three spoke carbon front wheel and a rear disc wheel.

A picture of McCrystal’s missing bike, which is valued at €11,000

World silver medal for Dundalk cyclist Eve McCrystal

Nathan McGreehan and Tomas McCabe, second and first in the Louth Hill Climb Championships at the weekend

Ireland’s Paracycling team of Katie George Dunleavy and Dundalk’s Eve McCrystal claimed a silver medal at the World Paracycling Championships in Greenville, USA on Sunday.

Competing in the tandem road race the pair were edged out in a sprint for the gold by the British pair of Lora Turnham and Connie Hall, with the Spanish in third. The Irish team had been in the US for the last three weeks becoming acclimatised to the stifling heat and humidity of North Carolina.

On the previous Friday the Irish tandem duo had been unlucky to puncture in the time trial event, yet still managed to take sixth position. Also competing in the male tandem time trial and road race was Ireland’s James Brown, with Dundalk’s Bryan McCrystal, like his sister, acting as the pilot for the visually impaired athlete. The men posted top 10 results in both events but just couldn’t quite make it onto the podium.

The last competitive event of the year went to Tomas McCabe when he won the Louth Hill Climb Championships ahead of Nathan McGreehan. Tomas also won the Leinster A3 event, with the main event going to defending champion James Davenport. In the women’s event Annette Dolan took the gold ahead of Sandra O’Hagan.

Sunday also saw the final round of the Skoda Cycling Challenge descend on Louth. Fiona Rogers and Philip Kerley headed up a team that organised an excellent event for over 500 cyclists. An 80km route and 130km route were both on offer to the cyclists, taking in the likes of Ballymascanlon, Riverstown and the Long Woman’s Grave. Good weather meant than more than expected tackled the longer route, but with a well stocked food stop at the Fairways Hotel everyone managed the distance. Cuchulainn Cycling Club extends a huge thank you to the organising committee, marshals, drivers, Irish Red Cross, Skoda Ireland, The Fairways Hotel and St Kevin’s GAA Club.

Baldwin’s Jewellers relocating to Earl Street

Karen McCrystal of Baldwins is looking forward to the move to Mint by Baldwins in Earl Street

Baldwin’s Jewellers are set to move from their Park Street premises in the coming weeks.

The store, which will be 60 years in business next year, will be moving into the Mint by Baldwins store in Earl Street, which is currently run by Bryan McCrystal who would be well known to Baldwin’s customers having designed rings in the store for the last few years.

In the build-up to the move, Baldwins will be having a relocation sale with up to 70% discounts on selected items.

Writing on their Facebook page, Baldwins said: “We would like to thank all our customers that have supported us for 59 years on Park Street. All business will remain the same and existing deposits and business shall be unaffected.”

Successful weekend for local cyclists

Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal – winner’s of the female tandem gold medal

Dundalk cyclists had a successful weekend at the national championship held in Mullingar, picking up two gold medals.

First up in the men’s tandem time trial Bryan McCrystal and James Brown went quickest to claim the gold, while in the women’s tandem time trial Eve McCrystal and Katie George Dunleavy claimed the gold. Both of the McCrystal siblings have been involved in the Paralympic programme for some months now and are building towards the Olympics in Rio 2016.

Unfortunately a tragic road accident on Saturday morning saw the cancellation of the Vets and Women’s Road Race Championships on the Saturday. Here Eve would have been amongst the favourites to podium. While in the vets race, Cuchulainn had sent a strong team, spearheaded by the inform Alan Bingham would have hopefully been in the hunt for the team prize.

The men’s road race did go ahead on the Sunday and the field tackled a 171km race, where Ireland’s top professionals including Tour de France stage winner Dan Martin and former world track champion Martyn Irvine, lined up with the best domestic based riders. Early in the race Bryan McCrystal got himself into a break of eight riders that stayed away to the end. With 30km to go 19 year old Ryan Mullen rode away to a solo victory and claimed the national champions jersey. In the sprint for the remaining medals, McCrystal came agonisingly close to claiming a medal, but just missed out finishing in fourth place.

The latest round of the FPM Accountants Summer Cycling League saw the six groups race out to Greenore and back. A fast night of racing saw a small group of scratch riders catch all in front of them, with Alan Bingham taking the win ahead of Niall Clarke in second and Liam Dolan in third.

McCrystal triumphs in Newbridge

Gary Mortan taking third place in Banbridge

It was a good weekend on the road racing front for Dundalk cyclists.

The action started on Saturday in Newbridge for the Paddy Flanagan Memorial. In the A1 race Bryan McCrystal was part of the winning move and in the last 5km he attacked his breakaway companions to take a solo win. This was Bryan’s first competitive outing since a bad accident forced him out of the An Post Rás and shows he is back to full fitness. It also shows that his form is building nicely ahead of this weekend’s national championships, being hosted by Mullingar.

Bryan will be looking to secure medals in both Thursday’s TT and Sunday’s road race, a gruelling 190km race that will see the local businessman going toe to toe with Ireland’s best cyclists, including Nicholas Roche and Dan Martin. Bryan’s sister Eve will also be in hunt for another national medal to build on her bronze from 2013.

On Sunday the action switched to Banbridge, where in the A4 race Gary Mortan found himself in the winning move of 12 riders. In the sprint for the flag Gary took third position in the tough 90km race. Other Cuchulainn riders Paddy Reilly, Gavin and Fran Egan all finished safely in the main bunch.

Another Dundalk man making waves was Bellurgan’s Ultan Coyle, who was taking part in the 24hr English Championships. Ultan covered an incredible 505miles over the 24hrs, taking second position and setting a new Irish record.