![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/xAAAAAAAA-1200x742.jpg.pagespeed.ic.mT2aG2GqWl.webp.jpeg\")
We are live at Castle Saunderson in Co Cavan for the day, bringing you the National Cyclocross Championships, blow-by-blow live updates for everyone<\/p>\nWe are live at Castle Saunderson in Co Cavan for the day, bringing you the National Cyclocross Championships, blow-by-blow live updates for everyone<\/p>\n
Greetings and salutations. We\u2019re live at Castle Saunderson in Co Cavan for the day, bringing you the National Cyclocross Championships 2026, blow-by-blow live updates for everyone.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll have the Masters 40 Irish title race starting very shortly \u2013 10am \u2013 followed later by the junior men\u2019s race, the women\u2019s Masters event, senior-junior women\u2019s race and the senior men\u2019s national title race to finish.<\/p>\n
Stay with us for the day and we\u2019ll have all the action from the championships being promoted by Breffni Wheelers. And before we get stuck in to today\u2019s action, you can see the results from yesterday at this link right here. You can also read a race report on the youth races from yesterday right here. <\/p>\n
LIVE COVERAGE | Senior Men\u2019s Race<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s it, Dean Harvey (McConvey Cycles) wins it from Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing) and Darnell Moore (Caldwell Powerhouse). Dawson never gave up, but Harvey led for most of the race, and when he needed a bit more on the last lap, he had it. That\u2019s four senior titles in a row for Harvey. Montgomery is 4th, Boyd 5th and Harkness in 6th.<\/p>\n
With less than half a lap to go \u2013 in hammering rain \u2013 Chris Dawson had closed the gap to Dean Harvey from about 23 seconds on the last lap to 13 seconds on this last lap. But it looks like Harvey has it, even though Dawson has done all he could.<\/p>\n
After Montgomery in 4th, it\u2019s Travis Harkness (Lyon\u00a0Sprint\u00a0Evolution) in 5th, but he has been caught by Graham Boyd (McConvey Cycles). Then Ruairi Byrne (UCD CC) is 7th followed by Richard Barry (St Finbarr\u2019s) in 8th.<\/p>\n
Darnell Moore (Caldwell Powerhouse) still 3rd going onto this last lap and with over a minute over David Montgomery (Spellman Dublin Port) in 4th.<\/p>\n
Dean Harvey (McConvey Cycles) is about to take the bell, about nine minutes left to hold on to win his fourth Irish senior men\u2019s title in a row. We thought Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing) may be able to catch him, at least put up a challenge. But Harvey has opened the gap out again to just over 20 seconds.<\/p>\n
The pits are really busy on the penultimate lap \u2013 the power washers are out cleaning the bikes and the leaders are all changing bikes. They all have it nailed down; seamless changes each lap.<\/p>\n
Harkness crashed on the planks on that third last lap, which has just ended for the leaders. It looked like he was cramping \u2013 maybe that caused him to crash?<\/p>\n
Another former champion, Darnell Moore (Caldwell Powerhouse) is in 3rd. He looks too far back to catch Dawson. But Moore has a big, big gap over Harkness and Montgomery in 4th and 5th. The only question yet to be settled is whether Dawson\u2019s little rally over that last lap can become something more significant. We\u2019ve two laps now to go.<\/p>\n
Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing) has closed the gap a little to lone leader Dean Harvey (McConvey Cycles). There was about 25 seconds in it, but it\u2019s back just under 20 seconds. Two laps to go. Can Dawson mount a challenge for gold here?<\/p>\n
After the top three are: Travis Harkness (Lyon\u00a0Sprint\u00a0Evolution), David Montgomery (Spellman Dublin Port), Graham Boyd (McConvey Cycles) and Ruairi Byrne (UCD Cycling Club).<\/p>\n
Race leader Dean Harvey (McConvey Cycles) goes over the planks, running with the bike over his shoulder, and is followed by Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing). The gap is now 25 seconds with three laps to go. Darnell Moore (Caldwell Powerhouse) is another 30 seconds back in 3rd place. So they\u2019re big gaps now with three laps to go.<\/p>\n
After the top three comes Travis Harkness (Lyon\u00a0Sprint\u00a0Evolution) and he\u2019s not too far behind 3rd placed Moore, 10 seconds or so. But after that, there\u2019s a bigger gap back to David Montgomery (Spellman Dublin Port).<\/p>\n
In the pits on the second full lap, Dean Harvey (McConvey) leads by 15 seconds from Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing). And then comes Darnell Moore (Caldwell Powerhouse). But, at this stage, Harvey looks really good.<\/p>\n
Dean Harvey (Caldwell Cycles) is pushing on at the front. He looks very good. But Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing) is a class rider. He was a downhill Irish champion, then switched to road, broke into the national team, was U23 Irish road race champion and is also brilliant on the MTB. There\u2019s nothing he can\u2019t do on two wheels. It is, however, very hard to look past Harvey today. But let\u2019s see\u2026.<\/p>\n
Ian O\u2019Connell (Team WORC) is in 7th place, then Richard Barry (St Finbarr\u2019s), Gavin O\u2019Connell (Team WORC) and Tim O\u2019Regan (All human-VeloRevolution). <\/p>\n
That\u2019s five Ulster riders up there, all former national champions. They make them tough in Ulster.<\/p>\n
Through the pits on this first full lap and it\u2019s defending champion Dean Harvey (McConvey Cycles) leading the way. He is just ahead of Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing) and Travis Harkness (Lyon\u00a0Sprint\u00a0Evolution). And then Darnell Moore (Caldwell Powerhouse) and, another former champion, David Montgomery (Spellman Dublin Port) are just behind.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s now raining properly, hammering down. And it\u2019s cold. This is the fourth race of the day and this course is well and truly chewed up. Someone described it to me as being \u201clike shite on a blanket\u201d. It\u2019s an expression I\u2019d never heard before. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new!!<\/p>\n
So in that lead pack we have three men who have all won national titles. Harvey is going for four in a row in the senior race here today, while Moore and Dawson have also been Irish champions.<\/p>\n
And in the very early stages of this race \u2013 very early \u2013 the leader is Travis Harkness (Lyon\u00a0Sprint\u00a0Evolution), from Dean Harvey (McConvey Cycles), Darnell Moore (Caldwell Powerhouse) and Chris Dawson (Dawson Racing). <\/p>\n
Here we go for the big one, the senior men\u2019s race at the National Cyclocross Champs, Co Cavan. We are just underway now at Castle Saunderson<\/p>\n
LIVE COVERAGE | Senior-Junior Women<\/p>\n
And now Freya Whiteside (Simpson\u00a0Nouvelles) finishes, winning the women\u2019s senior race ahead of Greta Lawless (Dawson Racing) and Esther Wong (Spectra Racing) \u2013 big gaps between them. Ffion\u00a0Dolan\u00a0(TC\u00a0Racing) will take the junior category, though there are no junior medals. <\/p>\n
The Masters race is wrapping up a lap early and that means Jean Wilson (EPIC MTB) is coming in to win, defending her title from last year. She\u2019s delighted! Ashling O\u2019Connor (Orwell) is 2nd.<\/p>\n
Barring incident, that\u2019s going to be our senior women\u2019s podium today here at Castle Saunderson, Co Cavan, at these National Champs promoted by Breffni Wheelers; Whiteside from Lawless and Wong.<\/p>\n
Freya Whiteside (Simpson\u00a0Nouvelles) leads the senior women\u2019s race as she takes the bell. She has 45 seconds over Greta Lawless (Dawson Racing), with Esther Wong (Spectra Racing) 3rd, well over 30 seconds behind Lawless. <\/p>\n
In the junior race, Ffion\u00a0Dolan\u00a0(TC\u00a0Racing) now leads, having caught and passed Holly\u00a0McCaffrey\u00a0(JNR Longcourt\u00a0Hotel\u00a0\u2013\u00a0NCW\u00a0Wheelers)<\/p>\n
Jean Wilson (EPIC MTB) has just passed us, just about to start her penultimate lap. She won the Masters 40 title last year and she leads this Masters 40 title race by quite a distance from Ashling O\u2019Connor (Orwell Wheelers).<\/p>\n
Doireann\u00a0Killeen (Kilcullen\u00a0Cycling\u00a0Club\u00a0Murphy\u00a0Geospacial) still 4th, Elena Wallace (Harps CC) is in 5th place and Roisin Lally (Gritty Race Team) is 6th.<\/p>\n
OK, so with the leaders having just moved onto the penultimate lap, Freya Whiteside (Simpson\u00a0Nouvelles) leads by about 40 seconds from Greta Lawless (Dawson Racing), with Esther Wong (Spectra) about 20 seconds further back.<\/p>\n
At this stage, UK-based Whiteside is a long away ahead on her own out front.<\/p>\n
The top three seemed to have settled into their positions, with leader Whiteside definitely having gained significantly on Lawless over the second full lap, with two to go. Wong is still 3rd. While the gap between Wong and Lawless ahead of her is large, it\u2019s not insurmountable. <\/p>\n
Freya Whiteside (Simpson\u00a0Nouvelles) goes into the pits, still leading, and it looks like the gap between her and 2nd placed Greta Lawless (Dawson Racing) has grown a little on this second full lap. And Esther Wong (Spectra) is also a bit further back, with Lawless having gained on her over that last lap.<\/p>\n
The rain is now well established here! It\u2019s not all that heavy, but it\u2019s constant.<\/p>\n
In the Masters race, Jean Wilson (EPIC MTB) leads and Holly\u00a0McCaffrey\u00a0(Longcourt\u00a0Hotel-NCW\u00a0Wheelers) is the leading junior so far.<\/p>\n
Doireann\u00a0Killeen (Kilcullen\u00a0Cycling\u00a0Club\u00a0Murphy\u00a0Geospacial) is 4th and it was her brother, Fionn, who won the junior men\u2019s race earlier today. Elena Wallace (Harps CC) is in 5th place and Roisin Lally (Gritty Race Team) is 6th. But it\u2019s a big gap between the top three and everyone else after the first full lap.<\/p>\n
At the end of the first full lap, Freya Whiteside (Simpson\u00a0Nouvelles) leads Greta Lawless (Dawson Racing) by 12 seconds, with about the same gap again back to Esther Wong (Spectra Racing) in 3rd.<\/p>\n
Greta Lawless closes right up to Freya Whiteside but Lawless than slipped on the jumps and fell, though was able to keep going. <\/p>\n
On the first full lap of the senior-junior women\u2019s race, Greta Lawless (Dawson Racing) has closed the gap to Esther Wong (Spectra Racing) and goes into 2nd place, behind leader Freya Whiteside (Simpson\u00a0Nouvelles). Rain has eased off considerably, but the course is really chewed up following the rain at the end of the men\u2019s junior race.<\/p>\n
In the Masters race, defending champion Jean Wilson (EPIC MTB) leads from Aishling O\u2019Connor (Orwell Wheelers) and Helen White (Stamullen RC).<\/p>\n
In the early stages, we have Freya Whiteside (Simpson\u00a0Nouvelles) going into an early lead, tracked closed by the senior defending champion, Esther Wong (Spectra\u00a0Racing). After the leading duo comes last year\u2019s runner-up, Greta Lawless (Dawson Racing).<\/p>\n
We are back again, this time with the senior-junior women\u2019s race. It\u2019s a combined event and there are no junior medals this year. The Masters women\u2019s race is a separate event, and starts just after the senior-junior race.<\/p>\n
LIVE COVERAGE | Junior Men<\/p>\n
Fionn Killeen wins it by a long way. Pulls a wheelie over the line, huge day for him. Ryan Daly takes silver, he looks disappointed. And Conor Regan pulls clear of James Armstrong at the very last to take the bronze \u2013 that\u2019s a 1-3 for Kilcullen Geospacial and that\u2019s been coming for a long time from this club.<\/p>\n
Fionn Killeen now through the pits for the last time. He is close to the finish, less than half a lap. And he has opened the gap up on Ryan Daly. Killeen is pulling off a big upset here. <\/p>\n
I think (I may be wrong) this would be Fionn Killeen\u2019s first win of the year, maybe his first ever win as a junior in cyclocross. It\u2019s now pissing down as Killeen still leads on this last lap.<\/p>\n
They have just taken the bell and Fionn Killeen still leads by a distance from Ryan Daly. Can he keep that going or can Daly get him back? Killeen staying on his bike over the planks, changing bike really quickly at the pits.<\/p>\n
Ryan Daly had closed a bit to Fionn Killeen, but Killeen is really putting in a big ride here. It looks like Killeen opened the gap again on Ryan on the penultimate lap. James Armstrong and Conor Regan and then together in 3rd and 4th, being chased by Curtis McKee, who is just seconds behind them.<\/p>\n
It hasn\u2019t started raining yet, but it looks like it\u2019s coming\u2026.<\/p>\n
Fionn Killeen putting in a monster ride. He leads as they start the penultimate lap. However, Ryan Daly has left behind James Armstrong and Conor Regan and was going across to Killeen as they crossed the line to start that penultimate lap. Curtis McKee (Spellman Dublin Port) was next, then Shane O\u2019Brien (Fermoy CC).<\/p>\n
Ryan Daly has made a move on the second full lap. When they pass the finish next time, it\u2019s only two laps to go, making for a four-lap race (and in-lap). But they still have a way to go yet on this second lap; long way to go yet.<\/p>\n
At the end of the opening lap, Fionn Killeen was well clear out front solo, being chased by a three-man group of Regan, Armstrong and Daly. But, as we saw in the Masters 40 men\u2019s race, the early order can be, well, re-ordered very quickly in this mud.<\/p>\n
Fionn Killeen (Kilcullen Geospacial) leads over the planks, showing great skill, staying on the bike. He leads solo from team mate Conor Regan, James Armstrong (VC Glendale) and Ryan Daly (Scott IRL). Actually, Daly has made up ground after a conservative start.<\/p>\n
We are almost finished this first full opening lap, which comes after a short in-lap introduction on this course. The ground is now really cut up, very muddy. And rain is forecast for later. It\u2019s not cold like Day 1 of these championships yesterday. So that rock hard frosty course of yesterday is gone and it\u2019s a muddy, though slightly milder, affair today.<\/p>\n
Fionn Killeen and Caleb McGreevy (U16 champion last year) are the very early leaders. McKee and Regan just behind. The Killeens are now a real force across the categories in Irish cyclocross.<\/p>\n
We have just started this junior men\u2019s race at the National Cyclocross Championships in Castle Saunderson, Co Cavan, promoted by Breffni Wheelers. <\/p>\n
Today, in this junior field, we have the likes of Shane O\u2019Brien, Ryan Daly, Rian McCrystal, James Armstrong, Caleb McGreevy, Conor Regan, Curtis McKee, brothers Daithi and Fionn\u00a0Killeen. All strong lads, let\u2019s see.<\/p>\n
The defending champion, Conor Murphy, is not here as he has now moved up to U23 level and will ride of the Decathlon team next year in the road. With the road season in mind, he hasn\u2019t concentrated on cyclocross over this winter; a shame, but understandable.<\/p>\n
Right, here we go. It\u2019s the turn of the junior men and there are some very tasty riders in this field. Let\u2019s see how we go. We\u2019re just a few minutes from the start. This should be a good one.<\/p>\n
LIVE COVERAGE | Masters 40 Men<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the fourth win in a row at the Masters 40 Nationals by Glenn Kinning, from East Belfast. Some boy! We\u2019ll have the JUNIOR MEN next.<\/p>\n
Kevin Keane (St Tiernan\u2019s) was 7th and Davy O\u2019Neill and Evan Ryan were also up there \u2013 I think 8th and 9th \u2013 but we may have missed someone due to lapped riders. Trevor Costello also looked like he was in top 10, followed by Frank McDermott, looks like 11th. But just don\u2019t bet the farm on those results after 6th place as it was a bit chaotic.<\/p>\n
Barry Kellett (Dromara) and Joseph Dunworth (Greenmount) sprinted it out for 5th and 6th, it was so close I couldn\u2019t call it.<\/p>\n
The gaps between the top four were large, a very fair result.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s it, Glenn Kinning (Kinning Cycles) wins the Masters 40 race at the National Cyclocross Championships in Castle Saunderson, Co Cavan. Darragh McCarter (Caldwell Powerhouse) was 2nd and Ronan O\u2019Flynn (Dungarvan CC) finishing 4th, just outside those medals.<\/p>\n
Kinning through the pits for the last time and the crews there are clapping him as he goes through. McCarter is still battering away in the mud just behind, but it looks like Kinning has this in the bag, sa mh\u00e1la.<\/p>\n
And on this last lap now, Glen Kinning (Kinning Cycles) has it won barring disaster. But this is championship cyclocross in the mud, so disaster can happen. Darragh McCarter (Caldwell Powerhouse) went out like a bull. Kinning just took a bit longer to get going \u2013 but \u2018get going\u2019 he has!<\/p>\n
Taking the bell, Barry Kellett (Dromara) is 4th, Joseph Dunworth (Greenmount CA) is 5th, looks like Kevin Keane (St Tiernan\u2019s) is 6th but a lot of lapped riders are now mixed in so we\u2019re not 100% sure after that top five.<\/p>\n
Kinning leads this Masters 40 title race at the National Cyclocross Championships in Co Cavan as he takes the bell. He has 25 seconds over nearest challenger, Darragh McCarter, with Ronan O\u2019Flynn in 3rd a further 15 seconds or so back. And then Marcus Flavin, but he is quite a way back now.<\/p>\n
Glenn Kinning continues to lead out front solo as he nears the pits on the penultimate lap. It rained overnight, meaning a very wet and muddy course today. All the crews in the pits are now very busy washing bikes for bike changes. They are earning their corn today.<\/p>\n
We have just under two full laps to go. The next time they pass the finish area they\u2019ll be getting the bell. The lap is about nine minutes.<\/p>\n
Kinning came through the finsh line, for the third time, ahead of Darragh McCarter (Caldwell Powerhouse) and then Ronan O\u2019Flynn (Orwell Wheelers). Marc Flavin (Dungarvan CC) is in fourth \u2013 but the gaps between all four look like they are growing.<\/p>\n
Glenn Kinning (Kinning Cycles), who won this Masters 40 title race last year, now powering ahead. <\/p>\n
Behind that first four, we have riders like Joseph Dunworth (Greenmount CA) and Barry Kellett (Dromara). They are giving a good account of themselves too.<\/p>\n
Coming through the finish line for the second time, Glenn Kinning (Kinning Cycles) leads from Ronan O\u2019Flynn (Orwell Wheelers) and Darragh McCarter (Caldwell Powerhouse), with Marc Flavin (Dungarvan CC) just behind. The first three were together and Flavin was just behind. So that Big Four \u2013 The Fab Four, anyone? \u2013 are riding away.<\/p>\n
Kinning had been gapped a bit on that in-lap and the first full lap. But now he has closed the gap up to Darragh McCarter and Ronan O\u2019Flynn. And Marc Flavin is also right there now too. So those gaps after the opening lap have come back, not as strung out now.<\/p>\n
The course is really cut up and it\u2019s interesting to see who is getting off the bike to run, including over the planks, and who is staying on the bike to ride it. So far, Darragh McCarter looks like he is running the least, staying on the bike much more than the other leaders.<\/p>\n
McCarter is leading, chased by Ronan O\u2019Flynn \u2013 a few seconds between them \u2013 and then defending champion Kinning is next, but he has been gapped a bit. It\u2019s very, very early days yet. The top three \u2013 who are very strung out, with McCarter doing all the early damage \u2013 are being chased by Marcus Flavin and Joseph Dunworth.<\/p>\n
So we have just over one full lap done \u2013 it\u2019s a 50-minute race rather than set laps and Darragh McCarter is on a charge today.<\/p>\n
Kinning hits the bridge first time in this race and Daragh McCarter (Caldwell Powerhous), who beat Kinning last week at the final round of the National Cyclocross Series in Co Galway, is now right behind Kinning. It should be a really good battle over the next 50 minutes.<\/p>\n
The start of these races is always so important and literally after a couple of minutes this large field is really strung out.<\/p>\n
Masters Men 40 race now underway and defending champion Glenn Kinning (Kinning Cycles) is leading in the early days, tracked by Marc Flavin (Dungarvan CC) and Ronan O\u2019Flynn (Orwell Wheelers). And Joseph Dunworth of Greenmount is also at the very front.<\/p>\n
Stickybottle being looked after very well (so far!!) by all at host club Breffni Wheelers and the Cycling Ireland staff, David Mullen, Stephen O\u2019Shea and commissaire Martin Grimley.<\/p>\n
The big news today is that it rained heavily overnight and it\u2019s a bit milder today. So the rock hard frosty course is gone, replaced by mud \u2013 that means slower times and much harder conditions \u2013 proper cyclocross conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are live at Castle Saunderson in Co Cavan for the day, bringing you the National Cyclocross Championships,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-365119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}