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By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent/Evening Herald/Sunday Independent
The question now is, who will stop the Carrick Cidona lads from winning?
Yesterday in Carlow in the Des Hanlon Memorial Trophy they added another winning team member to their already list of successes this season. It was the turn of Brian Kenneally to soften up the opposition as he powered to a convincing win on a very tough course set in mainly Co. Carlow and neighbouring counties. Three laps of a 42km stretch with a climb at Rossmore was the sting in the tail for this top class event that attracted the leading cyclists to this venue.
On the penultimate lap a fairly compact break established a winning move that was going to decide the outcome of the event. On the final climb at Rossmore, the onus fell on Kenneally to test the quality of the lead group as he powered up the climb. Brian had the cushion for success with Timmy Barry and Eddie O'Donoghue in the group and when he imitated the winning move the onus fell to the rest of the party to reel him in, but it never happened and at the finish he was a minute plus on Barry with O'Donoghue sprinting in to take third place.
So in the pecking order after a month of racing, it is the 25-year-old Quantity Surveyor from Killsheelin Co. Tipperary, O'Donoghue who is the most consistent performer on the Irish scene at the moment.
So as they head for the Munster Four Day next weekend, the question is can their gallop be brought to a standstill?
1 B. Kenneally (Cidona Carrick) 3.44.36 2 T. Barry (Cidona Carrick) 1.22 3 E. O'Donoghue (Carrick Cidona) 1.40 4 T. Hogan (Earl of Desmond/Tralee Bicycle Club) 5 D. Easton (Total Cycling.com) 6 S. Gallagher (Orchard Wheelers)