September Round-up

A Successful September: From winning the Rás na mBan and Curlew Cup, to 4th place at the Pionera Race

Credit: SWpix

As the season winds down, the team continue to showcase incredible performances throughout September. After starting the month with a victory at the Rás na mBan, we headed into two big races on the 15th September—The Curlew Cup in Northumberland and the inaugural edition of the Pionera Race (UCI 1.2) in Valencia, Spain. These marked our final race day as a team for the 2024 season, and we were determined to end it on a high.

Friday the 13th was certainly not an unlucky day. Nora raced the European U23 Road Championships in Belgium, representing Norway. The race came down to a much anticipated bunch sprint, after 101.4km of fast, flat racing. Nora timed her sprint well, finishing an incredible 5th place against the best in Europe.

Two days later, at the final round of the National Road Series - The Curlew Cup, Robyn took another phenomenal win. Our five-rider team controlled the race from the outset. With a strong team backing, Robyn was perfectly positioned for the anticipated sprint finish. Mia, Frankie, Charlotte and Morven worked tirelessly to cover moves and protect Robyn throughout the race. Robyn timed her sprint to perfection, taking a commanding victory. Morven, Frankie, and Mia all finished within the top 20, and this outstanding performance sealed our win in the overall team classification by over 100 points, adding to our team victory in the Circuit Series.

Robyn’s win is especially inspiring given her comeback from a horrific crash in May. She suffered five fractured vertebrae and a broken collarbone, and won the Curlew Cup just four months later. The resilience and determination she has shown during the past four months has been incredible. We can’t wait to see what the track season and the 2025 road season hold.

Meanwhile, in Valencia, we took on the challenging Pionera Race. The course itself, combined with high temperatures, made for an attritional day of racing. Lucy delivered a superb performance, making the front split on the decisive climb and racing tactically to finish just off the podium in 4th place. Unfortunately, Alice crashed on a fast descent but escaped without injury. Tiff finished just outside the top 20, with Tammy also placing in the top 40, rounding off a solid team effort.

Lucy’s strong form continued as she competed in the UCI Gravel World Series race, Graean Cymru. In her first gravel race at this level, she rode impressively with the front group until the final few kilometers, where she couldn’t quite hold onto the leading three riders when they began attacking. She ultimately finished 4th in the elite category and this performance secured her qualification for the World Championships in Belgium next month.

While this may mark the end of our road season, our riders will continue to compete across various disciplines. Next up is the UCI World Road Championships in Zurich on September 28, where Tiffany Keep will represent South Africa and Caoimhe O'Brien will compete for Ireland in the elite women’s road race. We then look ahead to plenty of gravel, track and cyclocross in the coming months.

Stay tuned for more updates as our riders continue racing and training, and we shift our focus towards 2025!