Moriarty bidding for glory in hometown race

EUGENE MORIARTY would dearly love to win the race dedicated to his grandfather, legendary track cyclist Gene Moriarty, in his native Listowel on Sunday but feels that, at this point, it may be a bridge too far.

For 24 years, the Gene Moriarty Cup, a 70-mile cycle-race, has been a feature of the August Bank Holiday Festival of racing that ends with the Crotty Cup in Kilrush on the Monday.

In 1996 the young Eugene Moriarty fulfilled a lifelong ambition when he won the title perpetuating the memory of his grandfather who died when he was just seven years-of-age but since then he has only returned once to contest it mainly because of international commitments although he has been injured a couple of times.