Blarney welcomes back big time road racing

BIG TIME road racing returns to Blarney this weekend when the Blarney Cycling Club Festival of Cycling gets under way tomorrow night with the Osborne Butchers Criterium, followed by the Donal Crowley Memorial and Kay Stratton Memorial races on Sunday.

Blarney was once an Irish cycling stronghold when, driven by Pat Crowley and directed by the late Kay Stratton, the club dominated the Irish scene with the major challenge to their supremacy, in many instances, coming from neighbouring Cork clubs.

And, according to Pat Crowley, a new era and a new generation of cyclists may well see the return of that dominance. Tim Barry proved it can be done when he came out of retirement this year to lead The Edge Sports team to an exciting first year on the road.