Five in-a-row for Lacey

Sean Lacey won his fifth straight Lacey Cup in Tralee yesterday, edging out Michael Fitzgerald (Fermoy CC) and talented junior Dylan O’Brien (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk CC) after 76 kilometres of hilly racing.

The Aquablue rider, in his home race, was the man to watch among the bumper 225-rider field but no one could match him down the finishing straight.

Lacey had been part of a five-man breakaway that surged clear of the peloton after 60 kilometres and before the last climb outside Castlemaine, he, along with breakaway companions Olan Barrett (Aquablue), John Dempsey (Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers) and the aforementioned O’Brien and Fitzgerald, stretched their lead to over a minute.

Though that gap would fall to 30 seconds in the closing kilometres, due to the work of Paidi O’Brien and Barry Meade (both Planet Tri), the leaders were never likely to be caught and Lacey positioned himself perfectly with 500 metres to go to take the victory.