March 21, 2005 – After the crafty Carrick Wheelers rider Rory Wyley, outfoxed Navigators Ciaran Power earlier in the week in Limerick and slipped up the road in a small group, Power’s team-mate O’Loughlin showed up on Wyley’s home sod, and exacted a little revenge yesterday in Sean Kelly’s hamlet of Carrick-on-Suir. Famed Irish sports reporter Tommy Campbell describes the outcome:

National Road Race Champion and professional with the New Jersey based Navigators Insurance team in America, David O’Loughlin was a surprise entrant in yesterday’s Carraig Hotel Challenge Cup in Carrick-on-Suir. But, it was no surprise when he outfoxed all the 89 competitors to land the spoils of the day.

He went ahead in a group of nine shortly after the start of the event and merely got them into gear as they opened up the throttle on the chasers, which never made the junction after that initial burst of speed at the start.

By the time they had the negotiated the Glenbower circuit, twice of the three times around, the original nine had come down to a head to head between O’Loughlin and Rory Wyley of the promoting club, Dan Morrissey/Carrick Weelers CC.

Towards the end it was the fitness and the training regime that O’Loughlin has been doing since the start of the year with the American outfit started to kick in his favour.

In the final analysis, O’Loughlin just streamed ahead to register his first success of the year.

Whereas he may have been disappointed at losing his winning sequence since the end of February, Wyley can bounce back on Sunday when he defends the Des Hanlon Trophy. The evidence to date since the beginning of the season, would suggest it would be a brave individual to oppose his claim to a back-to-back wins in Carlow.

Organiser of yesterday’s event, Paul Lonergan, “I was surprised to see him in town. I was of the impression that he had gone back to Belgium, but it now transpires that he is off to Italy tomorrow (Saturday). He certainly caused a stir and he really injected an air of supremacy about the race,” said Paul.

Carraig Hotel Challenge Cup/Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary-63 miles
(3x21miles lap)

Results:

1. David O’Loughlin (Navigators Insurance-USA), 2hrs.11mins.21secs;
2. R. Wyley (Dan Morrissey/Carrick Wheelers CC), @10secs;
3. M. Conncannon (Kilorglin Credit Union CC), @20;
4. M. Hennessy (Fermoy CC), @28;
5. D. Lynch (Kanturk Credit Union), @35;