Banbridge’s Roger Aiken wins Ulster Cyclo-cross Championship

It was a successful day for Banbridge riders at Drum Manor Forest as David Montgomery won the Men’s Junior title and Kathryn Aiken came out victorious in the Ladies B race – confirming the club’s pre-eminence in off-road disciplines.

It has been an outstanding year for Roger who has ended 2013 as successfully as he started it - lifting the Ulster title in his final outing after taking the national title in the first flushes of the New Year 11 months ago.

In the intervening period, he has had a terrific road season, being the best county rider in the An Post Rás by far and also picking up the climbers’ classification and a stage win in the Tour of Ulster.

Those performances came despite combining his racing with a full-time job and racing on the road very infrequently as he opted to concentrate on training for the Rás.

David Montgomery showed that he has lost none of his strength and determination by returning from studies in England to lift the Junior title while actually finishing third in the Senior race.

The Aiken household had double cause for celebration when Kathryn continued her run of recent successes by claiming the Ladies B race – the mountain bike support event.

To complete a medal winning day for the Banbridge club, a great performance from their multi-talented youth rider Shenna McKiverigan saw her forge home in third place to take a well deserved bronze medal in the Senior Ladies category. Shenna, who was specially upgraded from U16 to allow her to compete at Senior level in this Championship, continues to develop across all cycling disciplines.

In addition to the medal winners, other Banbridge CC riders performed creditably. James Curry (also specially upgraded from U16) finished ninth in the Senior race and he was the fourth Junior home. Dan Purdy, Chris McCann and Ian Cochrane all showed their determination and competitiveness as well.