Munster Express Online

Michael O'Loughlin wins the All-Ireland Road Race Championship.

August 2010 will be a month that will remain long in the memory of young Carrick-on-Suir cyclist Michael O’ Loughlin. He had three major targets for the month and emerged victorious in all of them.

First up was the Mayo International Youth Tour. Despite being the youngest member of the Munster team, he claimed the winner’s yellow jersey after four tough stages in Europe’s biggest youth cycling stage race. Onto Athlone a fortnight later, where in 2009 he became the first cyclist in the 30 years of Community Games to win three years in a row. In 2010, he made it four in a row.

Last weekend, he travelled to Co. Tyrone for the All-Ireland under 13 Championships. Having looked at the course the week before, he approached the event with a lot of trepidation. To minimize the amount of road closures necessary, the race organizers had compressed the events, reducing the distances considerably. As Michael’s biggest strength is his endurance, this gave a distinct advantage to the local riders who race on the Orangefield track in Belfast.

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