Josh Callaly secured his fourth victory of the season in the McGinty Autumn Classic producing a well-executed performance on the Beehive circuit in Co. Wicklow.
Stacked Field
The second day of Bray Wheelers’ Festival of Racing attracted around 50 riders to the McGinty Autumn Classic, the headline C1 event based at the Old Beehive in Coolbeg. Sponsored by M.J. Duncan & Sons, the race offered a substantial prize fund headed by €1,000 for the winner, €500 for second and €250 for third, with cash prizes extending to 15th place and six intermediate primes of €50.
After the fast action of the previous day’s Cycleways Kermesse, more of the same was expected over the undulating Beehive circuit. Velo Performance U23 Development Team, APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery and Pinergy Orwell Wheelers brought the numbers, while individual threats included Gareth O’Neill, Athlete Nutrition Coach Nordic Lab, Killian O’Brien, Team Skyline, Ciaran Maguire, Team Dan Morrissey Pissei, the Kilcullen CC Murphy Geospacial pairing of Conor Regan and Tom Hughes, and Swiss visitor Nico Tambarikas, Q36.5 – Amacx.
Riders set out from the Beehive café after a short neutralised section into a slight headwind. Early pressure came from 2025 winner Gareth O’Neill and Liam Crowley on the opening climb, with the peloton following closely.
Early moves
Pinergy Orwell Wheelers showed aggressive intent. Evan Keane and Padraig Moran opened a small gap, later joined by Darragh Byrne, AS Villemur Cyclisme, on the outward section of lap three.
APS riders joined the action near the top of the climb, yet nothing gained lasting traction and the race was back together by the start of lap four. Moran continued his attacking approach from the outset, going clear again at the top of the climb only for the moves to be reeled in as the race remained restless.
Further attacks followed as Dean Harvey, McConvey Cycles, and local rider Jack Conroy, Velo Performance U23 Development Team, fresh from racing in Belgium, made their presence felt. APS kept a close eye while the speed ramped up and the peloton stretched into a single line. The primes ensured the race never truly settled, with constant attacks and chases keeping the tempo high throughout.
Conor Regan was active early, finding himself in a break on the climb and committing hard enough to take one of the intermediate primes. He was brought back more than once but remained committed to the aggressive racing.
Key break
Sensing possible movement from APS, Ciaran Maguire launched on lap five. By the top of the climb an eight-rider group had established a 15-second lead: Gareth O’Neill, Seán O’Kane, Jack Conroy, Tom Hughes, Conn McDunphy, Ciaran Maguire, Ruairí Byrne, UCD Cycling, and Paul Kennedy, Burren CC. Dean Harvey and Killian O’Brien led the chase at a high tempo.
Tom Hughes, determined not to miss another key move after the previous day, had followed a succession of attacks. After finding his legs around the 40km mark he slotted into an early five- or six-rider move that gradually absorbed more riders, allowing the gap to grow as only a few contributed consistently at first.
On the outward section of lap six, Dean Harvey, Ronan O’Connor and Padraig Moran bridged across, expanding the lead group to eleven with a 50-second advantage over the peloton. On the climb of the same lap Conn McDunphy, Seán O’Kane and Gareth O’Neill pushed clear of their companions. Just behind, Callaly, Conor Regan and Nico Tambarikas nearly made the junction.
Further back, Killian O’Brien, Liam Crowley and Matthew Walls chased at around 45 seconds, with the remainder of the field another minute adrift.
Callaly and teammate Jack Conroy had planned carefully after a difficult previous day’s race in which APS had played their cards right making things difficult for the Velo Performance rider in the break.
Conroy infiltrated a dangerous mid-race break while Callaly conserved energy in the main group before bridging across successfully. Once reunited at the front the pair worked effectively as a unit, covering moves for one another.
Conor Regan, Callaly and a few others put in a strong effort to bridge across on the second-last lap, joining the back half of the large split before the legs began to fade.
The front group reformed into a 13-rider unit as they began the final lap, containing Tom Hughes, Josh Callaly, Seán O’Kane, Nico Tambarikas, Jack Conroy, Conor Regan, Dean Harvey, Ronan O’Connor, Gareth O’Neill, Ciaran Maguire, Padraig Moran, Conn McDunphy and Ruairí Byrne.
Fatigue began to tell, with riders losing wheels and the selection gradually reducing. Moran and teammate Seán O’Kane continued to cover and initiate moves as the group slowly whittled down.
Final Lap Decides the Race
With approximately 15 kilometres remaining Tom Hughes attacked as the break stalled. He stayed clear for a significant stretch until around six kilometres from the finish near the top of the climb, when a counter from behind brought him back while he was beginning to suffer from cramp.
Everything had stalled so I just attacked.
I was away for a good bit so probably until 6kms to the line but then I just got brought back by an attack from behind.
– Tom Hughes, Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial
Callaly had attempted to follow the initial move, with Seán O’Kane, Conn McDunphy and Dean Harvey also countering. Conor Regan, Ronan O’Connor, Jack Conroy, Padraig Moran, Ciaran Maguire and Gareth O’Neill remained in contention.
With about five kilometres to go Callaly jumped clear with three others as the pace stalled behind. The quartet of Callaly, Dean Harvey, Padraig Moran and Nico Tambarikas opened a useful gap of around 20 seconds heading into the final kilometre.
About 5K to go I just jumped off the front with three others and it was the right moment because there was a stall behind.
– Josh Callaly, Velo Performance U23 Development Team
The last climb had already split the lead group, leaving the four to contest the finish. Callaly started the sprint in second position; when Harvey launched from behind he responded immediately and held on for the win by a clear margin, Harvey second, Moran a few bike lengths back in third and Tambarikas fourth.
Another good race today. Very tough, fast. With the primes as well the race never stopped.
2nd for me so I was happy enough with that. So a good weekend.
– Dean Harvey, McConvey Cycles
Tambarikas, in Ireland for a week to race with friend Liam Crowley after finishing 10th the previous day, was disappointed not to convert his presence in the winning group into a better result, citing a less-than-ideal position that left him sprinting from the front. Moran was content to close his season with a podium against a strong field featuring several riders with recent experience abroad. Harvey rounded off a solid weekend with second after the fast, attritional racing.
The victory marked Callaly’s fourth of the season, adding to his Stage 1B success at Rás Mumhan, the Moynalty GP and the Brendan and Kitty Campbell Memorial. It also provided a measure of satisfaction after missing the podium the evening before. Hughes finished 13th and collected the most combative rider award for his persistent efforts, while Regan came home 12th after an active day.
Excellent Organisation Caps a Strong Weekend
Full credit to Bray Wheelers for delivering an excellent Festival of Racing weekend, with Dany Blondeel, The Belgian Project, providing knowledgeable and good-humoured commentary throughout the two days.
Top 15
- Josh Callaly, Velo Performance U23 Development Team
- Dean Harvey, McConvey Cycles
- Padraig Moran, Pinergy Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club
- Nico Tambarikas, Q36.5 – Amacx
- Jack Conroy, Velo Performance U23 Development Team
- Ciaran Maguire, Team Dan Morrissey Pissei
- Ronan O’Connor, APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery
- Conn Mc Dunphy, APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery
- Gareth O’Neill, Athlete Coach Nutrition Nordic Labs
- Seán O’Kane, Pinergy Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club
- Ruairi Byrne, UCD Cycling Club
- Conor Regan, Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial
- Tom Hughes, Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial
- Killian O’Brien, Team Skyline
- Matthew Walls, APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery
