The VC Glendale Story So Far…
Passion from 1981
Passion from 1981
Formed in 1981
VC Glendale was formed in 1981 by Mark Graham who had a vision of a top ranked racing club born in West Belfast. Mark in 1981 was way ahead of the game and knew all the ins and outs of bike racing happening on a faraway continent known as Europe. He picked the best-looking race jersey for his new club (The Belgium National Jersey) and so the dream was born.
VC Glendale was born
Mark recruited the best talent in Belfast to join his team and VC Glendale never looked back! Sadly, Mark Passed away in 1986 in a traffic accident on his way to a Cyclo-cross race in Rostrevor but the club was set to flourish over the next two decades because of his vision and passion!
Initially set up for elite road racing the club has branched out into all areas of cycling with a thriving leisure base including youth and ladies. On the competitive side we host one the best Cyclo-cross racing in Ireland every year and we are a very high profile club with members participating in Road Racing, MTB, Cyclo-cross racing and Track racing.
strong riders
strong club foundations
Over the years many high profile riders have come through the ranks of VC Glendale including; Thomas Evans (Ras winner), Ciaran Power(professional with Linda McCartney) David O’Louglin (Ireland’s first UCI world track medallist), Marytn Irvine (world Track Champion) and Phillip Deignan (Sky Professional and Vuelta Stage winner) all backed up by a strong squad of riders including Brendan Graham, Brendan Doherty, Colm Watson, Barry Monaghan, Denis Easton with Frank Campbell at the Helm.
In recent years we have grown to over 100 members with a thriving leisure membership who take advantage of the regular well organised club spins. We organise a charity sportive every spring, a day trip to Scotland and a weeks getaway to Majorca.
In January 2020 we launched our very successful youth academy which has gone from strength to strength, kick starting the careers of riders like Dean Harvey, Jamie Meehan and Daragh Doherty who have moved on to the professional ranks. With coaches and club support our academy is nurturing some exceptional youth talent having multiple national champions in all disciplines and is the leading example of what can be achieved with enthusiasm and organisation. In 2023 we will host our very first youth road races which will be named in honour of Jimmy Watson, a lifelong and much loved member of the club who sadly passed away in recent years.
