Last weekend saw the Irish Downhill National Points Series roll into Dunmanway, West Cork for Round 3 of the Series, organised by 021racing.

After the scorching dusty weather in Kerry for Round 2, it was no surprise that we were treated to some wet and wild West Cork weather!

Clashnacrona woods is notorios among Irish DH courses especially if it’s the steep track, which is regarded as the toughest course of the series.

The course starts off at the top of the mountain, where riders are treated to a motorway section similar to Fort William, except a bit quicker, littered with ski jumps, double jumps and step ups.  This is a nice warm up, before you drop into the woods, this is where the fun started!  Riders were treated to some very steep shoots, off camber rooty corners, the steep rock section that claimed many a victim!  All served up with lashings of mud!  Downhill is meant to be hard.

This event was made all the more special by the presence of the Chain Reaction Cycles World Cup Team.  Chris Kovarik, Matti Leikonein, Matt Simmonds and Claire Buchar all turned up to get some early season mud traing on board there Intense M9 proto type bikes!  This was huge news for Irish Downhill!

The racing got under way with the U14’s and 021racings Luke Cornforth not only dominated this category but set one of the fastest times of the day on board his Solid Mission 7.  Jacob Dickson from PotatoBred took 2nd spot in the tricky conditions.  021racings Robert Crowley took 3rd.

The U16’s were missing the series leader Dan Sheridan, so 021racings Cam Cornforth wasted no time in stamping his authority on the race, his biggest competition was making sure he baet his younger brother Luke, which he did by .5 of a second!  2nd place went to Angus Fyffe with Joseph Farrelly sliding into 3rd spot.

CRC/Intense rider Clare Buchar showed that she had the skills to cope with the tricky conditions to take the win ahead of Michelle McMullan from Chain Reaction Cycles.

Super Vets were missing Flow Racings Tom Sheridan, Banbridge CC’s Victor Mc Minn took the win ahead of Flow Racings Peter Popham with CRC’s Derek Cowan in 3rd place.

The Vets category was dominated by Chain Reaction Cycles Ian McIntyre fresh out of the Masters!  PotatoBreds Mark Dickson slid through the mud to take 2nd placce ahead of Carl Young in 3rd!

Sports, Moycullen Bike Works/ Transitions Derek Davoren took the win ahead of local man, West Cork MTBs Adrian Nowotysnki with 021racings Wesley O Connor back in 3rd spot.

The Senior Men was won by Kevin Factory Coughlan, taking his maiden win ahead of Killarney CC’s Jason Sandbagger Murphy in 2nd with 021racings Damien Princess Daly returning to form in 3rd.

The Masters is always very tight and this time it was Epic’s Sean Herlihy taking the win ahead of CRC’s Micheal Cowan and podium regular Dale Mc Mullan from CRC took 3rd.

Juniors was won by Flow Racings Gavin Carroll, who seems to have found some good form, CRC’s Christopher Mcglinchey took 2nd ahead of Flows Gavin Kelly.

The Elites, had an international field and with two former World Cup winners on the startlist, the Irish lads were ready for a crack at the Pros!  CRC/ Intenses Chris Kovariks was the fastest man of the day on a 2.07, just .1 of a second of 2nd place CRC/Intense Matt Simmonds, Fastest Irishman was Colin Ross on a 2.11 in third, New man on the scene Micheal Boyd had an amazing run to finish in 4th place ahead of CRC/Intense Matti Leikonen in 5th!

It was a great weekends racing and you wont have to wait  to long to do it all again, Round 4 is on in Cahir, Co. Tipperary on the 15/16 May.

See you there!

Round # 4 of the Irish Downhill NPS returned to the same venue as Round 1, Scarragh woods, Cahir, Co. Tipperary.

 

Again for the third time in four races, 021racing were the organisers at this popular venue.

 

Riders were treated to a new course designed by Greg O’ Keeffe and they weren’t dissapointed.  At over two minutes long, it was fast and technical with very little pedalling.  The course started at the top of the mountain above the tree line with some amazing views across the Galtee mountains.

 

A big field of over 160 racers signed on, wanting to experience what the new track had to offer.  The weather couldn’t have been better and riders enjoyed a great deal of sun and dusty conditions, which isn’t your typical Irish weather.

 

Irish races are looking more professional as each race passes, with more campers, motorhomes and technical support than ever before.  Red Bull were on hand to make sure all the riders had plenty of energy.

 

So on to race day and with the sun shining, good tunes and Dave Barrett on doing the commentary, everything was set for a great days racing.

 

 

Starting as ever with the young guns, the U14s.  Series Leader Cameron Cornforth from 021racing suffered a nasty fall on his 1st run and this left his younger brother Luke into the hot seat.  Cam got patched up and just pipped his brother by .2 of a second to take the win.  Angus Fyfee took 3rd.

 

The U16s saw another upset.  Favourite for the series Dan Sheridan crashed and this let 021racings Stephan graef take a well deserved victory.

 

The junior category was dominated by 2stage bikes Greg Callaghan, who beat his Irish team mate Davey Graham by nearly 5 seconds, finishing with a great time of 2.12.

 

Sean Herlihy from Epic got onto his first podium of the season with a fine 3rd place, European Master Silver medalist Micheal Cowan finished in 2nd and Chain Reactions Dale McMullan took a fine win.

 

Carl Young took the win in the Vets category with a fine time of 2.31.

 

Flow Racings Tom Sheridan was the only Super Vet to go under the 3 minute mark, taking the win with a time of 2.57.

 

 

The Ladies was won by the new European Masters Champion Maeve Baxter, Epics Natalie Jedda was 2nd and Chain Reactions Michelle McMullan in 3rd.

 

Seniors was won by Epics Sketchy Ed Smith.

 

The Elite race was probably the closest in recent history with the top 3 riders only separated by .4 of a second, with all three riders finishing with a time of 2.09!  KTMs Colin Ross finished in third, followed by Jamie McCullogh in 2nd and 2stage Bikes Gareth McKee took his first win of the season.

 

So a great weekends racing was enjoyed by all and next stop for the Irish Series is Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, see you all there.

 

Round 3 of the Irish Downhill NPS took place in very popular venue that is Rostrevor in Northern Ireland, the event was oraganised by the CRC crew.

The course was the same as the one used for the 2007 National Championships, when the Athertons turned up.  Onlly difference was how much rockier it was!  It’s a great track that broke a lot of bikes and bodies!  021racings Damien Daly was a victim from practice.

15 021 riders made the trip up North, everyone happy to be riding there bikes instead of organising!

Saturday was a wet and wild day, with plenty of spills and mechanicals, mainly rear mechs and punctures were the order of the day.  James from OC Tuning was kept very busy.

The  Sun came out on race day, this was 3rd sunny NPS in a row, hopefully it will continue for Cahir next month!

The U14s was once again dominated by 021racings Cameron Cornforth, winning by a massive 18 seconds!  His brother Luke had one of the rides of the day, taking 3rd spot on his single speed hardtail!

The U16s was won by Kyle Rimmer in the absence of Dan Sheridan.

Ladies was won by Revolutions Maeve Baxter.

Super Vets was won by Flow racings Tom Sheridan.

The Vets category was won by CRCs Stevie Davidson with a great time of 2.42, 021racings Antony Cornforth slid into 11th spot.

Sports was won by Rob Lane, with the sandbagger Gareth O Reilly in 2nd!

The Seniors was won by PS Cycles Will Jones who made the trip from Wales, Epics Adam Tynan took 2nd just ahead of Colin O Leary from Athlone.  021racings new man Bobby St Ledger took a creditable 9th place, Kev Ryan suffered with mechanicals all weekend took 26th, followed by Bigman in 27th spot.

Masters was once again dominated by CRCs Mick Cowan,  021racings Johnny T, another man plagued by mechanicals finished well in in 9th place,  Ian Kennedy kept it between the tape to finish 16th.

Juniors was won by the ever improving Davy Graham from Bike Tart, its good to see Davy in form ahead of next months European Championships.

The fastest man of the weekend was KTMs Colin Ross, who set a blistering time of 2.19, Jamie Turkey Mc Cullogh finished in 2nd with a great run time of 2.20, 2stage bikes Gareth McKee rounded off the podium in 3rd.  021racing didn’t fair to well, Darren Quille was best of the 021 lads in 12th place, Tom power had a few big crashes, 14th, Dave Egan continued with the crashing theme in 18th, 19th spot was filled by Rory O’ Keeffe and Rob Davis punctured on both runs to finish 21st.

So lots of room for improvement needed for NPS 4 in Cahir.

Despite the results everyone enjoyed a great weekends racing.

Round 2 of the Irish National Downhill Points Series, took place at Irelands most southern venue, Clashnacrona Woods, Dunmanway in Co. Cork. The race was organised by 021racing.

After much speculation on what course was going to be used, the organisers opted for the older NPS track with a few nice new additions, to keep everyone on their toes.

With this being the start of summer and a long weekend, riders travelled from all over the country and from Wales to take part in what promised to be a great event, it was great to see the lads making the trip across the Irish Sea!

The weather did its best to make sure no one got to dirty and for the second race in a row stayed sunny and dry for practice and race day, which makes racing so much more enjoyable and creates a great atmosphere.

Talking of creating an atmosphere, 021racing’s Rob Davis took on the responsibility of being commentator for the race, after a slow start and six cans of Carling later, Rob was giving it loads and did a great job keeping the spectators and riders entertained!

The U14s got the racing started and it was the Cornforth brothers riding for 021racing who took the top two spots, Cameron taking 1st, closely followed by luke on his hardtail! Angus Fyffe rounded off the podium in 3rd.

The U16s was won by Christopher Mc Glinchey from CRC, 2nd place went to Trailriders.ie’s Eoin Grant, and 3rd to Paul Smith

The Juniors was won by Davy Graham from Biketart, followed by Greg Callaghan, both lads will be representing Ireland at the European Championships in Slovenia next month. 3rd place went to the ever improving Gavin Carroll.

The ladies was won by Natalie Jedda with CRCs Michelle McMullan in 2nd.

In the Vets Steven Graham took the win with Carl Young very close behind and Joe Jackman taking 3rd spot.

The Super Vets was won by Flow Racings Tom Sheridan with CRCs Derek Cowan in 2nd.

The Masters was dominated by CRCs Micheal Cowan, with Mark Tiernan and Dale McMullan taking 2nd & 3rd respectively.

The Senior Category was won by Ed Smith, Conor Duffy taking 2nd and 021racings Sean Murphy rounded off the podium in 3rd.

Fastest man on the day was Flow Racings Ger Wolfe taking the Elite win ahead of OC Tunings Ewan Doherty and Dan Wolfe did well in 3rd after snapping his chain on the start line.

Once the racing was over the after party kicked off in Skibbereen and went on well into Monday morning and a few stragglers in Audi estates were spotted only leaving West Cork at 3pm on the Monday, no doubt with a few sore heads!

Results are available from NACC’s results archive HERE

Thanks to Ebor for the photos.

Next up is Round 3 in the very popular Rostrevor in Northern Ireland on the 23 & 24th of May, see you all there.

  

The Irish National Downhill Championships took place last weekend at a brand new venue, just outside the Heritage town of Cahir in Co. Tipperary, organised by 021racing from Cork.
 
As the song goes ” It’s a long way to Tipperary”, but damn was it worth it!  For once the weather did it’s best and joined the party, unlike the pissy humour it’s been in all year!
 
Riders were on site from the Wednesday before the event, to ensure they got maximum practice and it paid off for some riders namely Colin Ross and Carl Young, who both won their respective categories!  Scaragh woods offers a great venue with a spectacular finish and parking all in the same area, which helps create an electric atmosphere, which was also made better by the presence of Lakis the Red Bull DJ, in his awesome converted US army Dodge truck, he kept spectator’s and riders entertained with his cool tunes.  Nacc Event’s from the UK once again did a great job with the live timing and with commentator Ian Brown on the PA, everyone was kept up to speed with the latest times and reults.
 
 The lovely Red Bull girls kept over 180 racer’s energised in the heat and added a nice touch of glamour to 2008’s most prestigious mountain bike event, Red Bull also provided the Red Bull arch and riders could have been forgiven for thinking they were competing at an International event, it was definitely a big step up from the NPS.  The basics were right and the track was class!  As the Irish Team Manager Joe Ward described it, you need big balls, serious fitness, you need to be able to jump well and corner well.  It definitely tested the best riders all round abilities.  The fastest times in seeding were all around the 2.05 mark, but riders were winding their way through the trees at over 25mph all the way down!
 
Many riders got six and seven runs in practice due to the superb fleet of Mercedes Sprinter LWB vans that were shuttling the riders in record speed!
 
The racing got under way at midday on Sunday.  The start had spectacular views of the Galtee mountains.  The first category to go was the U14’s and man were these guys flying!
Dan Sheridan took the win with an amazing time of 2.13!  Cameron Cornforth from 021racing took 2nd place ahead of Christopher Mclinchey in 3rd.
 
U16’s next, Gavin Carroll was the young man who dominated this category, he put 5 second’s between himself and 2nd placed Taryan Lewis from Killarney.  Micheal McCaann rounded off the podium in 3rd.
 
The Super Vets were up next and to be honest I hope I’m still able to ride a bike when I’m their age, let alone race!  Tom Sheridan wrapped it up, he couldn’t let Dan enjoy being # 1 on his own!  Peter Popham flew into 2nd, followed by CRC’s Derek Cowan.
 
The Veterans was very competitive this year and it could have been anyones race!  In the end Carl Banana Man Young nodged it ahead of Stevie Davidson with the Flying Deise man from 021racing Dave Mc Manus in 3rd.
 
Into the Masters and with the absence of current National Champ Micheal Cowan, due to a shattered pelvis, new man Glyn O Brien was in Flying form taking the win ahead of 021racings John Thompson (JT), with Dale Mc Mullan from CRC in 3rd.
 
The Sport category was won by a man who has returned to the sport after a long absence, Paul MeGarry took the honours ahead of IMBRC’s Gareth O Rielly with James O Reilly in 3rd.
 
The Senior category was won in a super time of 2.06 by Dave Egan, who said he has never had such an amazing run in his whole life!  Welcome to Pro- Elite Dave!  2nd spot was taken by the ever improving Cathal Hickey from Killarney with Brian Cooney in 3rd spot.
 
There was a great turnout in ladies and your 08 National Champion is the Flying Doctor Maeve Baxter,  Aoife O Donoghue from DCU was 2nd followed by Nathalie Jedda in 3rd.
 
The Juniors was tight, but the rider of the year Ewan Doherty retained his National title ahead of his closest rival and Irish team mate Seanan O Riordain, with Wee Johnny McKee in 3rd after a superb race!
 
THe Elites was quite open, with Ben Reid deciding to rest ahead of his World Cup campaign in Canada.  The man who made it count was Colin Ross and the Wolfe brothers duked it out for the remaining podium spots, with older brother Ger knocking Dan into 3rd.  Gareth Mckee continued his impressive season with a fine 4th place ahead of 021racing’s Greg O’ Keeffe in 5th, just beating his best friend and team mate Tom Power into 6th!
 
It’s all over another year, Ten riders get the pleasure of carrying the moniker of National Champ for a year!
 
Thanks again to all involved in organising the event and all the riders who supported it!

 

Round 3 of Irish Downhill NPS made its way to a wet and wild Dunmanway in West Cork last weekend and was hosted by Cork’s 021racing.  With back to back NPS races, having been to Carrick in Wicklow the week previous and with it being a bank holiday and many of the top riders who are heading to Maribor for the 1st World Cup didn’t want to risk injury, many riders opted to skip the round.
 
The 021racing crew had spent months preparing a brand new track for the event, which had a Motorway section at the top like in Fort William, a lot of riders were going 30mph+ and the distance people were getting from the ski jumps was huge!  After the open section, you dropped into some steep woods, with some fast berms and tight turns, then into a very tricky off camber rooty section, which led you down to the infamous Rock Drop, this section caught a lot of riders out, you then hit a series of berms before hitting a ski jump, clearing a load of nasty roots, riders then had to negotiate some seriously tricky off camber and drifty turns before the Finish line.  Riders had to be 100% focused the whole way down the track, one slip in concentration and you were in the dirt!
 
Never the less, a loyal bunch of racers travelled from all over Ireland and Wales!  It’s been a while since we had some competitors from the UK coming over to race our National series, hopefully they will spread the good word!
 
The weather played a huge part in the weekends racing and many riders struggled with the tough course in the dry, but as the weekend progressed and the rain fell, the course turned nasty.  For some it became unridable but to the optomistic riders among us, this was seen as a challenge and one rider in particular Cameron Cornforth riding his DMR hardtail in the Under 14 category, showed how it was done and was rewarded with a fine 3rd place!
 
Once again NACC Events came over to provide the Live Timing and along with Ian Brown on the commentary, spectators and riders were kept up to date every second!  Red bull turned up on both days with much needed energy refreshment for the muddy racers and the Red Bull girls were a sight for muddy eyes!  There was a great atmosphere in around the finish with tunes pumping and the smell of tasty burgers lingering!
 
Down to the racing and in U14 category, it was Dan Sheridan who couldn’t be touched in 1st, followed by Chritopher McGlinchey ans 021racings Cameron Cornforth in 3rd.
 
The U16 category was won by Targan Lewis, 2nd place went to Stephan Graef and Eoghan priestly rounded off the podium in 3rd place.
 
The Super Vets was won by a smiling Tom Sherdian, following his son on to the top of the box!
 
The vets was wrapped up by Carl Young, one of the most recognisable characters on the Irish racing scene, 021’s Antony Cornforth put in a great run to finish 2nd, considering he ran a half marathon in the morning!  Norman McKee dad to one of Irelands quickest Elite riders Gareth, made his way into 3rd.
 
The Sport category caters for beginners and guys returning to the sport after a long absence.  Paul Megarry took the honours, Fran Kearns in 2nd and Kevin Moran in 3rd.
 
The Seniors was invaded by the Welsh boys and they stole the 1st and 2nd places.  Jonathan Morley 1st with Mattew pinches in 2nd and the ever consistent Dave Egan on his new Sunn bike in 3rd, just pipping Denis Corkery by a second!
 
There were a few surprises in the Masters category, with Sean Herlihy ripping through the mud to 1st place and 7th fastest time of the day!  Killarney man Denis O Shea took a very relaxed approach to the race and it paid off with a great 2nd place, just snatching it from podium regular Dale Mcmullan.
 
The Junior category was dominated by Greg Callaghan, who put in a fine run to take 1st place from jonny McKee with Ashley Hemmingway in 3rd place.

                                                
 
Into the Elite category, Colin ross once again proved he is very hard to beat on Irish soil and once again came up trumps with a fantastic win ahead of Greg O’ Keeffe in 2nd and a welcome return to the podium for Tom Power in 3rd, who just returned home from Austrailia, Darren Quille was loving the course and he slid into 4th followed by Gareth Mckee in 5th place.
 
So a big thanks to all involved in 021racing for a great event, just sort out the weather!

Round 3 of the Irish NPS will be held at Clashnacrona Woods just outside Dunmanway in Co. Cork this weekend 3/4 May.

Riders will be treated to a brand new track, which should take the fastest riders over 2 minutes! The course will be starting at the very top of the hill, where riders will get a very nice fast open section that is littered with double jumps, ski jumps and a step up! You then hit a left hand berm at about 30mph before braking hard and dropping right into the woods. This section is very steep, with some nice banked turns, roots and rocks. As riders make there way down the course they will have to negotiate some ticky off camber, lots of roots, rocks, drops, berms with very little pedalling! There are no silly gaps, this is just a proper fast technical DH course, that will test the best riders!

We have cleared a lot of parking spaces either side of the fireroad as you drive in from the main entrance. Please park responsibly and keep it tight! We are hoping to have everyone parking at the bottom of the track close to the finish, catering, first aid, podium, sign on etc. This will also help with the speed of the uplifts. This will also create a better atmosphere for the weekend. Camper vans will be catered for as well.

This event will have live timing, NACC events are travelling from the UK to look after the event.

Sign on will be open from 8.30 on Saturday and will be closed at 9.30am on Sunday.

Practice on Saturday 10.00 to 1.00 and 2.00 to 5.00.
Practice on Sunday 9.00 to 11.00.
Race starts at 12.00.

Entry fee, all Senior riders 50 euro and underage riders 35 euro. One day licences will be available.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Cork, for what promises to be a great weekends racing!

Cheers

Rory

 

Here we go,

I haven’t got the foggiest idea where to start writing?

I suppose I can start with the last race of the season, at the Whitehorse organised by 021racing’s Tom power.

As usual Tom promised and delivered a great event. The Whitehorse Forest is one of the sketciest woods in Ireland, it is incredibly difficult to ride in the dry and if it rains the soil feels like your riding on ice!

The toughest section of this years course was the Rock Slab, this was a steep rock Slab section, that had three runs down it and it had a very hard entry to it, quite a few people fell victim to it.

There was 116 riders who took part in this end of season race, some chasing points to become the overall NPS winner, like Karl ‘ BananaMan’ Young who won on the day and the overall series. Tom employed the services of NACC Event’s from the UK to provide Live Timing, something we hope to see a lot more of at next years races! Tom couldn’t quite manage the fastest time of the day and handed victory to Dan Wolfe in the Elite category with a great time of 1.36. Ewan Doherty, showed why he deserved to be wearing the Irish National Champs jersey, had a fine win in the Junior category.

There has been a lot of positives from the 2007 Downhill Mountain Bike season. One of the best things, was the the Irish Downhill Team, where Joe Ward and Glyn O Brien transformed a shoddy outfit into the professional setup witnessed at The World Championships in Fort William in September. There have been some great results achieved by Irish riders this season. Ben reid finished 6th at the European Champs in Greece, 15th at the World Champs in Fort William, has had a top 10 at the World Cup in Schladaming, Austria! Greg O’ Keeffe enjoyed his first year as an Elite rider and set some good times, most notable results for Greg were 16th place at the European Champs in Greece, 44th at the World Champs, when he could barely walk! 1st place at round 3 Of the Welsh Dragon Series in Mynnd Du and 3rd place at the SDA race in Fort William. Glyn O Brien seems to be getting faster as he gets older and finished an increible 2nd place at the World Masters Championships in Pra loup, France.

Back to the local scene, everyone is anxiously waiting for the Ballyhouras to open, they are months behind schedule, but promise to offer some of the best trails around!