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!

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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!