Ulster and Irish Riders Dominate at Round 5 of Scottish XC Series at Perth
On Saturday the Ulster and Irish XC Development teams travelled to the last round of the Scottish XC Series which was being held on Sunday in Perth, Ayrshire. With the Scottish Series renowned as producing some of the top riders in the UK the team members knew they would be in for a tough race.
The teams arrived mid-day on the Saturday for a pre-race course reccie and practice ontop of the Kinnoull Hill which dominates the city of Perth skyline. The course looked like it would be particularly tough to race on having a mixture of steep gravel/singletrack climbs – giving over 200m of climbing per lap – but also offering some fast and sweeping steep descents. However everyone agreed that the course was an excellent ride and looked forward to the competition the next day.
Race day was split into two Races. Race 1 in the morning saw all the youth, juvenile and women (all categories) start at 11am, while the male Junior, Elite, Master, Vets and Sports races started at 2pm.
Race 1: In the Juvenile/U14 race James Curry (Banbridge CC) put in an excellent effort to finish 4th just 30 seconds of the podium, with the British Champion taking the win, while Shannon Buller (Banbridge CC) had a very strong ride to finish 5th, just 14 seconds down on the next placed rider. This was both of these rider’s first race outside of Ireland and both put in an excellent performance.
The Youth/U16 boys race is especially known for being a very tough and competitive category due to the high number of entrants and quality of the riders. David Montgomery (Banbridge CC) managed to finish a brilliant 2nd and was only 24 seconds down on the winner, despite losing his chain on the last lap while sitting in the lead. This is a considerable achievement for David given this is his first full season of cross country racing.
Chris Oakley (XMTB) was also racing in the Youth/U16 boys race and put in a good performance to finish 13th in a category that had over
20 entrants in it. Robert Deegan (EpicMTB) started the race but was forced to abandon as he crashed heavily at the start and injured his elbow.
Race 2: In the Junior men’s race Matthew Adair (Banbridge CC) stormed to victory to take the win by about 2 minutes in a very competitive race that only saw 9 finishers. Robert Scanlon (WORC) held a consistent 6th sport until the last lap when he slipped back to finish a strong 7th – this was Robert’s first race back after concentrating on his leaving cert exams earlier in the year.
In the Junior women’s race Claire Oakley finished 2nd after experiencing some mechanical problems on the first lap which caused her to lose contact with the leaders.
In the Elite women’s race Ciara MacManus was encouraged by the team to make a last minute entry and dominated the race form the start winning by over 12 minutes.
All round it was a very successful weekend for both the Ulster and Irish riders, with four podiums and all other riders being very close to the podium and gaining experience.
Thanks must go to Ciara MacManus for co-ordinating the teams, Conor Graham for technical support and each of the parents who supplied much needed transport and feed zone support.
Three XMTB riders also made the trip to Perth, with a notable result going to Graham Boyd, who was 2nd in a big sports field with his brother William 6th. Stuart Ballantine was 8th in the Junior men’s race.
Abbreviated Results:
Junior Men
1. Matthew Adair (CU) 00:59:19
2. Tom Evans 01:01:54
3. Finn Munroe 01:03:21
4. Scott Lindsay 01:04:15
5. Ryan Fenwick 01:05:53
6. Ross Green 01:06:58
7. Robert Scanlon (IRL) 01:09:16
8. Stuart Ballantine (XMTB) 01:12:53
9. Charles Fletcher 01:15:39
Junior Women
1. Katy Winton 01:18:30
2. Claire Oakley (CU) 01:28:12
Youth Male
1. Iain Paton 00:40:26
2. David Montgomery (CU) 00:40:51
3. Ben Miller 00:41:52
4. Thomas Van Holten 00:43:24
5. Calum Foster 00:44:13
13. Chris Oakley (CU) 00:49:14
Juvenile Male
1. Jim Magowan 00:21:15
2. Johnston 00:22:59
3. Maguire 00:24:28
4. James Curry (CU) 00:25:00
5. Crockett 00:25:03
6. Tray Paterson 00:25:56
7. Lawton 00:26:12
Juvenile Female
1. Erika Allen 00:26:07
2. Elena Melton 00:26:48
3. Eve Hanlon Cole 00:28:47
4. Emma Borthwick 00:30:40
5. Shannon Buller (CU) 00:30:54
6. Katie Allen 00:33:22
7. Phillappa Samphier 00:35:32
