Category Archives: Cross Country

Sunshine at Djouce for the National XCO Championships

Cross Country, Uncategorized

The 2017 Irish National Cross-country Mountain Bike Championships took place at Djouce Woods in Country Wicklow on Sunday 23 July. The venue is one that host club EPIC MTB would be very familiar with having run many similar events in this location over the years. The car parking, sign on and event village were all based in the field beside the woods which offered a stunning view of Powerscourt Waterfall and the Wicklow mountains. Riders and spectators could enjoy an uninterrupted view of the valley with its peaks, fields, wooded areas and scattered houses. From the vista point we could watch the rain clouds approach or the patches of blue sky appear. This venue is know for the wind that whips up from the valley floor but today the wind conditions were favourable. The day started out grey with some light showers during the morning but by the afternoon blue sky prevailed and sunshine appeared. It finished on a very pleasant warm day allowing the volunteers to pack up and tidy up bathed in sunshine. Continue reading →

Irish XC National Championships – more details

Cross Country

A technical guide for the upcoming Irish National Cross-country Championships is provided here (PDF – version 5a).  The event is on Sunday 23 July 2017 but registration for this event closed on Monday 17 July for championship categories.  Riders are encouraged to read this document fully especially regarding the minimum numbers required, categories like the Under 12s, course practice, schedule on the day.

A course preview video is available here.

The gridding list for the championship events is provided here.

It is envisioned that the trophies for the NPS series will also be presented at the championships.

Team announcement for the 2017 European XC Championships

Cross Country

The 2017 European Cross-country Championships are being held in Darfo Boario Terme Italy on 27-30 July 2017.   The Off-road Commission received a high quality set of CVs from interested riders and we appreciate the time and effort those riders put into their CVs and into their season.  After reviewing the CVs and the budget it was decided to send 3 riders and one Team Manager.  The riders are: Gareth McKee (Elite), Thomas Creighton (Junior) and Jack Murphy (Junior) with Team Manager Simon Curry.  We wish them all success.

Sunshine, ice-cream, dusty trails – a great day at Bellurgan XC

Cross Country

Sunday 25 June 2017 saw Round 4 of the Irish Cross-country Mountain Bike National Point Series being held at Bellurgan Park near Dundalk County Louth. Hosted by Cuchulainn Cycling Club, under the leadership of Liam Burns, this venue was last used as the 2016 National Championships and the club went out to make this event look even more impressive. This time were we based in the large field closer to the single track with plenty of room for vehicle parking. The start/finish area was well laid out, plenty of room for gazebos, podium set up, wooden benches and catering. The weather was fine all day with periods of sunshine and blue skies and, under the music and commentary of MC Paul Joyce, there was a great atmosphere around the site. Almost like icing on a cake, the host club had also arranged to provide free ice-creams for all competitors!!! What more could we ask for? Dry dusty trails perhaps? Yes, that’s what we got as well !!
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Masters World Champion – Again!

Cross Country

He’s only gone and done it again. Irish legendary off-road rider, Robin Seymour, the most decorated rider in Ireland, returned to the World Championship stage after winning the rainbow stripes last year in the Master 45-49 category. The event was held today at La Massana, Andora and it wasn’t long before the returning champion got his nose to the front of the race and pushed on. Robin took the win with 1m 30s gap back to Fabrizio Pezzi (ITA). Vinnie Fitzsimons also competed in the same race and finished 25th. Earlier in the day the 55-59 year old category was run with Peter Buggle taking 3rd place. Continue reading →

A great course at Ticknock for Round 3 of the NPS XC

Cross Country

We headed to Ticknock Forest in the Dublin Mountains for Round 3 of the 2017 Irish Cross-country Mountain Bike National Point Series (NPS). Local club, MTB Association of Dublin (“MAD” for short), know the forest intimately and had developed on last year’s course which takes in part of the mountain bike trail centre. The organisation of the day was superb, improving on an already well oiled setup, to delivery a top class event. The weather was even kind to us, as per last year, although not as warm. The race village is on a forest clearing overlooking a valley where we could watch the forecasted heavy rain clouds in the distance. For us there was a couple of light showers during the day but they quickly disappeared leaving a mixture of overcast conditions and cloudless skies. A great day for riding bicycles. Continue reading →

Sunshine at Tracton Wood for Round 1 of the NPS XC series

Cross Country

All headed south to the Irish Riveria for the first round of the 2017 Irish Cross-country National Point Series. MBCC hosted the event in Tracton Woods which is located around 25 km south of Cork City. The forecast for the weekend was for heavy rain and strong winds. Thankfully that weather front quickly passed through the site during the early hours of the morning and left us with a light breeze and warm sunny spells for the rest of the day. Despite the downpour, the track was in great condition and was running very fast. It was a challenging course as the wood is set along both sides of a steep river ravine. Lots of climbing and descending with some rooty sections and fast gravel. The start line was on the stony access road which lead up to the woods from the main road. Parking was provided in a field across the road. Refreshments were available all day beside the sign on tent and the music was playing which provided a bohemian, chilled out atmosphere around the finish line. This was in stark contrast to the exhersion being put out by the riders both young and old!!
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