Posts tagged XC racing
2012 Irish XC NPS Rnd “2″ online reg. now open (29 April)
01 year ago
by Fergal
in Cross Country
Just to avoid confusion – there was no Rnd.1 of the XC NPS (it was cancelled due to access issues), so you didn’t miss a race!
This race is on Sunday 29th April – checkout the Cuchulainn website for all the details!
Race Coordinator Gary Sheils and fellow Cuchulainn CC club members will be showcasing the much improved XC race loop for Round 2 of the NPS in the grounds of the private estate at Bellurgan Park, Dundalk Co. Louth.
Online registration closes Fri 27th April at 6pm sharp!!
Course Description:- The 2012 course will be very fast flowing on the descents with additional jumps and berns added to compliment the 3.3km of mixed technical single track and 1.3km of open field and wide fire road for over taking and hydration. Shorter race loops will be retained on part of the main course specific to the younger U12 & 14 riders and the kids U6 – U10 shall be located within the Paddock – Marquee area.
The course will be open for practice from 10am on Saturday the 28th of April 2012, and Race Day Practice on the course open from9.30am until12pm.
Race Day Facilities
- The start line is adjacent to the car park.
- There are some great spectator spots that are accessible for young families.
- There will be lots of assorted children’s activities.
- Time By elite timing
- Refreshments – Coffee/Tea vending throughout the day
- Ice cream van
- Car parking is in a flat field with toilet facilities.
- There will be a selection of sandwiches, cakes & Hot food available in the race Marquee food stall, as well as tea & coffee free to all race participants and families. The food stall will be located in the marquee.
- Two local bike shops with merchandise available for purchase at the Race Paddock.
- Niall Clarke Oils €20 voucher for all Senior category podium finishes.
———————————————————–
Getting There
By Car: Take the North bound Exit 18 for Carlingford off the M1. Follow the XC signs and also the road signs for Carlingford. Over theFlurryRiver (brown sign) past the 80km speed sign. The road narrows and there are trees on your left. Signage will be provided from Exit 18 to the event entrance. There will be an MTB XC sign at white gates on the left. Turn in there. (Only 5mins or so from exit 18 of the M1).
The race will be run again in the excellent venue of Bellurgan Park, which according to the race organisers has had some nice additions to the route since last year.
Directions to the venue HERE
Please be aware that grading has been introduced for the 2012 season, please check this link to see the assigned riders categories.
If you have previously requested a downgrade but do not see a status for your request in the list, please email fergal.kilkenny@gmail.com
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The race organisers would much prefer that you register and pay online as this saves them a lot of time and trouble, please note that if you do not register AND pay online you are subject to a €5 penalty on the day.
Any queries are to be directed to the race organisers Alan Bingham or Gary Sheils
Enter online here
G-Ride Trail Teaser (& Leinster League Round 2)
21 year ago
by Fergal
in Cross Country
Robin Seymour will be showcasing his brand new race loop in an open XC race in Annamoe Wicklow on 18th March 2012, (see poster for details) note that this race will also double as a round of the Leinster League (Rnd. 2)
Online registration for this event is now open HERE.
Junior-aged riders are to be reminded of the Migration of Junior XC NPS Category to Ability Categories, please read and understand the full article as there is not a Junior category for 2012.
2012 XC event submissions
01 year ago
by Fergal
in Cross Country
Update 02/oct/2011:
This post has been updated to include invitation of submissions for non-champs endurance/marathon events.
Update 16/Sep/2011:
This post has been updated to include invitation of submissions for XC Marathon Champs and XC National Champs events.
The Offroad Commission are taking submissions for hosting clubs for the 2012 XC series, a draft calendar (non-confirmed!) of 2012 race dates can be seen here.
For the NPS, a 6 race series is planned, with the best 5 out of 6 races counting towards the total. A minimum attendance of 4 races for Senior & Junior categories, and a minimum attendance of 3 races for Youth are required to be eligible for points in the league table.
Online registration will be provided for all races and must be used in order to register for a race, online payment will be optionally provided if the hosting clubs require.
Clubs who intend hosting a round of the XC NPS or XC Champs events in 2012 should send an email to offroad.commission@gmail.com with the subject “2012 XC NPS event submission” by Nov 30th 2011.
For the NPS, approx. 1 week after receipt of submissions, clubs will be notified if they have been successful in their submission based upon the NPS event-standard criteria and other factors.
For Champs events submissions, clubs will be contacted in due course.
Connacht MTB Championships
01 year ago
by Morgan
in Cross Country
On Sunday October 9th Connemara MTB will be hosting the Connacht MTB Champs for Connacht Cycling in Rosscahill Woods. This is an open championship so anyone can enter. There will be lots of categories -Elite, Expert, Sports, Juniors, Ladies, Vets, U-16, U-14, U-12 and U-10 and a prize for the best placed singlespeed. Races will start at 11am with sign on from 10am.
The Connacht medals will be awarded at a prizegiving cermony in November but there will be prizes on the day as well. Entry fee is only €10 for seniors, €5 for juniors and €3 for underage.The race trail is the 8km club loop (90% singletrack) and is a good technical test. Come along and support mountain biking in the West!
2011 XC Marathon Champs Sunday 18th Sep.
01 year ago
by Fergal
in Cross Country
Reminder to all that the last XC event of the year is on Sunday 18th Sep!
Get yourselves down to Ballyhoura for one last great race before the end of the year!
Team Ballyhoura mountain biking club is proud to present the 2011 XC Marathon Championships on Sunday the 18th September 2011 in the Ballyhoura Mountains!
The Ballyhouras is home of the longest purpose built singletrack in Ireland, 90km of track built and managed by Coilte.
Team Ballyhoura have incorporated the best of this purpose built track and also some of the best natural trails and features this area has to offer.
Full details on the dedicated website here.
Online Registration here.
See who has already registered here.
Best of luck in the race!!
Irish Riders at Czech & Italy XC World Cups
01 year ago
by Cait
in Cross Country
Mel Spath and Cait Elliott recently competed in the final 2 rounds of the World Cup series. First up was Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, set in a forested area of pretty rolling hills, the race was based around a biathlon stadium which created a great arena and starting area. The course was very similar to racing in Ireland, lots of natural forest singletrack with plenty of roots, twisty corners, kickers and a couple of rocky technical features to keep the cameras happy. However warm weather and lots of steep climbs on rooty trails made for tough racing. A new addition to the World Cup series, the event was extremely well run with an incredible atmosphere and over 20,000 spectators on race day. Mel battled hard to finish 54th but Cait was unlucky to puncture leaving her unable to finish.
Mel: “The Czech World Cup was amazing! Probably the best ever spectator supported world cup – the cheering was deafening. The course was conditionally and technically very challenging, with lots of steep climbs and rooty descents. It was good fun to ride, but I didn’t have good legs on race day and suffered from the start. The laps were very short and I was pulled, but I can’t say I was too unhappy about that on the day.”
Cait: “I had a good start and was in the top 50s when I slashed my tyre on a rock miles from the tech area. It was my first ever dnf and not something I ever want to happen again. The course and atmosphere were amazing making it even more frustrating so I’ll be on a mission to do it justice next year!”
Next up was Val di Sole in Italy where it was even hotter and the climbs even steeper with a mixture of fireroad, grassy meadows and greasy, rocky singletrack totalling 230m vertical metres over a 4.2km lap! Luckily the climbs were interspersed with flowing alpine singltrack, fast rocky trails and rooty switchback descents so there was still a lot of fun to be had but temperatures of over 35 degrees on race day made things hard work. Mel rode well to finish 54th again with Cait in 63rd.
Mel: “After the Czech World Cup we went straight to Val di Sole in Italy for the last world cup round. I absolutely loved the course – a lot of the descents were very “Irish”. It was also a very hard course – probably the most steep and climby world cup of them all and it was very hot (35 degrees). I had a much better race here, really enjoying the course and the racing, and was gutted that I missed the 80% cut-off with only one lap to go. I learned a lot in both world cups, which will really help for getting the preparation right for next year.”
Cait: “I was a bit disappointed to get pulled, I had a good position early on but was really suffering in the heat and began to drop back. The course was a lot of fun and it was a good learning experience, I’ll know what to expect next year
XC NPS & Leinster League trophy awards 2011
01 year ago
by Fergal
in Cross Country
Please see this document for the finalised trophy awards for the 2011 XC NPS & Leinster League.
This list is derived from the 2011 League tables HERE
NPS trophy eligibility:
All SENIOR and JUNIOR categories must attend a minimum of 5 races in order to qualify for an overall placing (total of best 5 results).
All YOUTH categories must attend a minimum of 4 races in order to qualify for an overall placing(total of best 4 results).
Leinster League trophy eligibility:
All SENIOR and JUNIOR categories must attend a minimum of 3 races in order to qualify for an overall placing (total of 3 results).
All YOUTH categories must attend a minimum of 2 races in order to qualify for an overall placing (total of best 2 results).
If you have any issues with the list, please email offroad.commission@gmail.com with the subject “XC awards 2011″ BEFORE 30/Aug/2011 to rectify any problems.
‘Da Cooley Thriller’ XC Mountain Bike Marathon-Sat. 20 Aug. 2011
01 year ago
by Fergal
in Cross Country
Yes its back, ‘Da Cooley Thriller’ is about to pedal-off once more on Saturday 20th, August 2011 at 10am.
Set in the Cooley Mountains just outside Carlingford, Co. Louth the route, approx. 52kmm, will take riders on a complete traverse of the Cooley Mountains, taking in some of the Táin Trail and forest tracks to some roller coaster natural single trails once navigated by the bold Cuchulainn himself. Starting in the village with a mass start.
Entrants will receive event T-shirt which has a new especially designed ‘Thriller Logo’
Sign on at Foy Centre at 8am in Carlingford , starting and finishing in the village centre , to be crowned the Cooley King !!!
The Categories with a mass start as usual (Elite Male & Female, Experts, Masters, Vets, Classic Vets, Sport Male & females). One big loop approx. 52k Lap and a shorter sport/fun !! 21k course.
Enter online on Runireland.com
Sign on will open on Friday 19th at the Foy Centre, 7pm until 8pm. Saturday 20th 8am until 9.15am SHARPISH.
Start 10am (VERY SHARP) village centre.
All details on the Cooley Thriller Website
Irish Mountainbikers Test The London Olympics Course
01 year ago
by Cait
in Cross Country
Three Irish mountain bikers, the male and female Irish National
champions (Robin Seymour and Cait Elliott) and Mel Spath (although
still riding under a German license), had the honour to be invited to
the Olympic Test last weekend in Hadleigh Farm, Essex, an hour east of
London.
The test event was run as a Class 1 mountain biking race on the
Olympic mountain biking course, as a dry run for the London 2012
Olympics. Many countries took the opportunity to send in their Olympic
hopefuls, including both the male and female Beijing Olympic Gold
medalists and many continental and national champions, to inspect the
course, often equipped with GPS devices and head cameras. The course
was open both Friday and Saturday for training, with the race being
run on the Sunday, under Olympic conditions.
The course design made good use of the little height difference in
this naturally flat area, with many tough and steep climbs and very
technical, rocky descents. All Irish riders negotiated the technical
sections comfortably.
5000 spectators and 180 international media lined the spectator
friendly, compact course on a hot and sunny, blue-skied Sunday. The
women were off at 11am with 33 starters and was won by Canadian
Catherine Pendrel in 1:32:04, followed by the US National Champion
Georgia Gould in 2nd and current World Cup Series leader Julie Bresset
(France) in 3rd. First Irish was Mel Spath in 19th place, followed by
Cait in 25th place.
Rider comments:
Mel Spath: “I am happy with my placing under the conditions. A problem
with my rear derailleur meant that I had to cut my training short and
thus didn’t have enough time to familiarize myself with the technical
sections on the course before the race. So in the first 3 laps of the
race I made a few mistakes on those sections, losing quite a bit of
time, but I got into a good rhythm for the last 3 laps and by the end
I felt I was riding the course comfortably and strong. It was great to
be able to race in such a high-profile race against world-class
competition and I am confident with how my form is coming along for
the upcoming world cups.”
Cait Elliott comments on her race: “The pace was ferocious from the
start and coming off the back of the grid meant much of the first lap
was spent losing time fighting for position. The course was very
tough, especially in the heat, with a lot of steep technical climbs
and little chance to recover but I enjoyed the technical rocky
descents. I rode hard but was a bit disappointed my lap times dropped
off a bit towards the end. The atmosphere and experience were
amazing.”
The men’s race followed at 2pm and was dominated by Beijing Olympic
gold medalist, Julien Absalon (France), who finished with a gap of
1:20min ahead of Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) in 2nd and a further
26secs ahead of Karl Markt (Austria) in 3rd.
3-times Olympian Robin Seymour had to abandon the race due to a
mechanical problem.
All of the Irish riders participated as self-funded privateers,
without external or official funding. There will be no Irish mountain
bikers at the London Olympics, since there has been no Irish mountain
bike team in recent years that would have qualified a place for
Ireland. However, the race gave a good insight for what is to be
expected in Rio 2016 which the riders are targeting for Irish
qualification.
Mel and Cait are also attending the final two rounds of the World Cup
Series in the Czech Republic and Italy in August.
Irish mountainbikers test the London Olympics course
01 year ago
by Fergal
in Cross Country
Three Irish mountain bikers, the male and female Irish National
champions (Robin Seymour and Cait Elliott) and Mel Spath (although
still riding under a German license), had the honour to be invited to
the Olympic Test last weekend in Hadleigh Farm, Essex, an hour east of
London.
Mel (in red skinsuit) descending
The test event was run as a Class 1 mountain biking race on the
Olympic mountain biking course, as a dry run for the London 2012
Olympics. Many countries took the opportunity to send in their Olympic
hopefuls, including both the male and female Beijing Olympic Gold
medalists and many continental and national champions, to inspect the
course, often equipped with GPS devices and head cameras. The course
was open both Friday and Saturday for training, with the race being
run on the Sunday, under Olympic conditions.
The course design made good use of the little height difference in
this naturally flat area, with many tough and steep climbs and very
technical, rocky descents. All Irish riders negotiated the technical
sections comfortably.
5000 spectators and 180 international media lined the spectator
friendly, compact course on a hot and sunny, blue-skied Sunday. The
women were off at 11am with 33 starters and was won by Canadian
Catherine Pendrel in 1:32:04, followed by the US National Champion
Georgia Gould in 2nd and current World Cup Series leader Julie Bresset
(France) in 3rd. First Irish was Mel Spath in 19th place, followed by
Cait in 25th place.
Rider comments:
Mel Spath: “I am happy with my placing under the conditions. A problem
with my rear derailleur meant that I had to cut my training short and
thus didn’t have enough time to familiarize myself with the technical
sections on the course before the race. So in the first 3 laps of the
race I made a few mistakes on those sections, losing quite a bit of
time, but I got into a good rhythm for the last 3 laps and by the end
I felt I was riding the course comfortably and strong. It was great to
be able to race in such a high-profile race against world-class
competition and I am confident with how my form is coming along for
the upcoming world cups.”
Cait Elliott comments on her race: “The pace was ferocious from the
start and coming off the back of the grid meant much of the first lap
was spent losing time fighting for position. The course was very
tough, especially in the heat, with a lot of steep technical climbs
and little chance to recover but I enjoyed the technical rocky
descents. I rode hard but was a bit disappointed my lap times dropped
off a bit towards the end. The atmosphere and experience were
amazing.”
The men’s race followed at 2pm and was dominated by Beijing Olympic
gold medalist, Julien Absalon (France), who finished with a gap of
1:20min ahead of Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) in 2nd and a further
26secs ahead of Karl Markt (Austria) in 3rd.
3-times Olympian Robin Seymour had to abandon the race due to a
mechanical problem.
All of the Irish riders participated as self-funded privateers,
without external or official funding. There will be no Irish mountain
bikers at the London Olympics, since there has been no Irish mountain
bike team in recent years that would have qualified a place for
Ireland. However, the race gave a good insight for what is to be
expected in Rio 2016 which the riders are targeting for Irish
qualification.
Mel and Cait are also attending the final two rounds of the World Cup
Series in the Czech Republic and Italy in August.
