2015 XC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – BIKE PARK IRELAND 19/07

by Offroad Commission · Published July 7, 2015 · Updated July 8, 2015

19th of July 2015, Bike Park Ireland, Co. Tipperary

The online registration for 2015 XC Nationals in Bike Park Ireland is now open and will close on Monday the 13th of July (no late entries will be accepted with no exceptions!)

To register you will need to sign into your CI members section or register for a non-member Event Entry (for the non-championship categories). For both options please follow this link:

ONLINE REGISTRATION

Once logged in please click on the Events Booking and fill out the registration form. You will then have an option of paying online (via Paypal) or on the day. There will be no penalty for payment on the day. If you have any issues with the online registration process please contact Cycling Ireland via the Contact Us section HERE

Depending on your licence type you will be able to choose from the following categories:

Senior races:

Elite Men / U23 (19+) – combined race with separate medals for Elite and U23)Elite Women (19+)

Junior Men (17-18)
Junior Women (17-18)

Masters Men (30-39)
Super Masters Men (40+) – separate medals for 50+ Men (non-championship)

Novice Mixed (open) – non-championship support race, S4 Men or S3 Women equivalent

Youth races:

U16 Boys
U16 Girls

U14 Boys
U14 Girls

U12 Boys
U12 Girls

U10 Boys – non-championship race
U10 Girls – non-championship race

U8 Boys – non-championship race
U8 Girls – non-championship race

U6 Mixed – non-championship fun race

All championship categories above all marked GREEN. To be eligible to take part in championship races all riders must have current Cycling Ireland licnence (no One Day Lincences will be accepted) and be of Irish Nationality (denoted by the IRL code on their licence).

All race distances and start times are to be confirmed closer to the event date.

LOCATION

Red Cow junction Dublin to Bike Park Ireland = Approx. 1:40hour drive
Take the M7 Limerick road. Continue on the M7 and exit at junction 22 and head to Roscrea. On approach to Roscrea, take the second exit at the Mac Donald’s roundabout and continue to the next roundabout and take the second exit signed posted for Shinrone. At the bottom of the hill take a left for Shinrone R491. At Shinrone take a left at the T junction and drive through the village, you should see signs for Bike Park Ireland at this stage. At the end of the village turn right opposite the Castle Bar pub for Ballingarry. Continue for 6km and you will come to a cross roads which has a church on the left hand side. Turn right and continue up the road for .5km and Bike Park Ireland’s main entrance is on the right.

Cork City to Bike park Ireland = Approx. 2hour drive.
Take M8 Dublin road. Continue on the M8 and exit at junction 6 and head to Thurles N62. Continue on the N62 to Roscrea. On approach to Roscrea, take the second exit at the Mac Donald’s roundabout and continue to the next roundabout and take the second exit signed posted for Shinrone. At the bottom of the hill take a left for Shinrone R491. At Shinrone take a left at the T junction and drive through the village, you should see signs for Bike Park Ireland at this stage. At the end of the village turn right opposite the Castle Bar pub for Ballingarry. Continue for 6km and you will come to a cross roads which has a church on the left hand side. Turn right and continue up the road for .5km and Bike Park Ireland’s main entrance is on the right.

Limerick City to Bike Park Ireland = Approx. 40 minutes’ drive
Take the M7 Dublin road. Continue on the M7 and exit at junction 26, Nenagh road N52. Continue on the N52 to Borrisokane and turn right at the bottom of the town and continue driving on the N52 to Ballingarry. On approach to Ballingarry village turn right opposite the pub called the “Glue Pot” and continue on this road for 1.5km until you come to a cross roads with a church on the opposite side of the road. Turn left at the crossroads and continue up the road for .5km and Bike Park Ireland’s main entrance is on the right.

Sligo to Bike park Ireland = Approx. 2:30 hour drive
Take the N61 to Athlone. Then take the N62 to Birr. Take the N52 road, second exit at the Tesco roundabout and continue on the N52 (Nenagh road) to Ballingarry village. At the bottom of Ballingarry village turn left opposite the pub called the “Glue Pot” and continue on this road for 1.5km until you come to a cross roads with a church on the opposite side of the road. Turn left at the crossroads and continue up the road for .5km and Bike Park Ireland’s main entrance is on the right.

Roscrea = 20 minutes to Bike Park Ireland.
On approach to Roscrea on the N52 road, take the second exit at the Mac Donald’s roundabout and continue to the next roundabout and take the second exit signed posted for Shinrone. At the bottom of the hill take a left for Shinrone R491. At Shinrone take a left at the T junction and drive through the village, you should see signs for Bike Park Ireland at this stage. At the end of the village turn right opposite the Castle Bar pub for Ballingarry. Continue for 6km and you will come to a cross roads which has a church on the left hand side. Turn right and continue up the road for .5km and Bike Park Ireland’s main entrance is on the right.

Nenagh = 25 minutes to Bike Park Ireland.
Nenagh road N52. Continue on the N52 to Borrisokane and turn right at the bottom of the town and continue driving on the N52 to Ballingarry. On approach to Ballingarry village turn right opposite the pub called the “Glue Pot” and continue on this road for 1.5km until you come to a cross roads with a church on the opposite side of the road. Turn left at the crossroads and continue up the road for .5km and Bike Park Ireland’s main entrance is on the right.

Birr = 10 minutes to Bike park Ireland
Take the N52 road, exit at the Tesco roundabout and continue on the N52 (Nenagh road) to Ballingarry village. At the bottom of Ballingarry village turn left opposite the pub called the “Glue Pot” and continue on this road for 1.5km until you come to a cross roads with a church on the opposite side of the road. Turn left at the crossroads and continue up the road for .5km and Bike Park Ireland’s main entrance is on the right.

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

The 2015 XC Nationals Course will feature challenging climbs and super fast and flowy descents. The total course length is approximately 5.5km and the total elevation gain per lap is 220m.

1. Start / Finish Area

The start finish area will be set up on a large flat field adjacent to the Pump Track and the Uplift Road. It will have gridding pens set up and a Technical Assistance / Feed Zone (Zone 1 on the map).

2. The Green Monster

The course will lead you straight up the steep grassy hill (an alternative route will be provided in case of wet weather) and you will follow a track along fence before turning back again towards the Uplift Road. After a flatter section the climb will kick up again and finish at the top of the course (at the Cross). The climb will take approximately 3 minutes.

3. Back to Black

Starts at the Cross and follows the Bike Park Ireland’s Black Trail 2 until it crosses over to Black Trail 1. The descent is fast with bermed corners and technical rooty sections. Near the bottom of the course it veers of the Black Trails and goes up the Blue Trail (backwards) for a few meters before it drops down onto a new section of singletrack.

5. The Gentle One

Once you get to the lowest point of the course after descending down the Back to Black section you will be faced with a flowy climb of moderate gradient with plenty of space for overtaking. The climb leads to a short natural descent – The Enduro!

6. Enduro!

Loose and natural section of the trail built especially for the XC Nationals. Once you climb to the top of the Gentle Climb you will need to swing around a tree and drop into this loamy forest section. A few fast corners and off-camber straight section will get you down to the bottom of the hardest part of the course – The Pro Climb

7. The Pro Climb

After going down the Enduro! trail you will start climbing up this amazing switchback climb. A few out of the saddle efforts will get you across to the Technical Assistance / Feed Zone 2 area where you will be able to get a bit of a breather. From then on the climb goes up steady until the very top of the course (the Cross)

8. Welcome to The Jungle

From the Cross you will descent down a very fast grassy part of the hill before turning back up the Uplift Road for 20m and then dropping into another natural section of the course. Similarly to the Enduro! singletrack this section of the course was built especially for the XC Nationals. It features some nice tight turns, bomb-holes and a few log crossings. Once out of the forest you will be glad to hit the fastest section of the course which goes straight down the Green Trail until it goes into the forest again and down a few loamy turns. From then on you will descent down to the Start Finish Area.

U8/10 Race

For the U8 and U10 categories we will have a small loop close to the reception area, the loop will be approximately 2,5min long (U8 will do 2-3 laps and U10 5-6 laps) and will have a mixture of grass, single-track and hardpack surface.

U12 Race

The U12 race will start in the main start/finish area (field) and the course will go half way up the Green Monster Climb and then join the last descent of the senior loop (Welcome to the Jungle).

U14 Race

The U14 race will start in the main start/finish area (field) and will follow 2/3 of the senior loop. The exact course will be set out closer to the event. The plannedduration of this race will be between 30-45min long.

STRAVA link

VIDEO PREVIEW
Part One – The Green Monster / Back to Black

Part Two – Enduro! / The Pro Climb

Part Three – Welcome to The Jungle / Overview of Bike Park Ireland’s Facilities