The weekend of 2nd and 3rd June 2007 will go down as the wettest NPS event held in Ireland in recently times.
The third round of the NPS, organized by Chain Reaction Cycling club in conjunction with Bikecology had everything going for it. The perfect venue, all facilities any rider would have ever desired at a downhill race and the longest track in Ireland, in fact, the only luxury the organizing team hadn't organized was the weather - unfortunately it was the suns day off!
The weekend started on Friday evening while CRC crew taped the course, the prospects for the weekend were hopeful. Large crowds had already gathered in the campsite in time for practice, with BBQs and camp fires, followed by a few beers and craic about how long of a walk it was to the top of the track as well as the top class facilities of the camp site, it looked like it was going to be a weekend to remember - for all the right reasons!
On Friday night people staying in the camp site were kept up for what seemed like hours by the noise of the rain beating down on their vans and in some cases leaking into their tents!
Saturday sign on started at 9am in the camp site pool room, ideal for the CRC ladies who couldn't believe their luck, as the weather outside seemed to get worse and worse. The bike wash was working overtime, as were the showers in the camp site, even the riders who were going home for the evening had a shower before heading home for another!
Seeding took place at 3.30. Almost 100 riders braved the elements to participate in the seeding run, with the fastest time 3.49 coming from Ben Reid. In seeding only 4 elite riders managed to break the four minute mark! As the weather worsened, the decision was taken to shorten the course on the Saturday by about a minute, to finish just after the table top in the long straight section, providing some comfort for the riders.
Sunday morning came with promises of an improvement in weather seeming like a distant memory as Saturday night the rain hadn't eased at all! The organisers were questioned about the possibility of canceling the event, however, riders were still signing on, and any who had signed on on Saturday were still going up to do their practice runs (or should I say run).
Credit where credit is due! The Bikecology crew had been working on the venue for around a year! They had the top open section known as 'Hells Alley' reclaimed as they own and had started building bridges on the track down across the fire road. Unfortunately the Forestry pulled out their support for the project less than two months ago! With continuous consultation with the Forest Service, permission was granted the week following the Dunmanway NPS race for the race to go ahead.
Tireless work by Stephen Paskin, Marcus McKay (aka Horse) Ryan McGuire (aka Mouse) Gareth Pritchard (aka Sponge), Marc Potts and Keelim Ryan to name just a few of the numerous locals who have spent every evening and weekend re-building the track to have it ready for the weekend of the race.
Unfortunately, the bottom section didn't have the time to build it to the standard which Hells Alley and the middle section had been built, but hopefully with continuous work with the Forestry, the guys will be able to continue to build the track to the standard they recognize!
Of almost 160 riders who signed on, only 18 riders didn't turn up for their race run, most of these riders were from the masters and senior category! Unexpectedly, over 100 riders turned up for their second race run to battle out for podium positions and the chance of winning a trophy. Here's how the riders fared in their categories:
U14
Epic's Gavin Carroll took his third win of the year with a second run time of 3.13.485, almost 11 seconds ahead of second placed Niall O'Dowd. Liam Williams only completed one run, to claim third place with a time of 3.40.312 with Kyle Rimmer putting in a first run time of 3.43.728 to take fourth place followed by Epic's Dan Sheridan who had a great first run to register a time of 3.43.728.
U16
Bikecology's Marc Potts hard work paid off as his completed his first run with a time of 2.56.640 to register his first win of the year. Greg Callaghan managed his third 2nd place position this year with a time of 3.05.037, a second ahead of Paul McGrady. Paul registered a time of 3.06.147, just ahead of David Graham's 3.06.821 while TC racing's Tim Flood held on to fifth place with a second first run time of 3.21.613, just ahead of Gavin Kelly.
Women
With the elements not on their side, only two of the ladies competed for first place with Maeve Baxter taking the win with a first run time of 4.14.569. Banbridge CC's Joanne McCallum had a better second run time to register a time of 5.36.658.
Vets
Eight vets battled it out for top place. Chain Reaction's Stevie Bell coming out on top with a second run time of 3.17.830, putting Team Real Cycles/Commencal's Stevie Davidson off the top spot for this round! Stevie registered a first run time of 3.25.911, ahead of Bananaman Carl Young who had a better first run time of 3.34.938 to take third place.
Of the 'auld boys' Epic's Peter Popham managed fourth place with a time of 4.08.749 ahead of CRC's Derek Cowan who registered a first run time of 4.46.062, with Epic's Tom Sheridan on sixth place who managed a first run time of 5.00.311, ahead of Daddy TC Tom Clogher and Vincent Bradley to finish off the vets category.
Sport
Another winner for the third race in a row with racing newcomer Vincent Tsoi taking first place with a first run time of 3.04.589, a time which would have placed him third in senior. Congratulations Vincent! Enda Munnelly had his best results of the year with a second run time of 3.22.948 while Kenneth Murphy finished his first run in a little better style than his second with a time of 3.28.235. Ken managed to give the spectators on the finish line a laugh as he clashed as slid down the track in the mud! John Loane, also on his best result of the year managed fourth place with a time of 3.29.204, ahead of Greg O'keefe who registered a time of 3.39.204.
Senior
Epic's Brian Cooney took his first win in the senior category with a first run time of 2.51, a time which would have placed him top ten in elite! Bikecology's Ryan McGuire's hard work also paid off as his first run time of 3.00.872 held on to second place with TC Racing's Dave Molloy registering his best time of the year with 3.08.382. MTBRider's James Burns managed his second fourth place position, with Chis Mallon taking fifth place less than half a second behind James with a time of 3.10.658.
Master
Chain Reaction's Michael Cowan pulled out all he had on his second run to take first place with a time of 2.58.393, ahead of Epic's Bruce Murphy who, after the first run had been sitting in first place! Bruce registered a time of 3.04.672 to take second, his best result of the year, ahead of Chain Reaction's Joe Ward who after a terrible first run, managed to register a second run time of 3.03.208. Steve Franzoni didn't managed to better his first run time of 3.10.526 after a crash in his second run, while Chain Reaction's Mark Dickson took fifth place with a first run time of 3.11.562.
Junior
Ewan Doherty took his second win of the year with a first run time of 2.47.456, to hold off fellow junior Andrew Godfrey, who registered his best result of the year with a time of 2.56.382 to take second place. Killarney's Jason 'Sunflower' Murphy was sporting his new race gear to take third place with a second run time of 2.59.113. Team Real Cycles/Commencal's Karl O'Sullivan managed fourth place with a time of 3.02.382, while Erwin Buick held on to fifth place with a time of 3.05.782.
Elite
Ironhorse's Ben Reid took his second win in 2 races with a time of 2.37.017, three seconds ahead of Epic's Gerard Wolfe who registered a second run time of 2.40.666, again, three seconds ahead of First Track's/Kona's Glyn O'Brien who had a second run time of 2.43.421. Back to the sport for what we hope is the first time this year, Colin Ross, managed fourth place with a time of 2.47.436, while Darren Quille managed fifth place with a time of 2.49.699 to claim his best result of the NPS.
The craic
After the appalling weather conditions of the weekend, a big shout out goes to all the riders who competed and practiced at the weekend. Even after actively discouraging riders to sign-on on Sunday morning, riders still turned out for the weekend's racing, and it was good to see that no matter what the conditions, the same riders still ended up in the top places in the podiums, with a few new faces here and there!
Nicola Ward made a very fitting speech during the presentations, and I would just like to reiterate my congratulations to the organisers on pulling off a great weekend despite the weather conditions. I think if the venue had of been at any other venue in the country, the weekend would have been a disaster, however, with the bike wash, showers, inside rooms, BBQ, hot and cold food, holiday cottages, fantastic uplift, and all the facilities any rider could have desired, it made the event a success! A big congratulations also to Bikecology for building the track in the short time they had!
The craic was good on Friday and particularly Saturday night as the organisers and racers decided the only way to cope with the situation was to hit the bottle - some hit it harder than others and paid the consequences for it on Sunday morning, however the craic was good with the stragglers ending up at the MBCC camp fire listening to James O'Carroll tell stories about how he's the 'straightest' wheeler-builder in the country! It ended up being a late one for some, although everyone looked quite reserved in the picture!
Check out mbcc.ie for another great race report.
May I take this opportunity to wish Stevie Bell the best in his new job, as he heads off this week to Chambery to work for team Animal with the Athertons as their mechanic for the next few world cup rounds! Hopefully you'll see some of the Irish riders on your travels!
The next round takes place in Bree - no longer Ireland's best kept secret, with a 2 day event on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th June! See you all there.
Pics courtesy of George Doherty
