European Championships - How the Irish did.....

August 05

Sunday 24th July the 2005 European Downhill Championships took place in Commezzadura-Val di Sole, Italy. The Irish team selections have been made as follows and results were as follows:

Ben Reid - Ben finished 68th overall (42nd in Elite) with a final time of 4.29.16, seriously affected by mechanical problems and not bettering his qualifying time of 4.06.82 which would have placed him top 25 overall!

John Lawlor - John put in two similar times both days. In qualifying he got a time of 4.23.48 with final result time coming in slightly better at 4.22.08. This placed him 37th in Elite and in 56th position overall!

Jamie Popham - At the last minute Jamie decided not to attend the Euros based on medical advice from his doctor.

Andy Smith - Andy didn't compete in the Euros due to a leg injury picked up at the World Cup in Canada....

Gerard Wolfe - His first year racing for the Irish team, Wasn't able to better his qualifying time of 4.20.74 clocking in a final run time of 4.23.85, leaving him in 59th position overall (39th in Elite)

Tom Power - Also Tom's first year racing in the European champs, Tom registered a disappointing qualifying time of 5.12.58 but managed to better it in his final run with a 4.30.64 leaving him in 72th position overall (44th in Elite)

Daniel Wolfe - Dan did the Irish (and his dad) proud at the weekend by bring home the best Irish result - 11th in Juniors and 44th overall. Dan registered a qualifying time of 4.20.75 and managed to gain 5 seconds in the final with a 4.15.43.

Greg O'Keefe - Unfortunately due to his shoulder injury picked up at the Munster championships, Greg was unable to compete at the European Championships.

Paul Cummins - Paul, another new name to the Euros finished less than a second behind Ben with a respectable 4.29.65 leaving him in 69th position overall and 25th in Junior.

Richard Smith - Rich stayed on the bike to produce a qualifying time of 4.29.62 in qualifying and 4.33.82 in his final run, leaving Rich 28th IN Juniors and 77th overall!

Jamie McCullough - Jamie filled in for Greg at the last minute! Having registered a 4.48.98 in his qualifying run, Jamie only managed 108th overall following a crash in his final race run, registering a time of 5.13.07. This left Jamie in 36th position at Junior level.

IrishDH.com on behalf of the whole mountain bike community would like to congratulate the Irish team on their performances in Italy.....

For a full list of results click HERE

Photos courtesy of Freefocus