ZealOptics NPS Round 2 - Lumpers

June 05

Round 2 of the Irish NPS series brings us to Lumpers Wood in Ravensdale Co Louth to tackle the rocky, rooty, action packed track. With many scores to settle and points to prove after round 1, another great entry of over 100 riders put their bikes and bodies on the line to get the fastest time down the difficult track.

The Track

Starting on the hill top with magnificent views, riders sprinted down a grassy sheep track into some stump filled corners before trying to hold the line on the off camber section, leading into the ‘Wall Drop’ with a few line choices. This section caught many riders out and even saw some of the faster riders choosing not to drop off the wall but ride the ‘wheels on the ground’ line to give extra speed and a straighter line for the next corner. A few more corners and a small straight led into one of the most talked about sections on the track. An innocent looking grass bank and grassy hump some 10 feet away soon turned into ‘the doubles’ after some over night lip building via some strategically placed stones. The faster riders where soon clearing this with ease showing the rest of us what it takes to pull out the winning times. Next up was wooden ramp and rock drop with several line choices, proving to be a favorite for the spectators who waited impatiently, baying for blood and the chance of £250 from you’ve been framed. Some high speed bends broken up by tricky wall crossings brought the riders to the 2nd wall drop with a choice of 3 lines. Riders could take the longer and safer route down the side of the wall, the bermed north shore ladder, or the hairy drop using a rock garden as a down slope. Probably the most difficult section of the course this caught many riders out and claimed a few scars on a lot of pedals, bikes and bodies. A flat out single track straight containing the only moisture on the course led to some tight, rocky corners bringing us to the stone wall where large rocks and massive tree roots lay quietly, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting riders. After that a sprint down the short straight, carve up the bank and turn hard towards the Ski jump and flat out corner with a great natural berm building up as more riders hit it. The last obstacle was yet another wall crossing (what the hell are all these walls doing in a forest anyway!) with head sized boulders rolling about and changing position as every rider came down. A short pedal led to the finish chute and the ‘who can do the best skid’ competition after riders crossed the line. The weather was again fantastic with the track pretty much bone dry from top to bottom and improving throughout the day as berms appeared and rocky sections got cleaned out by 100 pairs of 2.5 tyres.

The Racing

U14

U16

Another closely fought category saw Seanan O’Riordan continue his winning ways from round one. Again followed by another Killarney pair of Jason Murphy and David Galvin. Another Killarney rider, Cathal Hicky was just squeezed off the podium showing the strength of the young Killarney DH team looking really factory in their camo gear.

Masters

No prizes for guessing the fimiliar look of the masters podium. Marty McGuigan again took the win by a considerable margin ahead of Joe ward, still racing despite a nasty ankle injury picked up during some extreme sofa lifting. Mark Dickson was very close behind in third.

Vets

This week saw a new look Vets podium. A young cub called David McManus took top honours ahead of Tom Clogher showing he can mix it with the young'ns. Loudest rider of the day, all rounder Ritchy Byrne completed the podium, despite riding his second run covered in posters for his Epic race to take place next weekend. Info HERE

Ladies

Michele McCartney put in another good time and took the win as the only competitor. Her selection of ZealOptic Hats should be pretty extensive by the end of the season!

Seniors

One of the most talked about battles was between Mark Smyth and Ricky Lawrence. Ricky got his revenge and ended Mark's winning ways by putting in a time that would have placed well in Elite. Mark was close behind with both riders flat out in full attack. Steven Maitland won the battle for 3rd ahead of Conor Doris, Nathan Hogg and Jo O'Neil with all 4 riders on the same second!

Junior

Again Dan Wolfe proved to be the man on top, despite a very dodgy purple rinse hair cut, ahead of Paul Cummins. Jamie McCullough looked awfully pleased with himself in 3rd, edging Stevie McClintock off the podium.

Elite

Andy Smith led the runnings after the first descent. Some of the big names such as Andy Yoong and John Lawlor didnt appear at the finish line, or put in slow runs. This left it all to the 2nd run. Andy Yoong took the hot seat with a 1.40.58 and looked set to take the win but shorty after, Dale McMullan who was looking faster than anyone in practice came down in 1.38.18 This couldn't be bettered by Andy Smith's second run time leaving John Lawlor the only likely candidate with no one knowing what sort of form he was in after recently having a plaster cast removed from a broken foot. John crossed the line looking fast, the timers checked, and checked again. 1.38.21. It was close, but not enough to deny Dale of his first NPS win in many years.

The Craic

The prize giving followed in the sunshine, with plenty of banter, Dale getting a face full of Birthday cake and Champagne courtesy of John Lawlor (happy Birthday!). Then with everything packed up, the racers and organisers departed Ravensdale wood leaving nothing behind but a few new lines down the hill, and headed for Lumpers Pub. A few pints went down, the stories started, the jumps got bigger, the crashes got worse, the craic was good. I think everyone left knowing why they take part in this unusual sport.

For a full list of results click HERE

A great selection of pictures courtesy of Nigel Elder and Derek Cowan can be found HERE