2003 MTB News |
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IrishCycling.com: What made you go to Denmark?
IC: What kind of a school is it? TJJ: The school is a technical college for apprentice mechanics who go to the school several times during their apprenticeship. Some years ago, one of the teacher's who is a keen cyclist came up with the idea of making a class just for racers. IC: Tell us what a normal day involves? TJJ: The day is split 50/50 between training and normal classes. Mind you, even in the physics classes we end up talking bikes…We also spend a good deal of time in the workshop learning how to build wheels and fix bikes. It's a cool place to live, as all my classmates are big into racing, so after school we talk bikes a lot… IC: How much training are you putting in at the moment? TJJ: This time of year we spend about 12 hours on the bike each week but that will increase as we get closer to the start of the season. We also learn how to fix bikes and how to train properly with all our training sessions being downloaded from our pulse watches and sent to the coach who then advises us individually
TJJ: Both!! All my classmates are road racers and some are among the best in Europe so I have some catching up to do. When we go to Tuscany for 2 weeks in March I hope to show them a thing or two on the climbs… I think my old class is going to the Arran Islands and I don't think I'll want to swap.. IC: Were you happy with the results you achieved in this season? TJJ: Mixing MTB with the road possibly meant that I lost some speed on the road but over all I was very happy. The high points, was going away to Sweden as part of an Irish U16 road team and winning every U16 MTB race I entered in Ireland, England & Denmark including two national Championships. Racing as an elite in the season ending E2 event in Rostrevor and coming in as 2nd Irish finisher after Robin also rates near the top. IC: What about next year? TJJ: I'm really looking forward to racing against my classmates in the early season Danish road races with a few trips home to Ireland as well. It's not going to be easy as a 1st year junior and my best chances of racing internationally will be in mountain biking. IC: Who will you race for considering you have dual Nationality? TJJ: Ups, most likely Denmark as they really seem to want me in their team for the European and World Championships and they have a strong MTB youth development programme. The fact that I want to mix road with MTB doesn't seem to bother them either. As to the future and assuming I'm good enough, a return to riding for Ireland is definitely on the cards for 2005
DOWNHILLERS RAISE IMPORTANT FUNDS: (By Shane Stokes Nov 29) A total of €5500 was raised through the purchase of tickets for an Orange racing bike, which was won by masters rider Tim Bugbee at the draw held at last weekend’s Champion’s Awards presentation. The bicycle was one of several machines supplied to the Irish team after a large amount of bikes and equipment were stolen earlier this year at the World Cup round held at Alpe D’Huez. Orange provided the replacement bikes at a largely-reduced cost and after this outlay is taken into consideration, the draw raised a total of €2500. This money will be put towards the costs of replacement of the bikes taken in France. HIGH RANKINGS FOR MTB RIDERS: (By Shane Stokes Nov 29) Robin Seymour, Jenny McCauley and Tarja Owens all finished the season inside the top 50 places in the UCI world rankings, which were released this week. Seymour’s fine third place in the Mount Sdom E1 race in Israel ensured that he reached a career-best high of 35th in the rankings, amassing 546 points. Jenny McCauley and Tarja Owens’ strong end-of-season will see them finish the year ranked 39th and 42nd respectively, taking 499 and 494 points. They finish joint fifteenth in the nations ranking for the Olympics. The top 14 countries automatically qualify but it is highly likely that one place will filter down to Ireland as it is expected that not all those riders will be sent to Athens. Owens gained her place in Sydney 2000 through this system. Barring injury, Seymour will take part in his second Olympics next summer. The selection criteria laid out by Cycling Ireland’s MTB commission in November of last year (see below) states that in the event of one place being available, a rider finishing in the world’s top 50 will be deemed selected. Ireland’s next best rider is Don Travers in 324th position. Under the same selection criteria, McCauley and Owens will have to fight it out between themselves for that probable Olympic start. The first three world cup races of the season in Madrid (22 May), Houffalize (29 May) and Fort William (6 June) will be used for this purpose, with the combined UCI points total from these events to determine who goes to Greece. Should any of these races be cancelled, the pre-Olympic event on the Athens course will fill the gap.
O’BRIEN THIRD IN RED BULL RAMPAGE: (By Shane Stokes Nov 10) Irish downhiller Glyn O’Brien finished an excellent third in the 2003 Red Bull Rampage race, which was held recently at the Kolob Reservoir in Virgin, Utah. The two day free-ride race saw the 27 contestants compete against each other in the red hills near Zion National Park, choosing a variety of racing lines from the 1,500 foot high starting point, and being judged according to their style, racing line, fluidity and the tricks they pulled off on the way down. With drop-offs of more than fifteen feet to contend with, the course was demanding and gave ample opportunity for the brave and skilful. The first prize of $3,500 went to the Frenchman Cedric Gradia, who impressed the judges greatly with his run and pulled off a back flip on the way down. Second place went to the Candian Andrew Shandro, who plunged down a 25 foot drop off during his descent, while Newry’s Glyn O’Brien was a surprised third, taking $1200 after an excellent display. “I was about to pack the bike away when I figured what the hell, I might as well see who won,” said O’Brien, describing how he found out he had finished in the top three. The result is a morale booster for the Irishman after a good season and another plus for Ireland’s flourishing downhill scene. Red Bull Rampage 2003, Utah: 1, Cedric Gracia, 88.8 points; 2, Andrew Shandro, 84.8; 3, Glyn O’Brien (Ireland) 79.4; 4, Michal Marosi, 77. 6; 5, Steve Romaniuk, 77.2; 6, Thomas Vanderham, 76.4; 7, Greg Minnaar, 76.2; 8, Mike Kinrade, 73.6; 9, Greg Smith, 70.2; 10, Kyle Richey, 70.2 See photos at http://www.pinkbike.com/modules/news/?op=articleview&id=1710
Robin Seymour also rode very well in his six-lap event, finishing 5 minutes and 29 seconds behind the Swedish winner Philip Tavell to place fifth of the elite men. Richie McCauley also took part in the race, placing 19th at one lap. Seymour is already certain of securing an Olympic place for Ireland, while Owens and McCauley are vying to get as many world ranking points as possible in order to elevate their nations ranking total to a point where a place in Athens 2004 becomes a possibility. Next weekend’s E1 at Mount Sdom, Israel, is the final race of the season and another good ride by the Irish duo may prove to be enough. Olympic participation for an Irishwoman will be determined next Spring and will be dependant on some of the ladies who are qualified not being sent to Athens by their countries. Owens secured her Olympic place in this manner before the last Olympics, and manager Geoff Seymour expects that the same reshuffling will happen this time round. ‘For Tarja this was a very important ride in that she beat the Danish girl Mette Anderson, who is well up in the world rankings’, he said. ‘She was actually closing on the winner Ivonne Kraft towards the end of the race.' The quality of Owens’ ride can be gauged from the face that Kraft was ranked fifth in the world rankings as of October 21st, with Anderson 25th. McCauley was 49th, Owens 55th, and Seymour was 46th in the men’s rankings on the same date. Soham E1 XC mountainbike race, Israel: Elite men: 1, Philip Tavell (Sweden) 54 kilometres in 2 hours 9 mins 54 secs; 2, Christian Poulsen (Denmark) at 6 secs; 3, Sigvard Kukk (Estonia) at 1 min 13 secs; 4, Lubos Kondis (Slovakia) at 3 mins 57 secs; 5, Robin Seymour (Ireland) at 5 mins 29 secs; 6, Youri Trofimov (Russia) at 7 mins 33 secs; 7, Sergiy Rysenko (Ukraine) at 8 mins 28 secs; 8, Szilard Buruczki (Hungary) at 8 mins 45 secs. Other Irish: 19, Richie McCauley, at one lap Elite women: 1, Ivonne Kraft (Germany) 45 kilometres in 2 hours 12 mins 25 secs; 2, Tarja Owens (Hibernian Team Ireland) at 1 min 17 secs; 3, Mette Anderson (Denmark) at 4 mins 58 secs; 4, Jenny McCauley (Hibernian Team Ireland) at 6 mins 20 secs; 5, Lornza Morfin (Mexico) at 6 mins 39 secs PLAN FOR POSSIBLE WORLD CUP MTB RACE IN IRELAND: (By Shane Stokes Nov 2) An ambitious plan for off-road racing was discussed at the AGM of Cycling Ireland’s mountainbike commission on Saturday, with a campaign in the pipeline to try to secure a world cup event for 2005. If successful, the event would incorporate downhill, cross-country and four cross races and would attract the cream of the world’s off-road riders to Ireland. The layout for the bid is expected to be sent to the UCI by next month and if this is accepted as feasible, an official application will be lodged before the end of March. UCI officials would then travel to next year’s national championships in Bray, to determine if the necessary standard would be in place before final approval could be given. ‘We were out in Bray today (Sunday) to look at possible courses’, said MTB Commission chairman Geoff Seymour. ‘The UCI require countries bidding for world cup events to run cross-country, downhill and four cross races in the one venue in the year beforehand. We would do that at the nationals next July and so were looking to see where the three races could be held in Bray.’ Seymour will be staying on in his capacity as chairman and cross-country manager on the MTB commission, while Peter Popham will continue as downhill manager. There were changes to the commission at the AGM, though, with Brendan Kilbride taking over as PRO from Dave Gill, Stephen Merriman replacing Joe McCall in dealing with the area of facilities and Billy Ferguson succeeding Vincent Bradley as youth/developmental manager. Robert Lamont is responsible for junior cross country and facilities in Ulster, while Jim Smith is the assistant downhill manager. Many points and subjects were covered at the AGM, including a review of the year, the fine achievements of the downhill riders and an update on the campaigns of Robin Seymour and elite women Tarja Owens and Jenny McCauley to reach the Olympic qualification cut-off point. Details were also given of a new collaboration with Coillte which should result in a number of dedicated trails being set up by the forestry body. This is a big boost for the sport as it is taking mountainbiking out of the current grey area regarding permission to use mountains and forests for off-road riding. One area of concern expressed by the delegates was a perceived lack of interest from the board of Cycling Ireland. Pointing out that the downhill riders alone had collected over one thousand UCI points this year, one of those present expressed his belief that road racing still takes far greater priority in the minds of the current board. Another commented on the absence of senior representation from CI at the meeting, something which he said backed up the initial point. ‘Neither the CEO nor the President turned up at today’s meeting. I think that says something about the level of commitment of Cycling Ireland’, he said. PJ Nolan and Stuart Hallam may feel otherwise, but it appeared that many of those at the meeting believe that mountainbike racing is regarded as the poor cousin of road racing by CI. This is clearly a perception which will need to be addressed. SEYMOUR, MCCAULEY WIN AGAIN: (By Shane Stokes Sep 30) Robin Seymour and Jenny McCauley repeated their victories in the elite races at yesterday’s final round of the Cycling Ireland national league in Rostrevor, taking the maximum points on offer in the E2 world-ranked race. The result echoed their wins in last Sunday’s Pog Challenge near Roundwood, which was also an E2 event. As was the case a week ago, the world ranking points on offer attracted a number of riders from abroad. The good turnout and the new course ensured the race was a big success, with many riders giving the thumbs up afterwards to the circuit which incorporated long steep climbs and tricky technical descents. Seymour made his move on the second lap, riding hard to distance the rest of the field and steadily building his lead from that point on. He finished almost six minutes clear of English rider Adrian Lansley (Pedalon.co.uk) with the Trek UK rider Phil Dixon a further 48 seconds behind. Fourth place went to Sorrento’s Thomas Jensen, the sixteen year old showing his promise once more after a strong ride in the Outsider Magazine Pog Challenge. Team WORC’s Peter Buggle rode well to take fifth, with Scottish rider Chris Cole (Midlothain RT) in sixth. Jenny McCauley had little problems in winning the women’s event, ending the race 4 minutes and 55 seconds clear of Israel’s Laurie Copans. Tarja Owens is still feeling the effects of her collarbone injury but put in another brave effort to take 3rd, and earn some more valuable UCI world ranking points. There was also a notable ride in the Junior race, where Sorrento CC’s Barry Nolan finished nine and a half minutes clear of XMTB’s Andrew McCullough. CI NPS round 6/NI league round 6, Rostrevor (E2 world-ranked event): Elite men: 1, Robin Seymour (Team Worc) 1 hour 58 mins 8 secs; 2, A. Lansley (Pedalon.co.uk) at 5 mins 52 secs; 3, P. Dixon (Trek UK) at 6 mins 40 secs; 4, T. Jensen (Sorrento CC) at 7 mins 25 secs; 5, P. Buggle (Team Worc) at 12 mins 8 secs; 6, C. Cole (Midlothain RT) at 14 mins 29 secs; 7, G. Kinning (XMTB) at 16 mins 25 secs; 8, P. Cooper (Blue Sky Cycles) at 16 mins 32 secs; 9, J. McCluskey (Team Worc) at 1 lap; 10, L. Ferguson (XMTB); 11, J. McCall (Team Worc); 12, D. King Smith (Team Worc); 13, M. Kenny (Team Worc); 14, T. Edgar (XMTB) all at 1 lap Elite women: 1, Jenny Brennan McCauley (Bray Wheelers) 1 hour 49 mins 4 secs; 2, L. Copans (Specialized Israel) at 4 mins 55 secs; 3, T. Owens (Team Worc) at 8 mins 56 s Secs Masters: 1, Peter McConville (Newry Wheelers) 1 hour 38 mins 28 secs; 2, R. Lamont (XMTB) at 1 min 39 secs; 3, P. Anderson (Banbridge CC) at 9 mins 39 secs; 4, M. O’Hagan (Newry Wheelers) at 1 lap; 5, A. Wallace (Northern CC); 6, H. Hubmann (unattached) both at 1 lap Veterans: 1, William Mulligan (Banbridge CC) 1 hour 19 mins 55 secs; 2, K. Jensen (Sorrento CC) at 3 mins 29 secs; 3, J. McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) at 5 mins 52 secs; 4, B. McGimpsey (XMTB) at 1 lap; 5, K. Thomas (Sorrento CC); 6, D. McCabe (unattached) both at 1 lap Junior: 1, Barry Nolan (Sorrento CC) 1 hour 35 mins 34 secs; 2, A. McCullough (XMTB) at 9 mins 27 secs; 3, K. Byrne (Newry Wheelers) at 20 mins 13 secs; 4, S. Curran (Banbridge CC) at 26 mins 34 secs Sports: 1, Stuart Galloway (Team Worc) 1 hour 58 mins 52 secs; 2, G. McCrory (Team Madigan) at 1 min 34 secs; 3, R. McMahon (unattached) at 4 mins 43 secs; 4, J. Oram (unattached) at 10 mins 27 secs; 5, D. McGann (unattached) at 17 mins 38 secs Underage: Under 10: 1, Robbie Lamont (XMTB) 13 minutes 17 seconds; 2, M. Runnciman (Banbridge CC) at 8 secs; 3, D. Runnciman (Banbridge CC) at 2 mins 32 secs; 4, C. Oakley (XMTB) at 3 mins 53 secs; 5, C. Oakely (XMTB) at 1 lap; 6, J. Curry (unattached) at 1 lap Under 12: 1, Jonathan Beers (XMTB) 15 mins 33 secs; 2, M. Gordon (XMTB) at 50 secs; 3, W. Boyd (XMTB) at 1 min 3 secs; 4, J. Laird (XMTB) at 2 mins 10 secs Under 14: 1, Christopher Jensen (Sorrento CC) 26 mins 39 secs; 2, C. Brown (XMTB) at 1 min 12 secs; 3, N. McGimpsey (XMTB) at 1 min 20 secs; 4, N. McCormick (Banbridge CC) at 1 min 21 secs; 5, G. Boyd (XMTB) at 2 mins 4 secs; 6, A. Gidfery (XMTB) at 3 mins 56 secs Under 16: 1, Connor McConvey (XMTB) 57 mins 35 secs; 2, M. Ferguson (XMTB) at 5 mins 5 secs; 3, E. Sheridan (MOB CC) at 13 mins 32 secs; 4, S. Kennedy (unattached) at 28 mins 10 secs SEYMOUR, McCAULEY TAKE TOP POINTS: (By Shane Stokes Sep 22) Robin Seymour and Jenny McCauley won the Elite races at yesterday’s Outsider Magazine Pog 3.5 Challenge in Ballinastoe Wood, near Roundwood. The event was a big success with a large number of riders signing on for the tough cross-country event, which took place over one big loop of 25 kilometres. Present were several overseas competitors, who made the journey to chase the UCI world ranking points on offer for the E2 event. As expected, Athens 2004 aspirant Seymour rode strongly on the hilly, technical course, drawing clear of most of the field in the first few kilometres and then disposing of closest rivals Adrian Lansely (Pedalon Cycles) and the highly impressive 16 year old rider Thomas Jensen (Sorrento CC) on the first long climb. See Pictures Here.... From that point on Seymour continued to open up his advantage, digging deep in an effort to establish a buffer which would give him some breathing room in the event of a puncture or mechanical problem. Jensen and Lansley continued together until the former had trouble with his chain. He got moving again but didn’t manage to regain contact with Lansley during the race. Seymour raced home to take the 20 points on offer for first place, thus furthering his chances of staying inside the world’s top fifty and so achieving qualification for Ireland for next year’s Olympics, while Lansley finished 3 minutes and 51 seconds back. Jensen was just 32 seconds further back, recording the third fastest time of the day, dominating the junior race, and posting a clear sign of his future potential.
‘I got clear of Adrian on the first climb and then just concentrated on getting a decent gap’, said Seymour at the finish. ‘I really needed to win today and at the E2 next week in order to build up world ranking points, and so I had to make sure I had a bit of room in case I punctured or anything else happened. That said, I had to ride carefully and not do anything too silly on the technical bits.’ Lansley was happy with his race. ‘I enjoyed it a lot. It is a great course, very different to normal…there is so much to take in as you are seeing it for the first time, so it really challenges your skill. That is an advantage in other ways, though…because you don’t know what climbs are coming up, you don’t worry too much about them.’
‘I am very happy with the race, I went better than I thought I would. I am only 16 years of age and they are elite riders, so I am pleased. I won the Irish and Danish mtb championships this year, I plan on going to cycling school near Copenhagen in October – that should be good for my development. It is like a sport academy…I will be doing normal classes, but the main focus there is on sport.’ Jenny McCauley punctured in the closing stages and so was happy she had build a big gap. ‘It was a good job I was a fair bit ahead, as I punctured on the last single track and had to run the uphill and flat sections. I found the course to be hard, I was riding a lot of it blind. Normally you would be doing laps and so you get to know what to expect, but this race was just one big loop with a lot of technical stuff. Getting the points was pretty important…I think it is impossible to qualify for the Olympics on an individual basis on this stage, but if myself and Tarja can do well in the remaining races, there is a chance that our combined total will qualify Ireland through the team standings.’ Tarja Owens echoed this. ‘We will have to get as many points as possible between us and see if that is enough. It is kind of disheartening as I haven’t been able to get many points lately due to my collarbone injury. It was very sore today, especially as I fell twice during the race. On one of the falls I put my arm out and came down on it…I thought it was broken again, but I was able to keep going. Hopefully it will heal quickly, as I have to try to do well in the remaining races.’ In the other events, the junior, veterans and masters races went to Thomas Jensen, William Mulligan (Banbridge CC) and Peter McConville (Newry Wheelers). Robert Crommentuyn (W.V Eemland) won the sports event, while Darren Quille (Newbridge CC), Chris Jensen (Sorrento CC) and William Boyd (XMTB) were best in the shorter underage contests. Outsider Magazine Pog 3.5 Challenge, Ballinastoe Wood, Roundwood. See Pictures Here.... Elite: 1, Robin Seymour (Team Worc) 1 hour 18 mins 52 secs; 2, Adrian Lansley (Pedalon Cycles) at 3 mins 51 secs; 3, Glen Kinning (XMTB) at 8 mins 34 secs; 4, James McCluskey (Team Worc) at 8 mins 41 secs; 5, Phil Cooper (Blue Sky cycles) at 9 mins 58 secs; 6, Peter Buggle (Team Worc) at 11 mins 23; 7, Dave King Smith (Team Worc) at 14 mins 24 secs; 8, Joe McCall (Team Worc) at 17 mins 13; 9, Lewis Ferguson (XMTB) at 17 mins 43 secs; 10, D. Healy (Dublin Skip) at 21 mins 39 secs Women: 1, Jenny McCauley (Bray Wheelers) 1 hour 39 mins 41 secs; 2, Beth McCluskey (IMBRC) at 4 mins 1 secs ; 3, Tarja Owens (Team Worc) at 8 mins 8 secs; 4, Laurie Copans (Specialised Israel) at 12 mins 32 secs; 5, Aimi Baker (Team Worc)at 41 mins 36 secs; 6, Elaine Quinnlan (unattached) at 1 hour 11 mins 47 secs Junior: 1, Thomas Jensen (Sorrento CC) 1 hour 23 mins 17 secs (third fastest time of the day); 2, Barry Nolan (Sorrento CC) at 7 mins 4 secs; 3, Chris Bermingham (IMBRC) at 25 mins 16 secs; 4, Patrick Semple (Sorrento CC) at 37 mins 34 secs; 5, Brian Conway (IMBRC) at 55 mins 14 secs Masters: 1, Peter McConville (Newry Wheelers) 1 hour 32 mins 37 secs; 2, Robert Lamont (XMTB) at 1 min 40 secs; 3, John Doris (Sorrento CC) at 3 mins 1 secs; 4, Ken Farrar (Team Worc) at 9 mins 17 secs; 5, Martin O'Hagan (Newry Wheelers) at 22 mins 41 secs; 6, Peter Neville (St. Finbar's CC) at 28 mins 28 secs Veterans: William Mulligan (Banbridge CC) 1 hour 37 mins 9 secs; 2, Knud Jensen (Sorrento CC) at 10 secs; 3, John McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) at 3 mins 44 secs; 4, Paul McCann (Banbridge CC) at 5 mins 18 secs; 5, Eamon McConvey (Xplosive) at 25 mins 10 secs; 6, Karl Thomas (Sorrento CC) at 31 mins 34 secs Sport: 1, Robert Crommentuyn (W.V Eemland) 1 hour 44 mins 52 secs; 2, Andrew Newman (unattached) at 23 secs; 3, Stuart Galloway (Team Worc) at 1 min 18 secs; 4, Darren McGann (unattached) at 4 mins 56 secs; 5, Ross McClure (Bray Wheelers) at 7 mins 52 secs; 6, Sean Heirlehey (Team Worc) at 9 mins 39 secs Under 16: 1, Darren Quille (Newbridge CC) 50 mins 56 secs; 2, Connor McConvey (XMTB) at 2 mins 15 secs; 3, Matthew Ferguson (XMTB) at 5 mins 37 secs; 4, Eoin Sheridan (MOB Cycling Club) at 7 mins 41 secs; 5, David Gordon (XMTB) at 9 mins 23 secs; 6, James McGuire (unattached) at 15 mins 17 secs. DNF: Mark McLean (unattached) Under 14: 1, Chris Jensen (Sorrento CC) 25 mins 54 secs; 2, Nathan McCormick (Banbridge CC) at 1 min 44 secs; 3, Christy Brown (XMTB) at 1 min 50 secs; 4, Graham Boyd (XMTB) at 2 mins 28 secs; 5, Neil McGempsey (XMTB) at 2 mins 31 secs; 6, Andrew Godfrey (XMTB) at 4 mins 44 secs Under 12: 1, William Boyd (XMTB) 34 mins 19 secs; 2, Michael Gordon (XMTB) at 1 min 58 secs ; 3, Mark Fitzsimons (Newbridge CC) at 5 mins 55 secs; 4, Jack McAllister (unattached) at 17 mins 37 secs POPHAM WINS BRITISH SERIES: (By Shane Stokes Sep 22) Promising junior riders Jamie Popham and Ben Reid made history yesterday when they finished first and second overall in the British Downhill Series in Gryn Moelfre, Powys in Wales. No rider from outside the UK had ever won the series, but Popham’s fourth place yesterday was enough to ensure his triumph. He had won the first two races in the junior series earlier this year and rode well in the remaining races to hold onto his lead. Ben Reid took his second straight win yesterday and so finished second overall, making it an Irish one-two. Both riders have impressed greatly this year, with Popham finishing fifth in the European championships and Reid placing eleventh in the World championships, despite a crash during his run. POPHAM IN POLE POSITION: (By Shane Stokes Sep 17) Promising young downhiller Jamie Popham will take part in the final round of the British Downhill NPS this weekend, vying to become the first non-British rider to win a NPS series in the UK. Popham has ridden strongly in the series all season and has a twelve- point lead. Ben Reid is currently in second place and should hold on with a good result, making an Irish one-two very possible. Popham and Reid have impressed greatly this season. In August Popham was fifth in the European championships, while earlier this month Reid was eleventh in the world championships, despite a crash.
Jenny McCauley fared best of the cross-country squad, picking up 25 world-ranking points for her 51st place. Tarja Owens was again under pressure due to her collarbone injury but persisted to finish 67th, adding 9 points to her accumulated total. Robin Seymour showed signs of fatigue from his heavy racing programme of late, feeling off-form and finishing outside the points in 76th position in the men’s event. MTB World Cup 6, Kaprun, Austria: Downhill: 1, David Vazquez Lopez (Spain) 2 mins 35.2 secs; 2, G. Minnaar (South Africa) 2 mins 36.6 secs; 3, N. Rennie (Australia) 2 min 37 secs; 4, M. Marosi (Czech Republic) 2 mins 37.4; 5, F. Barel (France) 2 mins 39.6 Irish: 35, G. O’Brien, 2 mins 56.9 secs; 55, J. Popham, 3 mins 5.2 secs Semi-Finals: 1, Fabien Barel (France) 2 mins 3.5 secs; 2, Minnaar, 2 mins 38.3; 3, M. Berchtold (Brazil) 2 mins 43.9 secs Irish: 49, O’Brien, 3 mins 4.2 secs; 54, Popham, 3 mins 5.5 secs; 85, C. Ross, 3 mins 15.9; 86, W. Corry, 3 mins 16.6; 92, B. Reid, 3 mins 19.7; 105, J. Lawlor, 3 mins 24.1; 162, A. Clogher, 4 mins 15.9; DNF: A. Smith Cross-country: 1, Gunn-Rita Dahle (Merida International) 1 hour 54 mins 23 secs; 2, S. Spitz (Merida International) at 1 min 50 secs; 3, M.H. Premont (Oryx) at 2 mins 16 secs; 4, I. Kalentieva (Merida International) at 2 mins 50 secs; 5, N. Gohl (Germany) at 3 mins 37 secs Irish: 51, J. McCauley, at 1 lap; 67, T. Owens, at 2 laps Men: 1, Filip Meirhaeghe (Specialized Mountain Bike) 2 hours 18 mins 32 secs; 2, T. Frischknecht (Switzerland) at 44 secs; 3, J. Absalon (Motorex Bianchi) at 1 min 11 secs; 4, C. Sauser (Siemens Mobile Cannondale) at 1 min 33 secs; 5, R. Paulissen (Siemens Mobile Cannondale) at 1 min 44 secs Irish: 76, R. Seymour, at 2 laps REID ELEVENTH IN WORLD DH CHAMPIONSHIPS, POPHAM SIXTEENTH: (By Shane Stokes Sep 8) Irish junior champion Ben Reid had an excellent ride in the downhill world championships in Lugano, Switzerland yesterday, placing eleventh in the junior race. The fastest time was set by Australian Samuel Hill, four minutes and 39.49 seconds, with Reid recording a time of 5 minutes 5.99 seconds, less than half a second outside the top ten. His performance is all the more notable as he crashed during his run, losing vital time. Jamie Popham was four and a half seconds further back, placing a fine sixteenth, while Andy Smith was a respectable 39th of 70 finishers. Taken along with their other good results this year (including Popham's fifth at the European champs) this latest showing suggests the future should be a bright one for Irish downhill racing. In the Elite event, Glyn O’Brien was best of the Irish riders in placing 45th. John Lawlor, Andrew Yoong and Colin Ross were 56th, 76th and 88th respectively, with the medals going to victorious South African Greg Minnaar plus the French duo Mickael Pascal and Fabien Barel. The women’s race saw French rider Anne-Caroline Chausson take her seventh elite downhill title, a stunning record. There were no Irish entrants in this event. 2003 MTB World championships, Lugano, Switzerland. Downhill: Elite Men: 1, Greg Minnaar (South Africa) 4 mins 37.78 secs; 2, M. Pascal (France) 4 mins 38.7 secs; 3, F. Barel (France) 4 mins 39.11 secs; 4, S. Peat (Great Britain) 4 mins 40.15 secs; 5, C. Kovarik (Australia) 4 mins 42.29 secs Irish: 45, G. O’Brien; 56, J. Lawlor; 76, A. Yoong; 88, C. Ross Elite Women: 1, Anne-Caroline Chausson (France) 5 mins 10.23 secs; 2, S. Jonnier (France) 5 mins 22.64 secs; 3, N. Le Caer (France) 5 mins 27.69 secs; 4, T. Moseley (Great Britain) 5 mins 33.31 secs; 5, F. Griffiths (Great Britain) 5 mins 35.06 secs Junior Men: 1, Samuel Hill (Australia) 4 mins 39.49 secs; 2, G. Atherton (Great Britain) 4 mins 50.49 secs; 3, C. Kurtz (France) 4 mins 54.47 secs; 4, K. Strait (USA) 4 mins 57.56 secs; 5, D. Riffle (USA) 4 mins 59.57 secs Irish: 11, B. Reid, 5 mins 5.99 secs; 16, J. Popham, 5 mins 9.34 secs; 39, A. Smith, 5 mins 28.62 secs SEYMOUR ON VERGE OF OLYMPIC PLACE: (By Shane Stokes Sep 8) Robin Seymour today moved ever closer to Olympic qualification when he was 52nd in the men’s cross-country event at the mountainbike world championships in Switzerland, adding more crucial world ranking points to his total. Jenny McCauley was 54th of the women, taking 47 points, while the injured Tarja Owens courageously limped through the same race to finish 69th. She cracked her collarbone two weeks ago but managed to salvage 32 world ranking points with her ride. ‘Robin picked up 49 points today, 8 more than his ride in the worlds two years ago, and now has a total of 454,’ said team manager Geoff Seymour this afternoon. ‘The rankings are due to be updated this week but I think he will be about 34th. With the first 50 to qualify automatically, things are looking pretty good. He didn’t really feel that good today…any of the guys who raced in the marathon championships last weekend seemed a bit below par in the race. But obviously he is happy to take those points.’ Seymour and Tarja Owens had decided before the race that she was going to take things easy, the pain of her cracked collarbone still a big factor. ‘Martin Earley was here and strapped her up well. We decided that she should take it very handy so that she does not have any additional problems for next week’s World Cup in Kaprun. She was lapped early on in the race but that was the plan, as she didn’t have to finish. The only goal today was to get some world ranking points. It is great that she got to do this, as when she crashed two weeks ago things looked pretty bad.’ Meanwhile Glen Kinning and Lewis Ferguson lined out in the under 23 and junior events yesterday. Kinning was four laps down in 61st place, while Ferguson took 54th in his event and was two laps in arrears. Cross country, elite men: 1, Filip Meirhaeghe (Belgium) 2 hours 25 mins 2 secs; 2, R. Hesjedal (Canada) at 46 secs; 3, R. Paulissen (Belgium) at 1 min 52 secs; 4, R. Naef (Switzerland) at 2 mins 41 secs; 5, B. Peters (Netherlands) at 2 mins 51 secs Other: 52, R. Seymour, at 2 laps Elite women: 1, Sabine Spitz (Germany) 2 hours 7 mins 59 secs; 2, A. Sydor (Canada) at 16 secs; 3, I. Kalentieva (Russia) at 1 min 59 secs; 4, I. Kraft (Germany) at 2 mins 58 secs; 5, M.H. Premont (Canada) at 4 mins 15 secs Other: 54, J. McCauley (Ireland) at 2 laps; 69, T. Owens, at 5 laps. Under 23: 1, Balz Weber (Switzerland) 43.1 kilometres in 2 hours 9 mins 45 secs (19.93 km/h); 2, M. Fumic (Germany) at 37 secs; 3, I. Alvarez (Spain) at 1 min 12 secs; 4, L. Killeen (Great Britain) at 1 min 34 secs; 5, N. Filippi (France) at 4 mins 58 secs Other: 61, G. Kinning (Ireland) at 4 laps Juniors: 1, Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic) 36 kilometres in 1 hour 51 mins 51 secs (19.79 km/h); 2, N. Schurter (Switzerland) at 2 mins 27 secs; 3, O. Yakymenko (Ukraine) at 4 mins 53 secs; 4, G. Fabry (France) at 7 mins 3 secs; 5, M. Plaxton (Canada) at 7 mins 28 secs Other: 54, L. Ferguson (Ireland) at 2 laps. OWENS BATTLES ON: (By Shane Stokes Sep 5) Tarja Owens has confounded expectations by travelling out to the world championships in Lugano, Switzerland, where she will line out the cross-country race this Sunday. The Olympic hopeful cracked her collarbone eleven days ago when she fell during the European championships, and was expected to be sidelined for four to five weeks. However, after receiving medical advice, she has entered this weekend’s race. All going well, Owens will pick up more world ranking points and so try to get back on track with regards to possible Olympic qualification. ‘Tarja started using the indoor trainer two days after her crash and has been working hard on it ever since’, says team manager Geoff Seymour. ‘She got medical advice which told her that she could start the race and travelled out today. She is feeling pretty good and will hopefully get on well in her race this weekend.’ Jenny McCauley and Robin Seymour are also chasing points towards the same goal, and will be part of the five-rider cross-country team on Sunday. Seymour is now well inside the world’s top fifty and on course to earn a place for Ireland in Athens, while Owens and McCauley must score heavily in the remaining events if they are to stand a chance. Glen Kinning and Lewis Ferguson complete the cross-country team, and will compete in the under 23 and junior events respectively. Nine downhill riders will also take part in the championships. Jamie Popham finished an excellent fifth in the European champs and together with Ben Reid and Andy Smith, will ride the junior race. The senior team comprises national champion Colin Ross, Glyn O’Brien, John Lawlor, Andrew Yoong and Will Corry.
Irish riders also took high placings in other races. Chris Juul-Jensen was fourth in the juvenile (under 14) event, 2 minutes and six seconds behind winner Adam Turner of the Newark Castle CC, while Nathan McCormack (Banbridge CC) and XMTB’s Christy Brown placed fifth and seventh in the same race. Knud Juul Jensen (MI Racing/Peugeot) was ninth in the veterans competition. Elsewhere in the UK, Brian Kenneally was a strong runner-up in the tough 95 mile Tour of the Peaks, crossing the line 19 seconds behind breakaway companion Mark Lovatt (Life Repair/Litespeed), who took his sixth win in the hilly event. Kenneally went clear early on with Lovatt, Paul Manning (VC St Raphael) and Team fakta professional Julian Winn. This group was reduced to two by the halfway point, with Winn blowing up and a broken gear cable spelling the end to Manning’s chances. Lovatt and Kenneally carried on together to build a strong lead over a four man chase group, comprising Malcolm Elliot (Pinarello RT), Chris Newton (Cormia RT), John Tanner (Life Repair) and Kenneally’s team-mate Tim Barry. Lovatt made his winning move in the final few miles, with Kenneally finishing a fine second and Barry crossing the line in sixth, three minutes and 46 seconds off the winning time. Tour of the Peaks, Derbyshire: 1, Mark Lovatt (Life Repair) 95 miles in 3 hours 59 mins 33 secs; 2, B. Kenneally (Cidona Carrick Wheelers) at 19 secs; 3, M. Elliott (Pinarello RT) at 3 mins 30 secs; 4, C. Newton (Corima Road Team) same time; 5, J. Tanner (Life Repair) at 3 mins 36 secs; 6, T. Barry (Cidona Carrick Wheelers) at 3 mins 46 secs British Cycling NPS XC round 4, Sherwood Pines, Nottingham. Junior: 1, Lewis Ferguson (XMTB) 1 hour 21 mins 55 secs; 2, I. Bibby (Science in Sport) at 1 sec; 3, C. Langdon (ABG/Tomac/Bell) at 3 secs; Other Irish: 17, B. Nolan (Sorrento CC) at 9 mins 4 secs. Veterans: 1, Steve Jones (Pedalon. Co.Uk) 1 hour 25 mins 3 secs; 2, G. Clark (Evans Cycles RT) at 16 secs; 3, D. Nelson (Beyond Mountain Bikes) same time Irish: 9, K. Juul Jensen (MI Racing/Peugeot) at 3 mins 15 secs. Youth (under 16): 1, Thomas Juul-Jensen (MI Racing/Peugeot) 55 mins 16 secs; 2, J. Carling (Guernsey Velo Club) at 1 min 20 secs; 3, A. Atkins (Evans Cycles RT) at 1 min 41 secs. Other Irish: A. McCullough (XMTB) at 1 min 58 secs; 13, M. Ferguson (XMTB) at 4 mins 56 secs; 18, C. Convey (XMTB) at 5 mins 59 secs. Juvenile (under 14): 1, Adam Turner (Newark Castle CC) 27 mins 56 secs; 2, D. Feltcher (Sherwood Pines) at 11 secs; 3, A. Ford (Sowerby Brothers) at 1 min 7 secs. Irish: 4, C. Juul-Jensen (IMBRC) at 2 mins 6 secs; 5, N. McCormick (Banbridge CC) at 3 mins 5 secs; 7, C. Brown (XMTB) at 3 mins 34 secs POPHAM FIFTH IN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: (By Shane Stokes Aug 24) Talented young Irish downhiller Jamie Popham yesterday placed a superb fifth in the junior race at the European mountainbike championships in Graz, Austria, a scorching performance which confirms his promise in the sport. The Wicklow rider finished 13 seconds behind the gold medallist Gee Atherton of Great Britain and just one second off the bronze medal position. Fellow Irish riders Ben Reid, Andrew Smith and Greg O’Keefe also rode very strongly, finishing 20th, 24th and 29th in the race. The senior riders also performed with distinction at the championships, with John Lawlor a fine 22nd, 18 seconds off the winning time set by Frenchman Julien Camellini. National champion Colin Ross was eleven seconds further back in 37th, with Glyn O’Brien 46th and Will Corry 68th. O’Brien had previously finished an excellent eleventh in the four-cross race. Reid was 24th and O’Keefe 38th. European MTB Championships, Graz, Austria. Downhill, men: 1, Julien Camellini (France) 4 mins 40 secs; 2, M. Pascal (France) same time; 3, M. Deldycke (France) at 5 secs; 4, D. Vazquez Lopez (Spain) same time; 5, P. Canals Flix (Spain) at 6 secs Irish: 22, J. Lawlor, at 18 secs; 37, C. Ross, at 29 secs; 46, G. O’Brien, at 35 secs; 68, W. Corry, at 3 mins 44 secs Women:1, Anne-Caroline Chausson (France) 5 mins 24 secs; 2, M. Saner (Switzerland) at 12 secs; 3, N. Le Caer (France) at 22 secs; 4, H. Gaskell (Great Britain) at 23 secs; 5, C. Gros (France) at 27 secs DNS: Michelle Mc Cartney (Ireland) Junior Men: 1, Gee Atherton (Great Britain) 4 mins 45 secs; 2, R. Lescure (France) at 9 secs; 3, M. Beer (Switzerland) at 12 secs; 4, F. Cibelly (France) at 13 secs; 5, J. Popham, same time. Other: 20, B. Reid (Ireland) at 30 secs; 24, A. Smith (Ireland) at 33 secs; 29, G. O’Keefe (Ireland) at 42 secs 4 Cross: 1, M. Michal Prokop (Czech Republic); 2, L. Tamme (Czech Republic); 3, D. Holmes (Great Britain). Irish: 11, G. O’Brien; 24, B. Reid; 38, G. O’Keefe Women: 1, Chausson; 2, L. Le Corguille (France); 3, J. Horáková (Czech Republic) OWENS OLYMPIC HOPES FADE
WITH CRACKED COLLARBONE: (By
Shane Stokes Aug 24) There was bad news from
the women's European cross-country event today as Irish Olympic hope Tarja Owens
suffered a serious setback to her chances of reaching Athens when she crashed
and cracked her collarbone. The unlucky Wicklow
rider fell during the second lap of the race and was unable to finish the event,
which was won by Norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle in a time of 1 hour 41 mins 57 secs. 'This makes things much harder for her all right',
said the team manager Geoff Seymour today. 'We will
have to talk to Martin Earley (Owens' coach and physiotherapist) before we know
the full story, but it is likely that she will miss
several weeks. It is a real big shame as she was going very well and had been
running inside the top thirty before she crashed.' PEAT WINS BRAY DOWNHILL: (By Shane Stokes Aug 10) As expected, world number 1 Steve Peat (Team Orange England) was the clear winner of the Bray Credit Union Downhill challenge at the weekend, scorching down the course in a time of 2 minutes 4.102 seconds. The Team Orange England rider posted a time over seven seconds quicker than the next rider, his team-mate Mark Beaumont, with Glyn O’Brien (Touch Network Solutions) just over a second further back. Peat’s presence helped guarantee a big turnout of 110 riders, including a number of overseas competitors and these all had a rare opportunity to see how they shaped up against the world’s best downhiller. O’Brien and the junior winner Jamie Popham (Fiat LCV Racing) were quickest of the home contingent, with the latter showing potential beyond his youth when he rode strongly to post the fourth quickest time in the charge down Bray Head. He was 9 seconds behind Peat and so netted 13 UCI world-ranking points. The ladies race was won by Jaymie Mart from TDR Giant UK. Bray Downhill Challenge, Elite: 1, Steve Peat (Team Orange England) 2 mins 4.192 secs; 2, M. Beaumont (Team Orange England) 2 mins 11.114 secs; 3, G. O’Brien (Touch Network Solutions) 2 mins 12.206 secs; 4, C. Ross (Touch Network Solutions) 2 mins 13.179 secs; 5, J. Lawlor (Fiat LCV Racing) 2 mins 14.157 secs; 6, A. Yoong (Touch Network Solutions) 2 mins 14.157 secs; 7, P. Angus (Mojo Racing/Fox) 2 mins 14.596 secs; 8, A. Clogher (TC Racing) 2 mins 23.788 secs Junior: 1, Jamie Popham (Fiat LCV Racing) 2 mins 13.166 secs; 2, B. Reid (Plush) 2 mins 17.082 secs; 3, A. Sweeney (unattached) 2 mins 19.674 secs; 4, S. Parkinson (unattached) 2 mins 20.568 secs; 5, A. Florain (unattached) 2 mins 23.373 secs; 6, S. Jenkinson (unattached) 2 mins 23.88 secs Senior: 1, Keith Brock (unattached) 2 mins 25.753 secs; 2, J. O’Neill (unattached) 2 mins 32.794 secs; 3, N. Hunt (AB Racing) 2 mins 34.648; 4, C. Clarke (unattached) 2 mins 38.97; 5, A. Maxwell (AB Racing) 2 mins 40.587 secs; 6, Stephen Beirne (unattached) 2 mins 41.677 secs Women: 1, Jaymie Mart (TDR Giant UK/Fox/Spy) 2 mins 59.366 secs; 2, R. Atherton (Oris/Sram/Rockshock) 3 mins 16.804 secs; 3, M. McCartney (Chain Reaction) 3 mins 25.731 secs Masters: 1, Mark Dickson (Plush) 2 mins 32.069 secs; 2, J. Ward (unattached) 2 mins 33.605 secs; 3, S. Bell (Plush) 2 mins 37.091 secs; 4, A. Carson (unattached) 2 mins 45. 531 secs; 5, C. Young (unattached) 2 mins 46.299 secs; 6, N. Elder (unattached) 2 mins 56.127 secs Veterans: 1, Peter Popham (Fiat LCV) 3 mins 10.744 secs; 2, D. Cowan (Plush) 3 mins 27.614 secs; 3, P. Maginn (SMG Racing) 4 mins 2.474 secs Under 16: 1, Conor Duffy (unattached) 2 mins 35.202 secs; 2, R. Smith (SMG Racing) 2, mins 28.528 secs; 3, S. McClintock (unattached) 2 mins 28.693 secs; 4, M. Nugent (Cyclone Cycles) 2 mins 29.104 secs; 5, W. Erwin (unattached) 2 mins 32.482 secs; 6, M. Kelly (unattached) 2 mins 35.108 secs Under 14: 1, Matthew Parkinson (Imperial Racing) 2 mins 30.952 secs; 2, N. Wolfe (unattached) 2 mins 38.768 secs; 3, P. Cummins (KCT) 2 mins 41.627 secs; 4, C. Lawlor (unattached) 2 mins 52.633 secs; 5, L. McTiernan (unattached) 3 mins 6.58 secs; 6, B. Davis (KCT) 3 mins 17.541 secs Top 10 fastest (score UCI points): 1, Steve Peat; 2, Beaumont; 3, O’Brien; 4, Popham; 5, Ross; 6, Lawlor; 7, Yoong; 8, Angus; 9, Reid; 10, Sweeney
|
Thomas Juul-Jensen:
I was going into 4th year at St. Andrew's College in Dublin and then we
discovered a school in Denmark which has a class that caters for the best u/16
road racers in the country and I thought why not??
IC: Are you there to improve your road or mountain
bike form? 
IRISH
DUO KEEP OLYMPIC HOPES ALIVE: (By
Shane Stokes Nov 10) An excellent performance by Tarja Owens and Jenny
McCauley in the Soham E1 world-ranked race in Israel over the weekend means that
the Irish duo remain on course to secure a possible Olympic place in next
Summer’s Athens 2004 mountainbike event. Owens finished a fine second in the
five lap, 45 kilometre women’s race, crossing the line one minute and 17
seconds behind the German winner Ivonne Kraft. McCauley was just over four
minutes further back, taking a strong fourth.
In
the women’s event, Jenny McCauley (Bray Wheelers) moved clear in the early
stages from IMBRC’s Beth McCluskey and Tarja Owens of the promoting Team Worc
club, the latter in considerable pain from her still-healing cracked collarbone.
McCauley rode strongly to record the eleventh best time of the day and finished
4 minutes clear of McCluskey, with Owens limping home a further four minutes
down in considerable discomfort.
O’BRIEN
BEST OF IRISH AT KAPRUN WORLD CUP: (By
Shane Stokes Sep 14) Glyn O’Brien was best of the Irish riders at the
final round of the MTB World Cup this weekend in Kaprun, placing 35th in the
downhill race behind Spanish victor David Vazquez Lopez. O’Brien was 21
seconds off the winning time, with junior entrant Jamie Popham just over 8
seconds further back in 55th place. The remaining Irish riders were outside the
top 80 in the semi-final.
SUCCESS
FOR ROAD AND MTB RIDERS IN UK: (By Shane
Stokes Sep