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Last Updated: Sep 9th, 2010 - 19:42:42 |
NPS Final in Dublin
The seventh and final round of the Irish Mountain Bike National Points Series was held on Sunday in Dublin’s Tymon Park, promoted by the IMBRC Club. This was the first time in a number of years that a major mtb event had been held in the city and what a great advert for mtb it turned out to be. The racing was fast and entertaining with many of Tymon Parks ‘normal’ Sunday morning residents stopping to have their first look at the sport of mtb. This type of circuit may not be popular to some; however these parkland type circuits are used in Britain and Europe and have even been used to host major UCI events.
Racing at Tymon Park began with the Youth events and yet again it was disappointing to see that most of the entrants where from the North. The honour of being the first 2007 NPS Champion fell to young Banbridge CC rider John Buller. John won the U-8 race in style, finishing the series unbeaten. Shannon Buller, John’s sister, held off the challenge from fellow Banbridge rider Richard Baird to take second, Shannon and Richard finished joint runners up in the points table. Special mention goes to young Banbridge lady Shenna McKiverigan who got entangled in course tape on the opening lap which saw her drop to last place. Shenna bravely fought back to finish in fourth.
The Banbridge Club celebrated another title when James Curry wrapped up the U-10 title with another convincing win, James finishing the season unbeaten. Top Under 10 lady Rachel Mayne (Banbridge CC) collected another second place with Newry’s Cian McConvey in third. Rachel Mayne and fellow Bann rider share second place in the final rankings.
Two of the top contenders in the U-12 Class, Dan Runciman and Chris Oakley missed out on Sunday’s race as they where racing in the Irish Youth Road Champs in Waterford. Their absence allowed Tymon U-12 winner Zak Hanna (Dromara CC) to snatch second overall in the league standings. Dan Runciman (Banbridge CC) takes the U-12 crown from Zak Hanna and Chris Oakley. Young Dubliner David Fitzharris finished runner up at Tymon.
The U-14 race produced a start to finish win for Banbridge rider Matt Adair, a result that confirmed him as Irish U-14 League Champion in what has been his first full season in racing. Matt’s next outing will be the fourth round of the British NPS in Plymouth, last time out at Margam Park he finished fourth, this after being last on the opening lap after having to stop to fix a rear wheel problem. Having just joined Team Worc, Robert Scanlon finished runner up to Matt, a fine result for Robert who has gone from strength to strength this year. Runner up in the League was Banbridge rider Michael Runciman, he was in Waterford on Sunday at the Road Champs.
The M.A.D. Club had good cause to celebrate when Shane Geoghegan’s third place in the U-16 race gave him enough points to grab the U-16 title. The race was won by XMTB’s William Boyd with Taudhg Griffin runner up. XMTB’s Chris Cameron was runner up in the series with Willam Boyd third and Sorrento’s Conal Higgins in fourth.
The mini powerhouse that is known as Paul ‘Superman’ Foley scored a convincing win in the Sports Men’s race held over four high speed laps of the course. Foley was quite simply in a class of his own as he swept to both the race win and the title. Runner up was IMBRC’s Joe Jones with Brian O’Driscoll (Orwell) in third. The two riders that provided the main threat to Foley in the battle for the title had a day to forget. IMBRC rider Colm Keane had to stop on the opening lap to fix a broken chain, fighting back at a relentless pace to eventually finish 17th and runner up in the race for the title. Ulster based Michael Holland (Lakeland CC) has been suffering a lack of form for the last few weeks which has caused him major frustration. On Sunday Michael finished in 12th giving him third overall just five points down on Keane.
As expected Newry rider Anne Duffy clinched the Sports Women’s title with a brilliant start to finish win. Having her first ever race Rachel Wisdom finished runner up much to the delight of her coach, a certain Robin Seymour. Banbridge lady Nicola Oldham celebrated the end of her first NPS campaign by finishing third and taking second overall in the series, Nicola giving the time keepers a rendition of ‘the star of the county down’ as she rode past! Congratulations also to Marta Bonikowska who finished fourth in her first race.
The Elite Men’s race was a ten lap affair with the early stages serving up a classic dual between Peter Buggle (Team Worc) and Banbridge CC rider Roger Aiken. This encounter ended when Aiken punctured and by the time he rejoined the action he found himself in last place behind Ryan Sherlock (MAD) and James McCluskey (Team Worc), Buggle well clear in the lead.
Over the second part of the race Aiken set about climbing the leader board, eventually reaching second place. For winner Buggle it was another useful work out, the ageless wonder still troubled by the shoulder injury sustained in Ballinastoe in May. McCluskey finished in third and the MAD Club celebrated another title as third placed Sherlock took the Elite crown, the former basketball ace taking the crown ahead of Buggle and McCluskey.
Beth McCluskey looked to be on course for another victory in the seven lap Womens Elite race, however the Epic rider was forced to retire with mechanical problems on the third lap. With McCluskey a reluctant spectator the new leader was UCD rider Cait Elliott who proceeded to score her fourth win of the series and take the title with McCluskey runner up. Mel Spath rode well to finish runner up in the race, the MAD rider finishing third in the final rankings.
The Junior race (7 laps) saw an opening lap showdown between Banbridge rider Liam McGreevy and IMBRC’s Paul O’Reilly with the back on form Graham Boyd (XMTB) a close third. Just after starting lap two O’Reilly had to stop to cure a mechanical, this letting Boyd into second. Towards the end of the third lap McGreevy suffered a nasty spill when his bike went out of control and he ended up smacking his right leg on a tree trunk. With the leg swelling quickly, the paramedic had the Bann rider taken to hospital as a precaution. Thankfully the fears that the young rider had sustained a broken leg were cured when the injury was diagnosed as nothing more than bad muscle bruising. Back at Tymon Boyd went on to secure a much needed win with a somewhat dejected O’Reilly in second. O’Reilly did however take the Junior title with Boyd runner up and MAD’s Steve Scrivener third.
The Experts race was a seven lap high speed thriller involving the Team Worc quartet of Phil Roache, Yvain Sugno, Richard Felle and Evan Ryan and IMBRC’s Dave Barry. The action provided by these riders was top class. Roache eventually took the win for the second week in succession with Sugno again runner up. A great effort in the closing laps saw Barry claim third from Ryan as Felle had to be content with fifth, the young Worc rider still recovering from illness. In the final points table Sugno, who dominated the early rounds, took the title with Barry runner up and Felle in third.
The Masters race provided the awesome Joe McCall (Rocky Mountain/K-Capital) with his fifth win from the five races he entered. McCall was quite simply in a class of his own as he romped to victory. Mark Allen was runner up with Craig Brady third. McCall took the Masters title with his nearest rival Gordon Lucas (Team Worc) having to settle for second, Lucas suffering dnf’s in the last two rounds due to a chest infection. Peter O’Farrell missed the last two rounds but still finished third overall.
The battle of the ‘oldies’ or Vets as it is better known provided six laps of all out action and close finishes. The race was won by XMTB’s Robbie Lamont, the tree trunk legged Belfast rider leading from start to finish. Runner up was Cuchulainn’s Gerry McCabe complete with his new scar face image. Gerry recently suffered a terrible head injury after hitting the back of a van while out on a new triathlon bike. In the accident Gerry received 28 stitches and required three pints of blood. Gladly Gerry has fully recovered and second place on Sunday gave him the Vets title. Irish Vet riders may be interested in the news that Clan McCabe may miss the National Champs due to overseas triathlon commitments!
Newry’s Peter McConville just pipped IMBRC’s Mick Jordan for third and in an equally close finish John O’Reilly(Epic) and his bionic elbow outsprinted Johnny McCabe to the line for fifth.
Well done to all at IMBRC for an excellent event, a great promotion for the sport of MTB. An interested spectator at Tymon was former motorcycle racing star Woolsey Coulter who for many years used and still does use mountain biking as part of fitness training. Back in the early ninties Woolsey beat a young Italian rider called Max Biaggi in a European 250cc Championship race at Mondello Park!
IRISH NPS FINAL RANKINGS
Elite Men
1 Ryan Sherlock MAD 122
2 Peter Buggle Team Worc 90
3 James McCluskey Team Worc 67
4 Roger Aiken Banbridge CC 55
5 Simon McConnell MTB Rider 46
6 Lewis Ferguson Team BHB 30
Master Men
1 Joe McCall Rocky Mountain 150
2 Gordon Lucas Team Worc 96
3 Peter O'Farrell U/A 81
4 Stuart Galloway Team Worc 64
5 Paul Anderson Banbridge CC 60
6 Andrew Wallace Northern/Dave Kane 56
7 Mark Allen Red Kite 50
8 Damian Mulchrone Epic 46
8 Noel Carr MAD 46
10 Brian Stewart Usher RC 40
11 Craig Brady U/A 39
12 Niall Quinlan My Home.ie/Cycleways 37
13 Oscar MacCananey Epic 35
14 Ian Sutton Team Worc 32
15 Derek Hanna Dromara CC 31
15 Tony Brennan Bray 31
17 Clive Caldwell U/A 26
18 Gordon Byrne Team Worc 24
19 Fergal Kilkenny MAD 23
20 Danny Hylands East Antrim Audi 22
21 John Mason My Home.ie/Cycleways 21
22 Dave Gill Team Worc 18
22 John Dorris Sorrento 18
22 Keith Meghan U/A 18
25 Jim Laird XMTB 17
25 Morgan O Connell MAD 17
27 Keith Meehen U/A 16
28 Martin O'Hagan Newry Wheelers 14
28 Rory Walsh EPIC 14
30 Joe Jackman EPIC 13
31 Robert Crommentuym MAD 12
31 Vinnie Fitzsimmons Team Worc 12
33 Gary Gray Dromara CC 10
33 Jules Dormer Lucan 10
33 Maurice Ruddock Phoenix CC 10
33 Ruairi Devoy EPIC 10
37 Stanislaw Drapala 8
38 Alan Ayling EPIC 7
38 Brian Keogh U/A 7
38 Dave O'Shea U/A 7
41 Sebastian Szarkowicz 6
42 Brian O'Driscal Orwell 5
42 Cormac Ahern 5
44 David Dowdall Dolmen 3
45 Mick Fleming U/A 2
Elite Women
1 Cait Elliott UCD 145
2 Beth McCluskey U/A 90
3 Melanie Spath MAD 89
4 Inga Doak MAD 46
Expert Men
1 Yvain Sugno Team Worc 135
2 Dave Barry IMBRC 123
3 Richard Felle Team Worc 112
4 Philip Roche Team Worc 85
5 Oisin Boydell UCD 77
6 Evan Ryan Team Worc 69
7 Luke Manning IMBRC 67
8 David O'Neill Swords 62
9 Sean Downey MAD 36
10 Alan Clogher TC Racing 27
10 Andras Gercsenyi My Home.ie/Cycleways 27
12 Tim Edgar XMTB 21
13 Darragh Maloney MBUL 20
14 Alfie Wallace Epic 19
15 Ben Morrow East Antrim Audi 18
15 Conor Campbell Newry Wheelers 18
15 Luke Smaul EPIC 18
18 Damian Duggan EPIC 16
18 Wayne Morrow East Antrim Audi 16
20 Alex Pinheiro MAD 14
20 Michael Barton Team Worc 14
22 Dwayne McCreadie North Down 12
22 Brian Conway 12
24 Nick Ross IMBRC 11
24 Paul Byrne Team Worc 11
26 Paddy Daly Rocky Mountain 10
27 Luso konopha 9
28 Oisin Fitzgerald 8
29 Nigel Shekleton 6
Junior Men
1 Paul O'Reilly IMBRC 136
2 Graham Boyd XMTB 101
3 Steve Scrivener MAD 51
4 Andrew Hunter Northern/Dave Kane 46
5 Sean Downey Banbridge CC 30
5 Liam McGreevy Banbridge CC 30
7 Neill McGimpsey XMTB 25
Vet Men
1 Gerry McCabe Cuchulainn 130
2 Paul McMenamin Specialized/Leisure Lakes 103
3 Robert Lamont XMTB 97
4 Aiden McDonald Apollo CT 90
5 Johnny McCabe Cuchulainn 89
6 John O'Reilly Epic 76
7 Steve Nicholson Team Worc 65
8 Andrew Burns Orchard Wheelers 62
9 Jon Runciman Banbridge CC 54
10 Paul Coyne Team Worc 53
11 Simon Curry Banbridge CC 52
12 William Mulligan Banbridge CC 40
13 Declan McCabe Cuchulainn 31
14 Maurice Mayne Banbridge CC 26
15 Gary Wilson East Antrim Audi 24
15 Eamon McConvey Newry Wheelers 24
17 Conal Higgins Sorrento CC 21
17 Peter McConvey 21
19 Michael Jordan 18
20 Eamon McConvey XMTB 17
21 Richie Byrne Epic 15
22 Paraig Bonnie U/A 14
23 Paul Maguire U/A 8
23 Les Walpole 8
25 Ian Gillespie Orchard Wheelers 4
26 Trevor Annett Dromara CC 3
27 Adriam McMendal U/A 2
Sport Men
1 Paul Foley U/A 118
2 Colm Keane IMBRC 98
3 Michael Holland Lakeland CC 93
4 Joe Jones IMBRC 86
5 Seamus Byrne Cuchulainn 85
6 Ronan Corrigan Ulster 65
7 Daniel Kurpisz MAD 64
8 Gareth Maguire IMBRC 60
9 David Askin Lucan 46
10 Arkadiusz Gogojewicz MAD 43
11 Stephen Hugh U/A 40
12 Brian O Driscoll Orwell 39
13 Ross Galway Dromara CC 38
14 Ben Morrow East Antrim Audi 30
14 Graham Diamond MAD 30
16 Michael Cowan Chain Reaction Cycles 28
17 Peter Leczycki Sopot Killers 27
18 Cathal McCarthy IMBRC 25
18 Robert Magee Nomad 25
20 Dave O'Brien IMBRC 20
20 Martin Grimley Dromara CC 20
22 Stewart Carr Epic 19
23 Hagan Vogal 18
24 Niall Donavan MBCC 16
25 David Neill U/A 14
26 Andrew Jones IMBRC 13
27 James Hayes MBUL 12
27 Niall Oconnor 12
27 Stephen Prentice Banbridge CC 12
30 Ben Marchant IMBRC 11
30 Mark McCormack Epic 11
30 Paddy O'Brien MAD 11
30 Steven Stewart Team Madigan 11
34 David McIntyre U/A 10
34 Paul Keogh 10
36 Kevin Stanley 9
36 Niall Clarke Cuchulainn 9
36 Karl Dempsey 9
39 Connor Conneff MAD 8
39 Huw Thomas MBUL 8
39 Niall Colman 8
42 Dale McMullan Chain Reaction Cycles 7
42 Fran Kearns EPIC 7
42 Jer Price U/A 7
42 Robert Drohan MBUL 7
46 Cornelius Duffy IMBRC 5
46 Fanos Rombaw Sopot Killers 5
46 Owen Hennessy 5
49 Christain Durhaus MAD 4
49 Daragh O Connor 4
49 Liam Baxter Newry Wheelers 4
49 Ronnie Ogilby XMTB 4
49 Vincent Price U/A 4
54 Cormac Ahern MAD 3
54 Graham Staney MBCC 3
54 Kenneth Nally U/A 3
54 Nigel McConnell MAD 3
58 Brian Finnegan Epic 2
58 Conor Graham XMTB 2
58 Ian Heald UL 2
58 Joe Foley 2
58 Martin McCarthy U/A 2
58 Paul McNally East Antrim Audi 2
58 Robert Higgins UCD 2
58 Rudolf Brinkman 2
66 Adrian McMenamin U/A 1
66 Barry O Brien 1
66 David Conway U/A 1
66 Fran Gibson 1
66 Frank Rielly 1
66 Jeremy Heffernan MBCC 1
66 Jim Furlong U/A 1
66 Oisin Fitzgerald MAD 1
66 Oliver Castle 1
66 John Harnett 1
66 Victor Szymanski 1
66 Nicholas (Dave's mate) 1
66 Richard Close 1
66 Marek Parajka 1
66 Peter Chadwick 1
66 Conor McGrane 1
66 Sean Hutton 1
Sport Women
1 Ann Duffy Newry Wheelers 150
2 Nicola Oldham Banbridge CC 126
3 Sadhb Baxter WCW 30
4 Dawn Steacy MBUL 25
4 Natalie Jeddah EPIC 25
4 Rachel Wisdom 25
7 Harriett Mayne Banbridge CC 21
8 Marta Bonikowska 18
9 Ciara mulvey 16
10 Joanne McCallum 14
U16
1 Shane Geoghegan MAD 111
2 Chris Cameron XMTB 106
3 William Boyd XMTB 103
4 Conal Higgins Sorrento 80
5 Jonny Beers XMTB 55
6 Jes Laird XMTB 39
7 Taudhg Griffin 25
8 Andrew Wilson Banbridge CC 21
9 Ciaran Corson MAD 16
U14
1 Matthew Adair Banbridge CC 136
2 Michael Runciman Banbridge CC 110
3 Robbie Lamont XMTB 69
4 Claire Oakley XMTB 66
5 Robert Scanlon Lucan 50
5 Rob Scanlon U/A 50
7 Jordan Sutton Team Worc 42
7 Matthew Lyne U/A 42
9 Christopher Millar XMTB 36
10 Jack Wilson East Antrim Audi 30
11 Alexander Magowan Dromara CC 14
11 Kyle McEwan XMTB 14
13 Stuart Ballantine XMTB 12
U12
1 Dan Runciman Banbridge CC 141
2 Zak Hanna Dromara CC 90
3 Chris Oakley XMTB 80
4 Aimee Ogilby XMTB 61
5 Dylan Byrne Team Worc 43
6 Taylor Sutton Team Worc 41
7 Ty Mackness Team Madigan 32
8 Ben Gregory EPIC 25
8 David Fitzharris 25
10 Conor O'Boyle U/A 18
11 Markus Pagels XMTB 14
U10
1 James Curry Banbridge CC 150
2 Joseph Baird Banbridge CC 112
2 Rachael Mayne Banbridge CC 112
4 Cain McConvey Newry Wheelers 92
5 Conor Nairn XMTB 37
5 Paddy Furlong U/A 37
7 Jill Curry Banbridge CC 34
8 Laura O'Boyle U/A 14
8 Tommy Fitzpatrick 14
10 Rachael O'Boyle U/A 12
U8
1 John Buller Banbridge CC 150
2 Richard Baird Banbridge CC 117
2 Shannon Buller Banbridge CC 117
4 Shenna McKiverigan Banbridge CC 88
5 Fergal McConvey Newry Wheelers 57
6 Ben Hanna Dromara CC 46
7 Niamh McKiverigan Banbridge CC 44
8 Jack Lamont XMTB 34
9 Mark Buller Banbridge CC 30
10 Scott Hylands East Antrim Audi 28
10 Kendal Mackness Team Madigan 28
12 Callum Stewart XMTB 22
13 Rebekah Ogilby XMTB 16
14 Darragh McConvey 11
15 Nathan Carr EPIC 10
16 Ciaran Mulvenna U/A 8
17 Christopher Mulvenna U/A 6
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