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Last Updated: Mar 3rd, 2008 - 21:23:42 |
2008 K-CAPITAL CUP PREVIEW – BRAY BLAST-OFF FOR K-CAP
By By Andy Potts
Mar 3, 2008,
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On Sunday 9th March the 2008 K-Capital Cup International MTB XCO Series will blast into action at Bray in County Wicklow, the curtain raiser promoted by Team Worc. At this stage the entry for the Elite Mens race looks like the best ever assembled at an Irish event. The superb setting of Kilruddery Estate is the venue for the first of the four rounds. As in 2007, two rounds will be held in the North and two in the South.
The K-Capital Series was one of the highlights of the 2007 Irish MTB season with entries coming from Britain, Europe and South Africa. The various race organisers have already received interest for the 2008 series from both Britain and Europe. Sponorship for 2008 once again comes from Mark Kenny and his K-Capital Source company with the promoting Clubs also benefiting from grant funding from Cycling Ireland/Irish Sports Council. Mark Kenny’s K-Capital Club will host the third race in the series. Sunday’s course is described as 8km long and varies from climbs to forest roads, technical single tracks and rides through wooded areas.
Extra spice will be added to the first three rounds as they will also act as Olympic qualification races for the Irish MTB XCO representative for the Beijing Olympics in August. Following the set criteria, the race off for the Olympic place is between the three top UCI ranked Irish riders as published at the end of 2007. The three riders who qualified for the race off were Robin Seymour 49th (386 points) , Niall Davis 86th (253 points)and Conor McConvey 126th (177 points). The Irish riders will be awarded UCI ranking points for their finishing positions in each of the three races, the top scorer gets the place for Beijing.
At the time of writing the news concerning Conor McConvey is distressing. The young Belfast rider suffered a broken shoulder after being knocked off his bike by a car while cycling on the Shore Road in Belfast. Conor, 21st in the U-23 World Championships at Fort William, will be out of action for six weeks thus wrecking his early season plans, this after he has spent much of the winter at warm weather and altitude training. Everyone involved in Irish MTB wishes Conor a very speedy recovery.
Joining Niall Davis and Robin Seymour in the Elite line up at Kilruderry will be the BCF Olympic squad of Oliver Beckingsale (Giant RC), Ian Bibby GB National Team, David Fletcher GB National Team, and Ross Creber GB National Team. Beckingsale is one of the best known British riders and is current British Champion. Other confirmed British entries are Adrain Lansley (Pedalon) and Gareth Montgomery (Singletrack/Pipedream). European entries come from German Pro rider Jochen Coconcelli (Zwillingscraft) and Polish rider Rafal Plucinski.
Other Irish riders to look out for include Richard Felle and Yvain Sugno, Phillip Roche all Team Worc, Lewis Ferguson (Northern/Dave Kane) and Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC), Aiken the reigning Irish Cyclo Cross Champion. There have also been rumours that Commonwealth Games Champion Liam Killeen will make the trip to Bray; if this happened it would be the ‘cream on the cake’.
There is a full programme of support races, the Elite Ladies event starting just after the Elite Men. This year the Elite Ladies race is not a UCI class and therefore does not carry UCI points. The Expert Class will feature a wealth of Irish talent including Dave Barry(IMBRC), Connor Campbell(Newry Wheelers), Oisin Boydell (UCD), Dave O’Neill (Swords CC), Luke Manning (IMBRC), Alfie Wallace (Epic) and Evan Ryan (Team Worc).
The Junior riders are led by Irish Junior MTB and Cyclo Cross Champion Liam McGreevy (Banbridge CC) with his main threat coming from Paul O’Reilly (IMBRC), Chris Cameron (XMTB), Conal Higgins (Sorrento) and Johnny Beers (East Antrim). Making her debut in the Junior Class will be North Downs Jes Laird.
The Masters Class in 2007 was a superb battle between Joe McCall (K-Capital/Rocky Mountain) and Peter O’Farrell (U/A), however for 2008 Joe McCall will ride as an Elite. The supporting cast will include Team Worc’s Gordon Lucas, Stuart Galloway and Dave Gill plus Niall Quinlan (Cycleways), Andrew Wallace (Dave Kane/Northern), James McCluskey and the event ‘dark horse’, Epic’s Damien Mulchrone.
The Vets class is one of the best supported categories of Irish MTB, with the ‘old men’ always putting on a good show. Apollo CT’s Aiden McDonald won the 2007 Vets K-Cap title and will be a strong contender this year. His main rivals should be XMTB’s Robbie Lamont, the infamous McCabe brothers Johnny and Gerry (Cuchulainn), Paul Coyne (Team Worc), Paul McMenamin (Leisure Lakes), William Mulligan (Banbridge CC), Gary Wilson (East Antrim) Andy Burns (Orchard Juiced) and the Epic duo of Justin May and Richie Byrne. The Sports event, for fun riders, always attracts a huge entry and some of the best racing of the day.
*****Riders are reminded that if they wish to ride in the Masters World Championships in France in August they can not ride in an Elite event.****
Ireland’s future talent will be on show in the Youth race program, with races from Under 8 up to Under 16 level. At all four rounds the U-8 to U-12 riders will have their own courses with the U-14 and U-16 riders racing on the main course. Supporting the Youth races will be riders from the following Clubs, Sorrento, Epic, Team Worc, XMTB, Banbridge CC and Orchard Juiced.
The time table for all events is as follows:
10.00am Sign On
11.00am Under 10
11.01am Under 8
11.30am Under 12
12.00pm Under 16
12.01pm Sports MenWomen
12.02pm Under 14
1.30pm Elite Men
1.31pm Junior Men
1.32pm Expert Men
1.33pm Master Men
1.34pm Veteran Men
1.35pm Elite Women
Please note that there is a different entrance to Kilruderry Estate for the MTB event this year. The usual one is being used for an Equestrian event run by the Bray Hunt while the MTB event is open for practise on Saturday 8th. NB - MTB riders must only use the new entrance.
The new directions are as follows:
From the N11 at the turn off for the Glenview Hotel and not at Bray as before. The route will be signposted from the N11. All should turn off at the Glenview turn which is two bridges further down the N11 from the old turn off. The turn is also at a garden centre which you pass on your left as you make the turn.
Car parking will be close to the course on a large stubble field which will be signposted. All competitors are asked to drive slowly past the house at the gate entrance as this is a private house and please also ask all personnel to respect the use of the private estate kindly loaned to us by the Brabazon family.
Other K-Capital Dates:
23rd March Moneyscalp Wood Banbridge CC
6th April Djouce Woods K-Capital/Rocky Mountain
20th April Castlewellan Forest XMTB
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