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Last Updated: May 13th, 2008 - 14:31:04 |
Cycling Ireland MTB News - XC Riders In Top Form
Last weekend Irish MTB Cross Country riders were in action on two fronts, Scotland and Belgium, the riders scoring an impressive set of results. The tranquil and picturesque setting of Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland was the venue for the second round of the British XC NPS and Enduro Series while the town of Ronse in Belgium played host to the GP Van Vlaanderen, or to put it simpler, round two of the UCI C2 ranked Benelux Cup.
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| Robin Seymour |
Multi Irish MTB XC Champion, Robin Seymour (COLNAGO/ERGON), grabbed an excellent third place in the 6 lap Elite event at Drumlanrig. Seymour spent the first two laps moving between fourth and fifth place, the race being headed by British Champion Oli Beckingsale and Ian Field. On the third lap Seymour joined his Colnago/Ergon team mate Gareth Montgomerie, the pair riding together to close in on firstly Ross Creber and then Ian Wilkinson. By the penultimate lap Montgomerie had moved into third with Seymour tucked in his slipstream. On the final lap Seymour moved into third, the 37 year old crossing the line well pleased with his performance. Beckingsale was the winner with Field runner up. Montgomerie was fourth followed by Wilkinson and Creber. Ireland’s only other representative was Ryan Sherlock (TORQ/KONA), the quiet spoken former Basketball International finishing in 19th, his progress hampered by a badly cut left knee.
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| Ryan Sherlock |
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| Mel Spath (Mountainbiking Association of Dublin) |
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| Robin Seymour and Ross Creber |
Following the race Robin Seymour declared that he was happy with the race: “I rode my own race, taking it easy at the start and then mounting a challenge from lap three. Lap two was a disaster, I am not sure what went wrong, I just seemed to loose a number of places for no reason. Pacing myself paid off, with many of the early front runners blowing up in the closing laps.”
The next outing for the Wicklow based rider will be a little matter of riding for Cycling Ireland in the FDB Ras, which he is using as a build up to the Olympic MTB race.
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| Mel Spath |
In the Elite Womens race, won yet again by British Champion Jenny Copnall, Mel Spath (MAD) produced another superb result as she took fifth place. Before the race Mel was visibly nervous, this not helped by having a badly cut knee, the result of a crash during a Club race in the week prior to the race. Mel’s 5th place was all the more remarkable considering she had to stop in the feed/technical zone to change the dressing on her injured knee. Hopefully it will not be too long before Mel can gain Irish citizenship (Mel is German by birth) and join the likes of Cait Elliott, Jes Laird and Rcahel Wisdom in forming the nucleus of a new Irish Womens MTB XC team, especially with the International Squad on route at present to the European XC Champs at St Wendel in Germany with no Women, and, for that matter no development riders, surely Ryan Sherlock at least should have been given a chance in the Europeans!
In the Vets event at Drumlanrig, Team Worc’s Peter Buggle led for most of the three laps only to be caught in the closing stages by Scottish rider Ian Nimo. At the finish the pair were only separated by a few bike lengths. For Banbridge CC’s William Mulligan it was a day to remember as he finished a good 7th, his best ever result in a British NPS event. Both Pter and William will be part of a large Irish contingent going to the Masters World Championships in Pra Loupe, France at the end of August. Jon Runciman (Banbridge CC) finished 30th in the Vets race, his form not helped by the fact that he was at work for much of the previous 24 hours. In the Sport Womens event, Team Worc’s Rachel Wisdom made her British debut to finish a fine third.
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| 1st and 2nd in the Vets race Ian Nimo and Peter Buggle after the finish |
The Youth Mens race (U-16) had two Irish riders competing, Matthew Adair (Banbridge CC/Cycling Ulster) and Robert Scanlon (Team Worc). Both these young starlets are first year U-16 riders, thus this is a development year for the duo. Both riders got caught up in a pile up at the ridiculously narrow section which greeted the riders at the end of the start straight. Matthew eventually finished 13th, his best British result in the U-16 class. For Robert 18th was an excellent achievement on what was his British debut. In fact Robert is the first Youth rider from the South of Ireland to take part in a British NPS event for many years, hopefully this will be the start of a new trend.
The action at Drumlanrig continued on Sunday with the Whyte Enduro Series, events ranging from 100km in length to 25km for the Fun riders. The results achieved by Irish riders once again were superb. In the 100km Mens race Ryan Sherlock was 4th, the race being won by the ‘old boy’ of British MTB Nick Craig. In the Womens 100km event Mel Spath was again sensational as she finished in second place. Peter Buggle rode in the Mens 50km event which he won with ease. Well done all.
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The Irish International XC squad spent the weekend in Belgium at the second round of the Benelux Cup, held in the town of Ronse. The squad was using the event as a warm up for this weekends European Champs at St Wendel in Germany. Once again it is disappointing to have to say that the Irish Squad contains no Women nor Development riders.
In the Junior race which had an entry of 80, mainly Belgian and Dutch riders, the three Irish Junior riders performed well. Banbridge CC’s Liam McGreevy made his European MTB debut to finish in 15th place, a superb result for the whippet like 17 year old from the village of Loughbrickland. By the way, he still has not rung his mum to tell her the good news! IMBRC’s Paul ‘Squeak’ O’Reilly also made his European debut, finishing in 33rd, his race wrecked by a puncture. Neil McGimpsey of XMTB fame finished in 43rd. In the Elite Mens race Conor McConvey (McConvey Cycles) rode to a fine eighth and a few more UCI ranking points. Niall Davis just missed out on ranking points as he finished in 13th. The Squad now drives to Germany to prepare for the Europeans.
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IMAGES COPYRIGHT:
Any images included in this article remain the property of the photographer, by whom all rights are retained, 2008 ©. Use of images for electronic or print purposes is may be possible with the express, written permission of the photographer.
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