2026 Cross Country National Points Series Preview
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Team WORC will host to Round 1 on April 19th in Co. Wicklow. Volunteers from the host club have been working hard to make some exciting changes to the course ahead of the first of six rounds of this year’s series.
Round 2 will take place on Sunday, May 10th, as part of the Wicklow MTB Festival. Biking.ie will once again host the three day festival, this year encompassing the second rounds of both the IDMS and NPS.
Racing heads north for Round 3, as Banbridge host in Co. Down on May 24th, before heading to the opposite end of the country for Round 4, where Fermoy play host on June 7th in Cork.
Round 5 will also be in Co. Cork, with Tracton Woods the venue on June 21st.
The final round of the series takes place in Union Woods, Co. Sligo a week later, on June 28th.
2025 National Champion Chris Dawson already has his season underway on the international scene, taking podiums in races in both the Netherlands and Spain.
Caoimhe May and Ryan Daly have both been in action ahead of the NPS. May finished fifth in the first round of the British Series, and Daly riding the Junior World Series race in Albenga, Italy in March, and just last weekend was fifth in the Junior Men’s race at the second round of the British Series.
Having made the jump from Junior into the Senior ranks for 2026, Greta Lawless, started her season with a road racing focus, but a strong seventh place finish in the Women’s Elite race at the second round of the British Series sets her up nicely for the season ahead.
Irish Downhill Mountain Bike Series Preview
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The Maxxis IDMS will this year be comprised of six rounds, with National Championships taking place in Ballyhoura, Co. Limerick on July 25th-26th for the second year running.
Following the opening round this weekend, the series will stay in Wicklow for Round 2, where Biking.ie will host as part of the Wicklow MTB festival on Sunday, May 10th.
Round 3 will take place in Cullahill, Co. Laois, a new venue for this year, on June 7th.
Rounds 4 and 5 will take place either side of National Championships, on July 12th and August 23rd respectively. Both rounds will take place in Wexford and be hosted by Bree MTB.
The final stop in the series for this year will once again be The GAP in Dublin, with racing taking place on September 20th.
Last year at the opening round of the series, Oisin O’Callaghan narrowly edged out by 2025 UCI World Championship bronze medallist Ronan Dunne, on a track that gave even the World Cup winners a tough test.
There are over 200 entries for the first round this weekend, with both O’Callaghan and Dunne away preparing for the first World Cup of the season, full points are up for grabs for the top domestic based riders.
Callum Morris returns to Carrick, where the former Junior National Champ last year had a strong run derailed by a crash right at the line. Alex Hickey and Ben Fitzsimon both represented Ireland abroad last year, and will be making the step up from Junior into what is once again a very strong Elite Category in Wicklow.
2025 Women’s National Champion Blaithin Sweeny has battled injury through the winter and will not make the first round of the season. Second to Sweeny in Ballyhoura last year, Lilian Tobin has had a solid winter taking top spot in her category at The GAP Winter/Spring DH League, winning every round. Simone O’Kelly, having made her World Cup debut in the latter half of last year, will no doubt be looking to hit the ground running on the domestic front in 2026.
Bree’s Ros O’Keefe had his season stunted by injury last year but returns for Round 1, while 2025 Under 16 National Champion Kevin Randall, who was quickest of all riders at the final round of the 2025 series, makes the step up into an incredibly strong Junior category. Both Randall and 2025 Junior National Champion Fionn O’Neill have had big winters under the tutelage of former World Cup rider Dan Wolfe, and signed on with Polygon Bikes. Both will be hoping for strong performances throughout the year in this exciting category.