National Champions Decided in Two Separate Events Today

23st July 2017 – Two separate National Championship events were held in Ireland on Sunday 23rd July, with the National Titles being decided in the Cross Country (XC) and Downhill (DH) Mountain Biking disciplines. Ireland’s premier mountain bikers flocked to Djouce Woods and Kilbroney Forest to battle for the honours, with exciting racing in all categories.

In the National DH Championships Jacob Dickson didn’t disappoint, with a dominant performance in the Senior Men’s category demonstrating his World Class status.
Speaking after the race, Downhill Coordinator Derek Cowan described an exciting day of racing: “After a damp Saturday practice day, the sun finally shone on the best of Ireland’s DH riders, and their numerous supporters, to produce a very exciting Sunday afternoon of racing.”

With riders competing across eight categories, the 180 registered riders flocked to Rostrevor in a quest for the coveted jersey. Cowen said: “Riders from the Under 14s through to the Masters 50+ were competing today for the right to be named Cycling Ireland National DH Champion, racing across 8 categories. Jacob Dickson, who races in the Elite class at World Level, proved once again his incredible talent, winning the Senior Men’s category in a time of 2min 33 secs – over 5 seconds quicker than his nearest rival!

One of the beauties of mountain biking is the family friendly aspect, and festival atmosphere. Cowen added: “The day was finished off with a series of races for children from 2 years old up to 12, which provided a lot of enjoyment to the waiting crowd and more senior racers.”

The National XC Championships were equally impressive, with Senior riders Ciara Macmanus and Gareth McKee retaining their titles, titles that both have won on multiple occasions. Robin Seymour was a popular winner in the M40 category, racing as the double World Masters Champion – a title he retained in recent weeks. Local racer Peter Buggle also impressed, with a win in the M50 race, to add to the bronze medal he won at the World Masters this year.

Speaking after the race organiser Chris Campbell was delighted with how the day panned out, saying “It’s been a great day, and great to bring the Mountain Bike Champs to Djouce Woods. There’s a big turnout and everyone from the mountain biking community to help us out – it is a team event!”

Throughout the days riders described a fantastic, technical course. Campbell noted the importance of creating a challenging course, saying: “It’s the National Champs – you need to up it a notch. If you are going to wear a champions jersey, you need to earn it. The course is technical, but it’s honest for everyone. The thing about mountain biking is, the best man always wins. It’s honest like that.”

The next big events on the mountain bike calendar is the National Marathon Mountain Bike Championships which take place in Ballyhoura at the end of August. The National Enduro Championship will also be taking place, as a demo event, this year Enduro was officially recognised as a Cycling Ireland discipline.


RESULTS:

National DH Championships, Rostrevor

Seniors
Jacob Dickson
Jack Crowley
James MacFerran

Juvenile
Oisin O'Callaghan
Niall Clerkin
Kyle Hassan

Youth
Ronan Dunne
Christopher Cumming
Shea Rooney

Women
Leah Maunsell
Chloe Cumming
Lois Black

Masters 50
Alastair MacLennan
Malachy O'Boyle
Mark Sullivan

Masters 40
Glyn O'Brien
Michael Cowan
Dale McMullan

Masters 30
Colin Ross
Stephen Beattie
Coates Ian

Juniors
Ronan Gahan
Liam Wolfe
Conor Bate


National XC Championships, Djouce

Senior Women
Ciara MacManus
Anne Duffy
Niamh McGreen

Senior Men
Gareth McKee
David Conroy
David Montgomery

Masters 30
Richard Maes
Chris Campbell
Alfie Wallace

Masters 40
Robin Seymour
Brian Steele
Vinnie Fitzsimon

Masters 50
Peter Buggle
Aiden McDonald
Mick Jordan

Junior Men
Thomas Creighton
John Buller
Jack Murphy

U16 Girls
Niamh McKiverigan
Darcey Harkness
Amanda Draper

U16 Boys
Adam McGarr
Drew Armstrong
Harry Byrne

U14 Girls
Caoimhe May
Erin Creighton
Annie Roche

U14 Boys
Dean Harvey
Darren Rafferty
Donnacha Desmond

U12 Girls
Aine Doherty
Keela Smyth
Faith Robinson

U12 Boys
Luke Murphy
Adam Rafferty
Shane Scullion

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MORE INFO:

About the Disciplines:
Cross Country Mountain Biking (XC) where cyclists ride on bikes that are designed primarily around cross country racing. With an emphasis on a combination of climbing, speed and endurance the bikes tend to be both lightweight and efficient. XC Mountain Bikes have evolved from being steel hardtail frames with rigid forks, to the full suspension bikes that are most commonly used today.

Downhill Mountain Biking (DH) is an adrenalin fuelled Off Road discipline, where the main focus is travelling down technical, tricky and steep descents as fast as possible. The bikes used in DH tend to be very strong, with a large amount of sag to get ample traction to go fast over bumpy trails.

Cycling Ireland Offroad Commission: www.offroadcyclingireland.ie
Cycling Ireland Website: www.cyclingireland.ie
XC Event Website: http://irishxcnps.ie/
CI Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyclingireland
CI Twitter: @irecyclingfed
CI Instagram: cyclingirelandfed
CI YouTube: Cycling Ireland