Six Riders to Represent Ireland in Downhill at Upcoming MTB World Championships

A group of six riders has been selected to represent Ireland at the upcoming UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Downhill, taking place at Val di Sole – Trentino, Italy from August 26th-30th.

Having retained his Elite National Championship on his home trails in Ballyhoura just a few weeks ago, former Junior World Champion Oisin O’Callaghan will once again ride in an Irish jersey later this month. O’Callaghan has made the switch this year to Trek-Unbroken and has put his early season struggles behind him with a very solid performance at the most recent World Cup round.

Ronan Dunne returns to competition having missed most of this year due to an injury sustained prior to the first World Cup round in South Korea. Dunne took a bronze medal at last year’s World Championships in Switzerland and will no doubt be looking to bounce back to that level as quick as possible. It's expected Dunne will return to World Cup action this weekend in Les Gets ahead of World Championships next week.

Henry Kerr will don the Irish jersey again in Italy. The AON Racing rider has won World Championship medals previously, taking two at the 2024 Snow Bike World Championships and looked strong at the recent National Championships in Limerick, taking second behind O’Callaghan.

Niamh Richards heads to Italy to compete in the Junior Women’s category. Richards made her World Cup debut earlier this year and has gone from strength to strength this year, taking a win in the IXS Cup event at Les Orres and a fifth place at La Molina, as well as a silver medal at National Championships.

Kevin Randall made his World Cup debut earlier this year but missed out on National Championships due to injury and will now make his World Championship debut in Italy. Randall has impressed in recent months, putting down the fastest time of the weekend across all categories in domestic competitions.

Darragh Ryan returns to World Championship action having ridden last year’s event in Switzerland. The Orbea FMD rider claimed his first national championship in Ballyhoura recently. Ryan has been Ireland's most consistent male junior internationally this season with top-20 finishes in World Cups at Leogang and in South Korea, also taking a top-10 at the IXS Cup in Santiago de Besterios, Portugal,

Head Coach Neill Delahaye welcomed the mix of experience and youthful energy; “We’re delighted to be able to put forward established talent in the Elite Men. All three have delivered on this stage previously and we’re hoping to be competitive there again this year. We’re also excited to be able to provide some of our younger riders an opportunity to grow and gain some experience against some of the best in the world – that experience will be a massive asset for them going forward in their careers.”

More information on the World Championships is here