Date: Sunday 20 April 2008
Event: Kcapital Cup – Round 4
Location: Castlewellan Forest
Host club: XMTB
K-Capital Round 4 – Castlewellan – Niall Nails Final
The curtain came down on the 2008 International K-Capital Cup Cross Countyr Mountain Bike Series on Sunday at the beautiful setting of Castlewellan Forest Park in County Down. Promoted by the XMTB Club, the event attracted an entry of almost 200, bringing the total entries over the four races to almost 900.
Weather conditions may have been windy and cool; however the course was in pristine condition, allowing for fast, close racing.
The Elite Mens race saw IMBRC rider Niall Davis in dominant form, the Dubliner leading throughout the seven laps. After his excellent result the previous weekend at Thetford, Conor McConvey(McConvey Cycles) saw his chance of glory wrecked by a first lap puncture. For most of the race Davis was chased down by Colnago/Ergon team mates Gareth Montgomery and Robin Seymour, the gap between Davis and the two chasers never more than a minute.
It was a jubuilant Davis who crossed the line to take his first win of the year, the position giving him second overall in the Elite points table. On the last lap Montgomery eased clear of Seymour to snatch second place, Irish Champion Seymour content with third as he prepares for a six hour race. Seymour also took the overall win in the Elite series. Following his first lap puncture, McConvey charged through the field to eventually finish in fourth and finishing third overall. Ryan Sherlock (Torq/MAD) rode to fifth place, a good result though the quiet spoken rider admitted to still being tired after his exploits the previous weekend at Thetford. Sixth finisher was RockyMountain/K-Capital’s Joe McCall, the last rider not to be lapped by the leaders. IMBRC’s Dave Barry had his best finish of the series to take seventh as Polish rider Maksyn Czyzewski finished a good eighth. Team Worc riders Evan Ryan and Richard Felle finished ninth and tenth respectively with XMTB’s Graham Boyd just missing out on the final UCI ranking point in eleventh.
Mel Spath (MAD) easily took victory in the Elite Womens race, run over 5 laps; Mel finishing welll ahead of pint sized Polish lady Karolina Kozela (Karolla Ghost). Mel’s third win of the series gave her the overall title. Fiona Barrett (MBCC) took third and second overall while Newry’s Ann Duffy grabbed third overall with her fourth place finish.
Following a nasty crash that put him out of the third round, Irish Junior Champion, Liam McGreevy (Banbridge CC) returned to winning ways at Castlewellan, the whippet like rider taking a convincing win over Paul O’Reilly (IMBRC) and Neil McGimpsey (XMTB). Young McGreevy added the K-Capital Cup Junior series to his rapidly expanding CV, with O’Reilly runner up and McGimpsey third.
Irish Elite DH Champion Ben Reid handed out a thrashing to Ireland’s XC Experts as he completely dominated the five lap Experts race. Reid led from start to finish, never looking in any trouble, in fact he entertained the spectators with the odd jump and pulling wheelies going uphill! Newry rider Gary Henning finished a superb second, this after having to run the last part of the course when the chain on his bike broke. In an all Ulster podium, Luke Ireland finished in third, the Belfast rider also well known for his DH exploits. Michael Holland (Leisure Lakes) had one of his best results of the series, the Dungannon based rider taking fourth. For series leader Oisin Boydell (UCD) fifth place was good enough to give him the overall Experts series title, a well deserved success for the Dubliner. Finishing just behind Boydell was Donnacha O’Brien (West Coast Wheelers), he took the trophy for third overall back to the West. After retiring following two broken chains, IMBRC rider Luke Manning was happy when he was declared runner up in the series thanks to his fine results in the first three rounds.
The five lap Masters race was an absolute cracker. James McCluskey had the series sewn up yet he still finished in style with another win. Throughout the race McCluskey had to contend with a challenge from Mark Allen (Swords CC) who in turn had to contend with the efforts of Conor Campbell (Newry Wheelers). With McCluskey taking the title it was fourth finisher Peter O’Farrell that finished runner up in the rankings with Allen in third. Vet rider John O’Reilly (Epic) was fifth with Irish DH legend Glyn O’Brien (Kona Sambras) in sixth. Just back from a trip to Kenya, Banbridge CC’s William Mulligan took the four lap Vets race, the well tanned old boy finishing almost four minutes ahead of runner up Mick Jordan (IMBRC). Riding for Leisure Lakes, Omagh’s Paul McMenamin finished a close third, this after sustaining a heavy fall during the race. Irelands most smiley MTB rider, Andy Burns (Juiced Orchard) was happy with fourth as another Irish legend, Knud Jensen (Odder CK) made a rare trip back from Denmark to finish fifth. In a close scrap for sixth, Ken Farrar (Leinster) just did enough to hold off Newry’s Peter McConville.
Epic’s Kevin Stanley led the two lap Sport Mens race from start to finish and lifted the overall series honours. Stanley crossed the line to the delight of his fellow Epicurians with almost one minute to spare over Polish rider Lukasz Czyzycki (Bikestacja). Matt Hicknott (Bray Wheelers) had another good ride to third with Irish Junior DH Champion Ewan Doherty (Chain Reaction Cycles) giving most of the field a start before he cut his way up the leaderboard to claim fourth. In an excellent battle for fifth, Dave Askin (Lucan) just had the measure of Geoff Robinson (U/A), Mark Solon (U/A), Sean Donnelly (Chain Reaction), Ronan Corrigan (XMTB) and Chris Mallen (Banbridge CC).
Rachel Wisdom (Team Worc) was confirmed as Sport Womens Champion after winning the two lap event at Castlewellan, Rachel finishing one minute ahead of runner up Val O’Neill (Banbridge CC). Didi Baxter (U/A) took third ahead of Linda Haug (Sorrento) and Aisling Corkery (MAD). Linda Haug finished as runner up in the series with Aisling Corkery third.
All the Youth events were won by riders from the Ulster region. Banbridge CC’s Stuart Dunlop had the honour of being the first champion of the day when he won the U-8 race, his fourth win in a row. In a close battle for second, Banbridge rider Mark Buller just edged out fellow Bann rider Shenna McKiverigan. In the overall rankings the pair finished equal on points with Mark getting the verdict due to his second place in the final round. The U-10 race provided Banbridge CC with another top three in the final rankings. John Buller notched up his third win to take the series with race runner up Richard Baird taking second overall. Newry’s Cain McConvey finished third in the race but it was fourth finisher Shannon Buller (Banbridge CC) who took the award for third overall.
Banbridge CC maintained their domination by taking the overall honours in the U-12 class. Mark Downey won the race from James Curry, young Curry taking the title having already scored three wins. XMTB’s Alex Bell finished an excellent third ahead of fellow Club rider Conor Nairn with Banbridge CC’s Rachel Mayne in fifth, Rachel taking second overall. Third in the overall poidium was Banbridge rider Joseph Baird. One of the finds of the season has been Juiced Orchard rider Robert Anderson, at Castlewelan he scored his third win of the series to take the title, the Richill rider only having started MTB racing in February. XMTB’s Kyle McEwan rode to a fine second as IMBRC rider Ben Gregory just edged Banbridge’s Dan Runciman out of third. Fifth place was good enough to give Chris Oakley (XMTB) runner up in the series with Runciman third. In the U-16 class the winner of the first three rounds, Matthew Adair (Banbridge CC), retired with a puncture while leading, however Matthew still took the series title. Race winner William Boyd (XMTB) finished second overall with Team Worc’s Robert Scanlon third in the race and third overall.
The 2008 K-Capital Cup Series was an undoubted success thanks in no small way to series sponsor Mark Kenny of K-Capital Source, the inspiration behind the series Robin Seymour and the Clubs who promoted the four rounds. A huge thanks is due to the riders who supported the series and to those who worked behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly. Thank you all.
Report by: Andy Potts
Original report location here