Date: Saturday 2 July 2011
Event: Ulster Series Round 5
Location: Dunmore Mountain, Spa, Ballynahinch
Host club: Dromara Cycling Club
Round 5 of the Ulster Cross-Country Mountain Bike Series took place on Saturday 2 July 2011 at Dunmore Mountain located near Spa, Ballynahinch. Dromara Cycling Club was the host of the event and the organisers are very grateful to the Wightman family who own the land for the use of the venue. Dromara CC first used this site in 2007 and have been developing the course over the years. The senior course is approximately 2½ miles long and climbs over both peaks of the mountain covering around 500 feet of climbing on each lap. The climb up to the summit of the second peak has 5 individual climbs to really test the riders cresting the summit at Mulligan’s hill before the start of the downhill section. There are uninterrupted views at the top of the mountain of the Mournes, Slieve Croob, the Irish Sea and, on a clear day, even the Isle of Man. The Under 8s, 10s and 12s courses are all self-contained in the main event field.
The riders were greeted with warm summer sunshine from early morning which lasted throughout the day with only a short spell in the late afternoon when the cloud cover came over and the temperature dropped.
Racing got underway at 11 am with the Under 8s race with the 21 riders setting off to tackle 3 laps of the mini course which had been modified from last year. The course was self-contained, close to the start/finish line, undulating with some pallet ramps to add to the fun. Christopher Curry (Banbridge CC) lead the race from start to finish as he has done throughout this year. Chasing hard was Shea O’Kane (Phoenix CC) with Fraser Harrower (Dromara CC) just behind. Ryan Stewart (Phoenix CC) was 4th with Adam McCaughtry (Dromara CC) 5th and Neil Kelso 6th. First girl was Charley Dunlop (Banbridge CC) who was 8th overall with Lara Kelly and Kayla Grimley (both from the host club) finishing second and third girl respectively.
Next up were the Under 10s which saw a strong field of 15 riders take to the line for 6 laps of the mini course. Unsurprisingly it was Mark Buller (Banbridge CC) who lead from the whistle with Cathir Doyle (Carn Wheelers) second and Callum Stewart (Phoenix CC) third. Jack Baird (Banbridge CC) was fourth with Ben Wilson (Dromara CC) fifth and James Buller (Banbridge CC) taking sixth. Niamh McKiverigan (Banbridge CC) was 7th overall and first girl with Kelly Wilson (Dromara CC) second girl and Ellie Kelso third.
The Under 12s race was a big step up from Under 10s as the 9 riders had to complete 3 laps of a course around the main event field which took in a long descent down to the far gate before turning sharp left and then tackling some tough climbs back up to the finish line. Banbridge CC had another winner in this category with John Buller finishing in under 10 minutes and setting an impressive lead over Craig McCarthy (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) with Max Melville (Dromara CC) getting his second podium placing in a row. First girl was Rachel McLean (Carn Wheelers) with fellow club member Kathryn Doyle taking second and Rebekah Ogilby (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) in third.
At noon the next set of races got underway. First up were the Under 16s who had to complete 3 laps of the main course. Next were the Senior 4 men who had to complete the same distance. They were followed by the Senior 3 women who had 2 laps to do and finally the Under 14s who had to complete 3 laps of the ‘One Peak’ course.
The Under 16s race attracted 7 riders from a range of fitness levels with long gaps opening up between the riders. David Montgomery (Banbridge CC) set off at a very strong pace to dominate this category finishing almost 10 minutes ahead of nearest rival Chris Oakley (Xmtb McConvey Cycles). Aaron McCann (Cuchulainn CC) was third with Daniel Runciman (Banbridge CC) the only other rider to complete all 3 laps.
The Senior 4 mens race saw the biggest field of the day with 25 lined up at the start line. After gridding the riders set off down the hill towards the gate and then up the first of the many climbs. Patrick Kelly (Carn Wheelers) made his way up from 4th to 1st over the 3 laps to finish less than one minute ahead of club mate Ryan Walsh. Stephen Kelly from the host club was third with newcomer to off-road racing, Alan Magee (Lakeland CC) taking fourth. Stephen Law, also from Carn Wheelers, was fifth with Darren Hughes (Harps CC) sixth, ex-rugby international Andy Ward (Dromara CC) was 7th, Brian Curran (Banbridge CC) 8th, Ronnie Ogilby (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) 9th and Conor Graham was 10th.
The Senior 3 women’s race saw 3 entries with Kerryann Hughes (Harps CC) getting her first win of the series finishing ahead of Dianne Keys and Joanne McCallum (Dromara CC).
The Under 14s race saw 5 male and 2 female riders line up for their race which took in 3 laps of the first peak of the mountain and meant they had 3 turns over the rock slab. Banbridge Cycling Club riders took all 3 male and the 2 female placings with Joseph Baird first, James Curry second and Richard Baird third. Shannon Buller was first girl finishing strongly ahead of Shenna McKiverigan.
After a prize giving ceremony for the youth riders the next races started at 1:30 with the Senior 1 men, Senior 2 women, Senior 2 men, Senior 2 women and Senior 3 men. The Senior 1 mens race attracted 11 riders for the 6 lap event and saw Ryan Sherlock (Sportactive CC) return to MTB racing for the first time since the Ulster Championships at Tollymore in 2010. Ryan has had a great season on the road and his fitness showed on this course when he took the win comfortably ahead of Ray O’Shaughnessy (Cuchulainn CC). Gareth McKee (Banbridge CC) finished in last place in the Experts category in 2010 at this venue but has seen a huge improvement in his form since then to take 3rd place in the Senior 1 mens race. Veteran Aiden McDonald finished 4th ahead of Matthew Adair, the junior rider who stepped up to Senior 1 for this race. Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC) made his first appearance at a mountain bike race this year to a venue in which he won the Ulster Championships back in 2007. Roger finished 6th ahead of David O’Neill (Team WORC) with the South African, Marthinus Esmeyer, making his second appearance at the Ulster series to finish 8th. Marthinus had been racing in the World Cup series last year but took some time off to get married and is still recovering from a chest infection. He will be one to watch for the remainder of the season. William Mulligan (Banbridge CC) has raced Dunmore for all 5 years and finished 9th ahead of fellow veteran John Bogues (Phoenix CC).
The Senior 2 men started next with 8 riders in this category taking on 5 laps of the main course. Brendan Doherty (VC Glendale) took the win finishing ahead of Simon Curry (Banbridge CC) with Graham Boyd (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) 3rd in his first race this season. Declan McCabe (Cuchulainn CC) was 4th ahead of Andrew Wallace (Northern / Dave Kane) with Matthew Casey (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) in 6th.
Melanie Späth (SportActive CC) and Ciara MacManus lined up for the Senior 1 womens race which Melanie won. Ciara rode strongly at her first race since breaking her wrist at Dalby Forest back in May this year.
Twelve riders lined up for the Senior 3 mens race which was held over 4 laps of the main course. Barry Kellett (Dromara CC) and Bob Talbot (Harps CC) had a close battle for the first two laps before Barry stretched out a lead on lap 3 which he extended to take the win. David Blevins, also from Harps CC was third, with Stephen Kelleher (Cuchulainn CC) 4th, David Millist (Epic MTB) 5th and Richard Archer (Harps CC) 6th.
Gill Smith was the only entrant for the Senior 2 women’s race and completed her 3 laps in 1 hour 8 minutes.
Throughout the day there was tea, coffee and snacks available with the barbacue on the go providing hot dogs. Many thanks to all the hard working members of Dromara CC who prepared the site in advance and organised the event on the day. The next cross-country mountain bike event will be the National Championships which will be held at Kilruddery, Co. Wicklow on Sunday 17 July 2011. See www.irishxcmtb.com for details.
The final round of the Ulster XC series will be held at Castlewellan Forest on Sunday 14 August 2011 and this round will also double up as the final round of the Irish National Point Series (NPS).
See www.ulsterxc.com for details.
Commissaire: Ciara MacManus
Full results here
Report: Martin Grimley
Photos: Martin Grimley (more) and Gavin Magowan (more)
Videos: Nigel Sudlow (CU) here, Phil O’Neill here
More photos taken by others listed here