On Sunday 1 March 2026 the Cycling Ulster Off-road Commission held the first of three cross-country mountain bike races at the new venue of Dundrod. The race was held on the site of the pit area for the Ulster Grand Prix and it was thanks to Dundrod and District Motorcycle Club for the use of the venue. This is a compact, flat site with three separate tree sections. The main section of trees along the back of the site has a well worn single track over the tree roots and three bridges over the ditch. There is a section of trees in the middle of the course with steep banks to climb up and finally there is a row of trees on a low bank. Between the tree sections the course was marked out with tyres used for the mini moto races. The weather on race day was overcast with occasional showers. This didn’t seem to dampen the mood of the racers and the car park soon started to fill. Last Lap Café were on site dishing out the hot drinks. We had just over 150 riders registered, which was amazing, and hopefully a good sign for the revival of cross-country mountain biking in Ulster.
The first race of the day was for the Under 6s with 10 young riders lined up to take on multiple laps of a short, dedicated circuit marked out by tyres. Well done to all. The course was then available to ‘play on’ for the rest of the day. Goodie bags were provided as a reward to all riders.
Next up were the Under 8s. They had 2 laps to do. Their course took them into the tree line along the back of the site. Within the trees were some tricky tree roots. The riders had to make a 180 degree turn and then come back over a bridge to the final gravel track before the tarmac finish line straight. Taking the win in the boys’ race was Charlie McCarter (Caldwell Powerhouse Racing) with Noah Finnegan (Square Wheels) second, Joseph McGonagle (Un-Attached Ulster) third and Logan Finnegan (Square Wheels) fourth. Among the girls it was Alice Bell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) who crossed the line first with Hope Corey (Apollo Cycling Team) just pipping Ava Mowbray (Apollo Cycling Team) on the finish straight to take second and third respectively.
The Under 10s started further back down the course. There had been a tricky grass embankment that was in their original course but this was removed after feedback from the riders. The Under 10s did the full section of the tree line with all the roots. A good challenge for these young riders. They had 3 laps to complete. There was only one girl signed up for this race and Ríonach Campbell (Square Wheels) started at the back of the boys, but managed to pass all of them on lap 1 and continued to stretch her lead to the chequered flag. First boy was Harvey Hume (Dunloy CC) with Liam McGonagle (Un-Attached Ulster) second and Toby Heywood (Un-Attached Ulster) third.
The Under 12s started further back down the track, which gave them a longer run to the start of the single track in the tree line. The Under 12s had the full course to cover for two laps. Taking the win was Benjamin Cunningham (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) with Lewis Bell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) second and Jaxon Jennings (Bear Cycling) third. Logan McAreavey (Bellurgan Wheelers) was fourth with Josh Ruddell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) fifth. In the girls’ race Pippa Ruddell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) finished ahead of Emily Jennings (Caldwell Powerhouse Racing).
After a break for podium presentations it was time for the Under 14s, Under 16s and Women to race. They started at the end of the tarmac road which cuts through the middle of the site. This gave the riders about 350 metres before they entered the single track. The Under 16 boys set off first with Kealan Doherty (Foyle CC) taking the win after 7 laps finishing ahead of Dylan Hughes (Carn Wheelers) with Darragh Young (Apollo Cycling Team) finishing third. The Under 14 boys set off just a few seconds behind the Under 16 boys. They had 4 laps to complete. Billy Lord (Breffni Wheelers) was the first across the finish line with Rían Watkins (Galway MTB) picking up second place – just rewards after the long drive up from Galway. Nathan Baker (Breffni Wheelers) was third. There was only one Under 14 girl, Kiyomi Tosh (Ballymena Road Club) who completed her four laps. Among the Under 16 girls, Ava Baker (Breffni Wheelers) took the win ahead of Ciara O’Connor (Drogheda Wheelers) with Aoife Kellett (Dromara Cycling Club) third.
The women’s race saw 9 entries lined up for their 6 lap race. Hazel Murphy (Cuchulainn CC) led for the first two laps but Catriona Wheeler (Agivey Cycling Club) came to the front and went on to win the race. Hazel was second with Eirin Corbett (Lagan Valley Cycling Club) third, Orla Brown (The Feel Good Factor) fourth and Karen Coulter (The Feel Good Factor) fifth.
Next to race were the Open riders which saw 42 lined up for the sprint to the single track. Leading for all 9 laps was Curtis McKee (Spellman-Dublin Port) with Gary Donaldson (Caldwell Powerhouse Racing) second and Dean Harvey (McConvey Cycles) third. Darragh McCarter (Caldwell Powerhouse Racing) was fourth with Graham Boyd (McConvey Cycles) fifth and Gareth McKee (Cycleology Racing Team) sixth after having a bad start.
The final race of the day was a combination of Retro riders – with bikes well over 10 years old, some with no suspension, all with 26″ wheels – and the modern ebikers. Naturally the ebikers were the quickest and the riders certainly had fun. However, it was great to see the joy on the faces of the riders and spectators seeing the old ‘classic’ bikes being brought out of retirement to shine again!
In the open ebike race Barry Toland took the win ahead of John Reid with Richard McCartney third and young rider Ben Reid fourth. In the women’s ebike race Sara Whiteside (Agivey Cycling Club) was showing off her skills taking the win ahead of Gemma McNamara (Bangor City Bike Club) with Rebecca Henry (Agivey Cycling Club) third and Hannah McCartney fourth.
In the Retro race Richard Gaffikin and Mark Gaul (Agivey Cycling Club) were taking it fairly easy for the first 3 laps but Richard managed to pull away to take the win. Mark had to settle for second place with John McGuigan (Dromara Cycling Club) third, Michael Hamilton (Un-Attached Ulster) fourth, Derek Patterson (Castlereagh CC) fifth and Richard Nicholl (Banbridge CC) sixth.
We are back again for Round 2 on Sunday 15 March 2026. Registration has opened (link here ). We are going to redesign the youth courses and take out some of the tricky parts of the main course to help the race flow. If you are available to help marshal at the event, please get in touch (secretary@offroadcyclingulster.com).
Commissaire: Maurice Mayne
Results here
Report by Martin Grimley
Photos
Dany Blondeel (Facebook) – part 1, part 2, part 3
Fran Hollywood (Facebook) – U14_U16_Women, Open