Date: Saturday 30 June 2012
Event: Ulster Series Round 4
Location: Dunmore Mountain
Host club: Dromara Cycling Club
Round 4 of the 2012 Ulster Cross-Country Mountain Bike Series was held at Dunmore Mountain near Spa, Ballynahinch. This was the only round of the 2012 series to be held on a Saturday which, combined with the end of the school year/start of summer, lead to a reduction in the numbers attending compared to average (just over 100 entries). Race preparation in the weeks leading up to the race had been hampered by lots of heavy rain. This lead to large puddles forming which aided the organisers in designing this year’s course around the areas most likely to have standing water.
The mountain proved yet again its versatility as an all weather location with plenty of grip on the grassy climbs and enough rock and steep slopes to allow a challenging, flowing course to be set up. This year saw some new sections on the senior course which proved a hit with the riders. However, the high intensity “lung busting” climbing at the back of the course was still a feature that the riders will not forget. The course itself is tough but shorter in length than the other rounds of the Ulster series which meant one more lap for all senior riders.
Thankfully for race day the weather was fair if a little windy. The first race of the day was for the Under 8s who had 3 laps of a short course located close to the entrance to the main race field. This course had been amended from last year to include a short ‘drop off’. Seven boys and four girls lined up for this race. Shea O’Kane (Phoenix CC) lead from the start closely followed by Lewis Armstrong (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) with Sam Baird (Banbridge CC) not far behind. This was the finishing order for the boys. In the girls race Sara Doyle (Spires CC) lead from the start stretching her lead over Eva Gordon (Carn Wheelers) with Sarah Wilson finishing third.
The Under 10s had to complete 5 laps of a similar course with just one additional loop included for them which was a drop down off a slope, around a tree and then up the bank again to rejoin the Under 8s course. In this race were 9 boys and 5 girls. In the boys race there was a host club win from Ben Wilson with Banbridge CC rivals Jack Baird and James Buller finishing second and third respectively, only two seconds apart. In the girls race Kerry Beattie (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) continued her dominance of this race category with a strong ride to take first with Ellie Kelso (East Tyrone) chasing hard followed by Sarah Elder (Carn Wheelers).
Next up were the Under 12s. Their course was a complete new rethink with a loop which took them down off the start/finish area, sharp left, out towards a tight 180 degree turn, and then join into the return section of the senior loop which took in a steep drop with a good run off towards the final climb back to the entrance gate and then the finish line. Parents were able to stand at a certain location close to the start line and watch all the action from this high advantage point. The 11 riders, 8 boys and 4 girls were given 4 laps to do. Craig McCarthy (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) showed his strength on this course by pulling out a lead after the first lap which he kept increasing over the course of the race. It was much closer between Mark Buller (Banbridge CC) and Dominic Bradley (Carn Wheelers) who finished in this order. In the girls race Kathryn Doyle (Carn Wheelers) finished over 25 seconds ahead of fellow club rider Emma Elder who had almost the same gap over Kelly Wilson (Dromara CC).
At noon the next set of races took place with the Under 16s, Senior 4 men and Under 14s. There were no entries for the Senior 3 women’s race. The Under 16s had to do 2 laps of the full course and the Senior 4 men had to do 3 laps. The Under 14s had their own course which took in the first peak of the mountain but then turned off the main course and headed back towards the infamous Rock Slab. The Under 14s had to do 3 of these laps and it was Calvin Moore (Omagh Wheelers) who took the win comfortably ahead of Richard Baird (Banbridge CC) with Max Anderson (Shelbourne Motors/Orchard Wheelers) taking third. Shannon Buller (Banbridge CC) was the only female in the Under 14s race and therefore started alongside her male counterparts but finished 3rd overall.
The Under 16s had just 5 entries with Conor Kavanagh finishing almost 2 minutes ahead of James Curry (Banbridge CC) with Daniel Brickenden (Epic MTB) third.
There were 20 entries in for the Senior 4 men’s race including a few new faces to the cross-country racing scene. Winner on the day was Gavin Treanor who had a close battle with Joe Penny (Banbridge CC). Martin Bradley (Carn Wheelers) put in another excellent ride with Paul Daly (Island Wheelers) fourth, Damien Doyle (Spires CC) fifth and Mervyn Gordon (Carn Wheelers) sixth.
There was then time for a prize giving ceremony for all the youth and Senior 4 men’s winners. At 2 pm the next batch of races took place. At the front were the Senior 1 men and Senior 1 women. Behind them were the Senior 2 men with the Senior 3 men and Senior 2 women at the back.
The 3 Senior 1 men had 6 laps of the course to complete. Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC) set a blistering pace getting around the first lap in just 15 minutes with his slowest lap well under 16 minutes. Matthew Adair (Banbridge CC) had a strong ride but could not match his fellow club rider’s times. Ritchie Felle (Team WORC), recently returned from much better climates in Portugal, was also riding strongly to take third.
In the Senior 1 women’s race Ciara MacManus put on a great display of riding to take a comfortable win. Claire Oakley (WXC World Racing) was having a great race with Ciara for the first few laps before dropping back and sitting out a lap with back pain. This left Gill Smith to take second place.
Thirtheen signed on for the Senior 2 men’s race which was 5 laps of the senior circuit. Barry Kellett from the host club had a close battle with junior rider Stuart Ballantine (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) and William Mulligan (Banbridge CC) until Stuart had a puncture and was forced to run part of a lap back to the service area. This left Barry to pull away from William to take the win. Barry won the Senior 3 race at Dunmore last year. Eamon McConvey (Xmtb McConvey Cycles) seemed well suited to this course as he took third overall. Fourth was Niall Quinlan (Epic MTB) with junior rider Rob Deegan (Murphy Surveys Kilcullen) fifth and Simon Curry (Banbridge CC) sixth.
There were also 13 riders in the Senior 3 race which was held over 4 laps of the main course. Mark Farrell was back to winning ways finishing over 2 minutes ahead of his closest rival Paul McCarter (Omagh Wheelers). Mark Wright (Ballymena Road Club) had a great start to his Ulster series finishing third keeping the series leader in this category, Stephen Law (Carn Wheelers), out of a podium position. Richard Stewart (Phoenix CC) continues his improvement with fifth place with sixth going to Darragh McCarter (Omagh Wheelers).
There were just 2 entries for the Senior 2 women’s race which Julie Rea (Phoenix CC) and Kathryn Bell (Northern CC) contested over 3 lapswith Julie finishing the stronger of the two.
Once the racing was over the riders were able to return to the sign on gazebo where food had been laid on with a great spread of sandwiches and cakes as well as the BBQ producing tasty hot dogs for riders and spectators. The final prize giving then took place with the sun breaking through the clouds. Many thanks to all the hard working members of Dromara Cycling Club for pulling this event together. For more details of the next off-road races see www.ulsterxc.com.
Full results here
Report by Martin Grimley
Photographs by Zak H, Matthew G & Martin here
More photographs here