MTB Winter League 2009
Round 1
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Xmtb McConvey Cycles MTB Winter League 2009 Round 1 |
Xmtb |
| Sunday 18 January 2009 Castle Park, Bangor A bitterly cold day in Castle Park in Bangor saw the start of the four round series of mountain bike races organised by local club Xmtb McConvey Cycles. This annual series is principally focused on providing an introduction to the sport for the youth riders but also caters for the adult riders who want to get in some early season racing. The Castle Park course includes the council owned BMX track as well as the field and nearby wood. The site has ample car parking and the club were able to make use of the council owned youth hall for kitchen and bathroom facilities. Today's event had attracted over 40 junior riders and 49 senior riders from as far afield as Limavady and Omagh. With the threat of snow in the air the first races got underway at 11:30 with the under 8s and under 10s. The under 8s had to complete two laps of the BMX course and it was Banbridge's Mark Buller who finished first ahead of Drew Armstrong, who has recently joined Dromara cycling club, and Jack Baird, also from the Banbridge cycling club. The under 10s had to complete double the distance and it was a similar story with the dominant Banbridge club getting first and third with John Buller and Sheena McKiverigan respectively with Joel Smyth (XMTB McConvey cycles) sandwiched in between in second spot. The course tape was then amendments to include the wooded area on the hill. Starting at 12:00, the first to experience racing amongst the trees were the under 12s who had to complete two laps. Surprising it was again a Banbridge first and third with Joseph Baird arriving home 25 seconds ahead of Greg Bell (XMTB McConvey cycles) who was only one second ahead of Shannon Buller. The under 14s had twice the distance to complete and this time it was victory for the host club with Chris Oakley arriving back over four minutes ahead of his closest rival Martin McGauley (Carn Wheelers) with Fintan Murray (Banbridge CC) finishing a respectable third. At 1pm the under 16s and adults lined up for their race. Fifty seven riders in total had to squeeze together on the grassy embankment in rows of eight. The under 16s headed off first to complete eight laps of the circuit. Unsurprising it was the young Matthew Adair (Banbridge CC) who won this race. Matthew has been working hard over the winter including taking part in the recent Trail Quests organised by Dromara cycling club. Behind Matthew it was Kyle McEwan from the host club who was just over a minute behind Matthew and the only other rider to complete the eight laps. The 10 lap adults race started one minute after the under 16s. With the tight BMX track to complete first, riders were taking it easy to begin with to avoid crashing. Once into the trees the action unfolded with the faster riders coming up through the pack. Conditions in the wood were slippery with a number of thick muddy sections after the weekend's heavy rain. The course followed an anti-clockwise direction, twisting and turning through the trees to make the most use of the space available. There were lots of falls throughout the race mostly on the muddy corners where the tree roots were their most slippery. The driest and quickest sections were along the top of the wood after which the riders descended out of the trees and into the adjacent field. It was a sprint along the muddy field before heading through the gap and into the BMX course. It came as no shock that first cat rider Glenn Kinning (Castlereagh CC) completed the adult race in first place. Glenn having recently won the mountain bike support race at the Irish Cyclo Cross Championships two weeks before. Putting in a fantastic effort was top vet rider Robbie Lamont (XMTB McConvey Cycles) who was only a minute behind Glenn and following Robbie was Glenn's club mate Tim Edgar. Graham Boyd from the host club had a great ride to finish fourth as he was chased by Paul McMenamin the strong vet from Leisure Lakes. The only other rider to complete the 10 laps was Audi East Antrim's Jonny Beers. Congratulations to XMTB McConvey cycles for a great event. The next round will be on Sunday 25 January 2009 in the same location. Sign on from 9:30. Many thanks to Angela from the club for passing on the list of results (see below). Full results here |
Photographs by the Grimley family
   Under 8s
 Under 10s
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 Under 10s |
 Under 12s |
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