Round 1 - Ballykelly Forest
7 April 2013
| Ulster XC MTB 2013 Round 1 - Ballykelly Forest 7 April 2013 | |
| Sunday 7 April 2013 Ballykelly Forest Sunday saw the first race of the cross country mountain bike season in Ballykelly forest and well done to the host club for an excellent start. (For most of us) The club was represented in most of the categories on the day from the kids through to us old guys, on a course that was dry and fast. The weather also held up with no rain or snow if not a bit chilly. First up were the under 8’s with one lap to race we had 9th place for Alex Harrower for the boys and making it onto the podium in 3rd place was Zoe Lindsay. Then onto the under 10’s with a large field of 20 riders with three laps saw Fraser Harrower on his new bike in 8th place and Adam McCaughtry in 11th. Next was the under 12’s and a move up for young Ben Wilson who was held off by xmtb’s Drew Armstrong for the five lap race to finish in 2nd place. We then had the under 14 racers with Ethan Creighton in 3rd, Max Melville in 5th and Thomas Creighton in 6th place after 2 laps . With no Dromara riders in the under 16’s this was all our junior riders finished for the day some of whom stayed to watch senior races which followed. Well done to all who took part it’s great to see the kids in the sport at such an early age. I wish I had started a lot earlier than I have, it would be nice have youth on my side! Next it was the turn for the first of the big boys in senior 4. The club numbers for this race was a bit lighter than last year as we had a few guys not able to make it and a few more make the leap (quite literally for one!) up to senior 3. Two laps of the full course, about 3.3miles each according to one Strava feed. (Other cycling gps enabled recording programs are available) and with 40 brave souls starting on the line the course had everything you could want in a xc race, some ups and downs, plenty of single track, roots, (who doesn’t like riding over them?) and a few fire road climbs just for good measure. After the initial fire road climb was a Shute with the usual amount of spectators waiting for some action/spills with a so called easier line if you didn’t like the look of it. And although I didn’t see all of the racing I believe that a good few riders had a wee lie down at some point during their race. And only three riders not finishing. The results for the s4 where a very respectable 17th for Nathan Sturrock and 31st for Robert Davison, well done guys. I was up next in my first senior 3 race, along with fellow team mates John Shanks, who had also moved up and Brian Wilson a seasoned pro. 3 laps was the tune for this one and John finished in 6th place and Brian in 10th. Well done again.My race on the other hand didn’t go just as well… I will add that I thought the course was hard going in places, technical, with some very nice descents which I thoroughly enjoyed during my practice lap. Rather than use some excuse about incorrect tire pressures, a series of pictures will let you see how my race went/ended. (Special thanks to Mike Armstrong for the following.) (No trees or rocks were harmed in the making of this stunt) So enough about me and on with the report. Next we have senior 2 which consisted of 4 laps and 21 starters with Mr. Barry Kellett earning a well deserved 2nd place ahead of old rival/friend? Luke Ireland with David Montgomery taking first place. No riders from the club entered into senior 1 but the podium results are as follows. 1st Matthew Adair, 2nd Gareth McKee and 3rd Aiden McDonald. I wish I was as fit as these boys. Lastly, a big thank you for an excellent days racing and hospitality from the host club. All pictures courtesy of Michael Armstrong (link here). Bring on the next round. Report by Peter Ritchie. Links to more photographs on www.ulsterxc.com |     |
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