This years NPS season kicked off in style last weekend with round 2 (round 1 was cancelled) on the brilliant Bellurgan Park course just outside Dundalk. The hosting club Cuchulainn CC have done a great job improving this venue over the last 2 years and it has now become one of the highlights of the race calendar.

There was a very large turnout for this event which was helped by the dry if a little chilly conditions and the course reputation. There was also a large IMBRC turnout with about 25 riders making the short trip up the M1.

There was some great racing early on with the youth categories fighting it out for the medals. We had some brilliant performances from our junior team yet again..!David McGarr finished in 2nd in the U10′s cat with his brother Adam placing  3rd in U12′s just behind Ryan Dunne in 2nd place (photo below).

In u14′s we had Johnny Quinn (photo below) come home in 4th place in a really close category with less that a minute separating the top 9 riders.

In u16′s we had Antony Quinn finish in a good 5th place having let 3rd place slip away in the finishing straight to Scott Wallace 3rd & Conor Levelle 4th (both MAD MTB). We also had an improving Aaron Lynch 11th in his first race this year after returning from a series of injuries.

The senior categories were fast and furious with large numbers in each group which made passing difficult on the tight fast track, so it was all important to get a good start and get into the single track as far up as possible. In S1 men James McCluskey placed a respectable 8th in a strong field which was won by Peter Buggle (Rocky Mountain), followed by Ray O’Shaughnessy (Cuchulainn CC) & Roger Aiken (Banbridge CC).

Our best placed rider in S2 was Joe Jones 17th, with Colm Keane in 31st and David Askin (photo below) in 38th. Jim Haide was a DNF after suffering mechanical problems while running in the top 10. S2 was won by Stuart Galloway (WORC) followed by Simon Curry (Banbridge CC) & Paddy Makey (WORC).

The S3 category is huge this year with 78 riders lining up on the start line. Again the start is crucial with such a big field.! There was a bit of an incident on the start loop which a number of riders got caught up in. Anyone who missed it was away and clear.! This very competitive cat was won by Brian Hutchinson (EPIC) followed by Marcin Drozdziok (U/A) & Mark Farrell (U/A). We had Glen Guilda finish in a superb 5th place, less than 2 mins behind the winner. Greg Cahill was 11th, Davey Dunne 13th, Ladislav Faska 18th (photo below), Paul Barry 25th, Michale Cummins 46th, & Aidan Duffy who is listed incorrectly in the results as a DNS.

Another big field in S4, which was won by Barry McCabe (Killarny CC) followed by Peter Boaden (EPIC DH) & Joe O’Leary (Killarney CC). We had Leo McGarr coming back from injury in 15th place and Arek Wjotunik 42nd.

It was a great days racing and we are looking forward to the next round in Cork.

Photos supplied by Conor Byrne Photography, Keith Wallace & Derek Hayes

Next weekend sees the start of the Biking Blitz series run by Biking.ie with the first or 4 rounds on Sunday 19th in Ballinstoe Woods, Co Wicklow. This is a beginner friendly series as its run on trail center courses, so it would be a good introduction to XC racing in the Baggy Shorts category.

For the more experienced racer there is the Super Pro category which will provide a tough enough challenge with the added bonus of cash prizes for the overall series winner.

This would be ideal for riders who took part in our recent beginner spins and current club racers as a warm up to the NPS series.

Here’s a video from our recent beginner spin in Ballinastoe Woods, Co Wicklow shot and edited by Brian Cribbin. Bit of a showery day but everyone had good time and came back in one piece

So for the past few weeks a good few of our club members have ditched the bike and shlompy trails for the comfort of indoor climbing, or bouldering to give it its proper name. A new indoor climbing center Gravity Climbing Center has opened recently in Inchicore, Dublin 8…So we decided to go check it out.!

For most of us this was our first time climbing since the local tree or neighbors garden wall when we were kids so we took the introduction lesson with Terry, one of the instructors. For €20 it was well worth it, Terry showed us the ropes and guided us through the basic techniques of bouldering. After an hour or so he left us to it and off we went to tackle the various color coded routes ourselves. The blue routes are the easiest, so we worked away on them for the night.

It was quite tough at first getting to grips with the technique but its been getting easier as the weeks go on…! If you want you can stay there all night until they close, but after a while your arms are hanging off you if your not used to it. The lighter skinnier mountain bikers among us tend to find it much easier to climb up the wall like a monkey while the not so light and skinny find it a bit tougher We’ve nearly had more members going climbing than on spins, we might have to change the club name to Irish Rock Climbing Racing Club

All said, the Gravity Climbing Center is handy to get to, friendly helpful staff, not expensive and a fun way to spend a few hours in the evening. Go check it out..!

Our beginner spin series is back for 2012 and kicks off later this month. This series proved very popular last year so this is your chance to get out on the trails with us for a fun spin in the mountains.

Beginner Spin 2011

Beginner Spin 2011

Beginner Spin 2011

Dates for the beginner spins are as follows:

• Saturday 21st jan/Ticknock 10:30am
• Saturday 4th Feb/Ballinastoe 10:30am
• Saturday 18th Feb/Hellfire Woods 10:30am

These spins are open to both men and women over 14 years of age. Riders under 18 years of age are required to print off and bring along a signed parental consent form and give it to the spin leader: click here

Registration

You must register for these spins, please use the form below and submit

These spins are suitable for all levels although a basic level of bike fitness would help.

You will need the following:

• A helmet (No Helmet = No spin)
• A mountain bike in good working order and working brakes
• Appropriate cycling clothing for cold, wet weather, gloves (no jeans or track suits)
• Spare tube, basic tools (Allen key set, tyre levers)
• Food (cereal bar, banana…etc)
• Water

For more information see the club forum or mail us on imbrcinfo@gmail.com

This weekend sees the CX season draw to a close with the National Championships taking place in St Annes Park, Raheny in Dublin on Saturday 7th January. The organising club for this event is Team-WORC. More info can be found on irishcx.com

St Annes was used for the 4th round of the Supercross Cup in November and proved to be a very popular venue.
Here is a short video from that race.