Off season update

So its been just over 2 months since the last race of the season and as most of you know my off season hasn't gone so well. After finishing up racing, I got the chance to relax a bit, I got to go out and just have fun on the bike. I was getting out 3/4 times a week and was getting out a bit more with the club. My off season training was going well with my fitness getting better and better with every road training spin I was doing. About a month ago though my luck on the mountain bike ran out. After being out on a spin on 3Rock with a mate for just over 2 hours we were on the way home. We were coming down off the mountain on a trail called the Dreamtrack. We were sessioning some of the jumps on it and we were just about to finish up. As I came left the lip of one of the table tops I knew I was going to fast. I landed on the front wheel of the bike and went over the bars. At the time I didn't know but I hit the ground at 30 kph. I knew it was bad as I lay on the ground. I walked down of the mountain and got collected by my mum. We went to the VHI in Dundrum and then onto St.Vincents Hospital. 5 hours after the crash and I left the hospital with a broken collar bone and fractured scaphoid. 6 weeks on now and I have had surgery on my shoulder and just one more week till the cast comes off my wrist and I then I can start physio on my shoulder. Training is going well though even with this slight set back. I'm on the turbo trainer 3 times a week. If all goes according to plan I'll hopefully be back on the bike in the middle of January. Thank you all for the get well wishes and I'll be back in 2014 with a new focus and Some big goals!!

Scott

RedBull FoxHunt 2013

So it finally arrived. The Foxhunt 2013 which also ended up being the last big race of the year. What a weekend it was. Dad, Matthew and I travelled down early Saturday morning to Rostrevor. After getting signed on and collecting my timing chip, I then headed up the mountain on the uplift. To get to the very top of the mountain you had a 20 minute push up and it was steep! The race course was worth it though. It started with a uphill sprint along some single track, then into some downhill singletrack before the real rough stuff started. After the single track it was into a long rock garden before hitting loads of jumps and berms down what can only be described as a dual slalom course on a fireroad. Then it was into The Pulse which is one of Rostrevor's downhill tracks. There were plenty of big rocks and drops which cause some mayhem on the Saturday. I got 2 full runs in and 3 runs of The Pulse before it was time for seeding. During Practise I got 2 punctures and smashed the bottom part of my chain guide off so I was hoping to make it down the seeding run without a mechanical. I got a good start up the climb and quickly got into the run. I managed to catch a lad on a full downhill rig which made a bit hard to get by but after that it was plain sailing. I went on full attack down the doubletrack and dual slalom sections. In The Pulse the main aim was to be quick but not get another puncture which I managed not to get and put a good sprint into the finish. I won seeding by 3 seconds and took 15th overall which meant I got the choice of where I wanted to start for the FoxHunt.

On Sunday morning I managed to get in one run of the course before everybody headed to the top of the mountain for the FoxHunt. I chose to start over to the right hand side of the pack with the rest of the top guys. 5,4,3, Go! I got a good start of the line and got down to the bridge in a good position. I managed to pass 2 people on the beginning of the singletrack climb and then things settled down till we got to the doubletrack. I was fast down the doubletrack but knew there was someone right on my back wheel chasing me and I was determined not to let him get by me. We raced on down the course taking pretty much the exact same lines the whole way down. I just couldn't shake him off my tail. As we came out onto the tarmac road to the finish line jump I put in a big sprint to try get away from him and I just about managed to hold him off. It turned out to be one of the guys I had been riding with all weekend (Jordan Kelly). I ended up Finishing 1st out of the Juniors and came 13th overall with a time of 8:08minutes , 2 places up on where I came in seeding and 9 seconds quicker than my seeding time.

Have to say a big thanks to Expert Cycles who had my bike running great all weekend. They've done a great job all year helping me with the bike and can't thank them enough. Looking forward to the winter now and to getting some serious training in for the 2014 Season.

Scott

Bluegrass International Enduro Tour, Ballyhoura

So the last round of the Bluegrass international tour took place in Ballyhoura on the weekend. The race was a slightly different format to the format of racing I'm used to. There was 2 days of racing with no practise at all compared to practising on the Saturday and racing Sunday which I'm use to. The weekend started late Friday evening with Dad and I travelling down to the lodge we were sharing with my team mate Max Power, Shona and Brian in Ballyhoura. Saturday morning was an early start as we wanted to get signed on early to get a good wave for the Sunday in case we didn't get seeded. After signing on we headed back to the lodge to get some food. We were back in Killfinnane at 12 to get ready to head out on course. At 1:30 I was the first rider through scrutiny but held on for Max and then we headed out on course.

Stage 1 Saturday

Stage 1 was the same stage as the first stage of the Munster Enduro so I had a good idea of where I was going before I set off. Out of the star I felt fast enough and got to the first forest quick enough. As I turned into the forest I found Gavin Carrol on the ground In front of me and just about managed to avoid him. Hit the switchbacks next but felt a little slow through them. Got down onto the road and sprinted my guts out to get to the next section of trail. I rode the last section of trail down through the trees and off-camber fairly quickly and tagged out at the finish. I finished 1st in My category on the stage. I waited for Max to come down the mountain behind me then we made our way up to stage 2 which was only a 15 minute transition. Once we got to the top we didn't hang around for long.

Stage 2 Saturday

Stage 2 was once again one of the Munster Enduro stages. It was shortened down though. I was the first person to ride the stage on the day. It began with fast open mountain singletrack before riding up over a fallen tree and into the woods. In the woods it was straight and flat out and I got a nice smack from my saddle about half way down from a natural double I didn't quite make. Out of the forest and i was a quick sprint down a fireroad into a bus stop and the a small sprint to the finish. 2nd in my Category for the stage. After finishing and Max finishing we rolled back to Killfinnane and were the first 2 to time out for the day.

I took the win for Saturday beating Conor Lavelle by 6 seconds.

 

Sunday

It was a early enough start on Sunday. The house was up and we all cycled from the lodge to the trail centre for the days race. Theres always a great atmosphere hanging around before you set off out onto the course. At 10:15 the Pro's and seeded riders were let out onto the course. Max and I made our way up to stage one with the rest of the Pro's.

 

Stage 1 

Stage 1 was one of the shortest stages of the day. It started with some fast coillte single track weaving down through the forest. After about 40s it was of the coillte trail and into some big berms and out onto the fireroad. I put in as much pedalling as I could down the fireroad and then it was back into coillte trail. This section was a bit peadlier and there was a good few places you could huck big rocks that were on the inside of corners to carry your speed. There was a slightly up hill sprint to the finish and that was that. 1st in category. Max and I regrouped at the bottom and headed to stage 2

 

Stage 2

Stage 2 Started in the open mountain. Down through the grass and into a big gully which was completely over grown with grass so you couldn't really see what was coming up. Out onto a straight blast down a double track and out onto the fireroad. It was a good 400m sprint up the fireroad before re-entering the coillte trail. The trail was fairly flowy but you had to do a lot of pedalling to do it quickly. I got to the end and nearly collapsed with all the pedalling. 1st in category on the stage.

Stage 3

Stage 3 started with a big straight chute witch was super fast. After that there was quick fireroad sprint and into coillte trail. The section of trail was fairly pedally but had really good flow and you could pump hard out of some of the corners for just that little bit extra speed. By the time we got to the end I was knackered. Finished 1st on the stage in my category.

Stage 4

Stage 4 started further up the mountain than earlier in the year. The new section added a nearly a minute on to the stage time. It started rocky and rooty but I got down through it well and got onto the coillte. The rest of the stage was coillte trail with a small section of singletrack at the end. I put in as many pedal strokes as possible and was thankful for the reverb, being able to sit up and pedal. I nearly ran of the trail coming out onto the fireroad but managed to hold it together. A quick sprint up the road and I blasted down thought the singletrack to the finish. 1st in category. Now it was time for the big climb to Seefin

Stage 5

The final stage of the day came around and after a 40 minute climb/walk. The stage went straight into flat out action with loads of jumps and blind drops into rock-gardens. I found some really fast lines thought the sections and quickly got to the fastest part of the stage. After hitting 65km/h down the section it was hard on the brakes into the compression onto the fireroad. After a flat out sprint down the road to the next section of trail. After some loose shaley action I hit the steel bridge which was nearly to narrow for my bars. Once through that it was a long pedally sprint to the finish. 1st in category.

Weekend Done and Dusted... After 7 stages of Blind racing I finshed up with a time of 29:30 minutes. It was good enough to take the win in my category by over a minute. I also took 3rd overall on the day. The amazing thing was after just one race I manage to come 2nd overall in the whole Bluegrass series in my category!!!! Got a lovely new 2014 Bluegrass Fullface helmet for my troubles!!! Pity there wasn't more people racing as it was a fantastic weekends racing.

 Big thank you to Expert Cycles for servicing my fork and going through the bike. Pity we couldn't get the creaking sorted in time but it didn't slow me down but it did annoy everyone around me!! Also like to say thanks to Niall Davis for organising the race and making the trip down really worth while. Only one more Major race to go this season. The Fox Hunt. See you then...

Gravity Enduro Rd4, Djouce Woods

The finale of the Gravity Enduro Series took place last weekend in Djouce woods. This was the fourth round of the series excluding the series champs. The weekend started early Saturday morning meeting Rob from MAD MTB at Expert cycles grabbing a few quick things then we hit the road to get to Djouce. After arriving we went and got signed up for the weekend. The bikes were then unpacked out of the van and we got ready to get rolling. We met up with the rest of the MAD Crew before heading out to do the stages. The stages included a mix of fast flowy trails, some tight technical sections and some long sprints. We got all of the stages done on the saturday and felt I knew the lines i wanted to know and try and get come race day.

Race day

So I arrived at Djouce at 9:15 on Sunday morning, got my self sorted and rolled into the race village. At 10:10 I left scrutiny and headed up to Stage 1. I felt confident going into the day as I felt I was riding well in the wet conditions after a whole summer in the dust and no rain in the run up to the race at all.

Stage 1

Stage 1 went well. I got a great start and felt fast through the berms on XTC. On Benchcut I felt I went as fast as I could. I got a bit caught up on one of the switchbacks but it didn't cost me much time really just felt I could of done it a bit smoother. I put in a good sprint on the fireroad, not sitting down at all. Went quick enough through Son of Benchcut. I caught Leah Maunsell at the end of the trail and we had a bit of a race to the finish poles. I finished first on the stage in my category (14-18) and took 5th place overall on the stage!

Stage 2

Stage 2 started fast and steep through one of the only dry parts of the forest. After that there was a short kicker climb before dropping back through the forest. Next across the fireroad and into a new section of trail built for this round of the series. It was slick enough before flying straight down a trail, bus stopping around a tree then dropping into a bomb hole. On the corner out of the bomb hole the front wheel washed out on me but I just about manage to hold it upright. I won the stage in my category and finished 12th overall on the stage.

Stage 3

Stage 3 was pedally. I went well through Toro(The first section of trail) and pedalled hard on the fire road to the steep section of the fireroad. I got down it fairly quick and was straight on the pedals. I put in a big effort on the long pedal across the bottom section of the stage to the finish line and it payed of with 7th overall on the stage and 1st on the stage in my category.

 

Stage 4

Stage 4 was another pedally stage but had plenty of gravity fed riding as well. I was fast on the opening section with no mistakes on the criss crosses across the bank. I got my line perfect on Gran Canaria. I sprinted hard down the fireroad and across the river and into Sliddery. I went good enough through it with only one small stoppage after getting caught in a hole. Got to the end of the stage and took 1st on the stage in the 14-18 category and 8th overall.

 Stage 5

I got to the top of 5 just as it started to spit rain. I didn't take much of a break before getting going. I found all my lines on the top open section and was fast down through the first steep section down onto earls drive. The next section of steep trail nearly killed me though as my front wheel slipped on a root and was sent down the trail lying with my stomach on the saddle and my feet up in the air behind me like superman! I some how manage to hold it together and pulled myself back onto the bike properly and put in the pedals to the finish. 2nd in my category a second of first and 11th overall.

Stage 6

Stage 6 was a quick 1 minute blast down a single piece of trail and then a sprint down a fireroad. It was a bit of craic and you couldn't really loose any time on it. 2nd in the category and 17th overall.

At the end of the day I came away with 1st place on the day. I also took my first top 10 finish overall finishing 6th with a time of 21:43. As It was the last race of the series there was also the overall prize givings. I took 2nd place overall behind Conor Lavelle in 1st.

Have to say a big thanks to Expert Cycles for all their help and support through the year. Couldn't of done it with out you guys.

Also like to say Thanks to Niall Davis and the Biking.ie/Gravity Enduro Crew for putting on a amazing race series and can't wait to do it all again next year.

Looking forward to the Bluegrass International Enduro In Ballyhoura in 2 weeks time! See you then. Scott

Atec Munster Enduro Rd 3

The final Round of the Munster Enduro Series took place on Sunday in Thomastown Woods Just outside Ballyorgan, Co,Limerick. The Race format is completely different from the gravity Enduro format. It's a one day race where you ride all the stages blind but you can have a second go at each stage if you want. Dad and I arrived down to the town around 10 and I then went and met up and had a chat with some of the rest of the Xc youth Development Squad that were racing as well. We then went and got signed on and collected our timing chips. We then headed up the road to the Forest and up to stage 1.

 Stage 1

Stage 1 was steep, fasts,loose and off camber with a big long fireroad sprint in the middle of it. My Blind run didn't go so well as I crashed coming out onto the fireroad and then got lost. So I did stage 1 again and gained a huge amount of time which I was happy with.

 Stage 2

Stage 2 was fast. It started with a open section through a felled wood area. i felt pretty fast through this section. Then it was over a fallen tree and into the woods. There was a straight fast chute down the forrest and then out onto a fireroad briefly before flicking right up a steep bank and back into the Forest. From there it was a pedal through the trees to the finish. I only made on small mistake on the stage where i came to a stop but it went well enough that I decided not to do the stage again.

Stage 3

Stage 3 was a mellow enough stage with one main forrest section and then a lot of pedalling. I didn't do a second run as it went well enough. I'll let the video do the taking on this stage!!

 

Stage 4

Stage 4 had to be one of the most challenging. Even the very first corner was catching people out. It was tight, fast and loose with a couple of switchbacks at the top. My blind run was alright but felt a bit slow so I did a second run which felt a lot faster but I had a crash near the top so I ended up with 2 identical times for the stage.

 

Stage 5

Stage 5 was the shortest stage of the day but was one of the most fun stages.It was flat out down the hill with a few jumps and small berms thrown in to add a little extra spice. My first run was fast enough and didn't fell like I need to do a second run but as it was the last stage of the day i made the hike back up to the top again and improved on my time by 5 seconds.

Overall it was a great day with some great racing, fantastic stages and deadly company. Was delighted to take the win over David Conroy and Luke Courtney who also rode well to 2nd and 3rd. Well done to Team Ballyhoura for holding a great event and to Jonathan Maunsell for building some great stages. Thanks to Expert Cycles for sorting my bike out during the week and who manage to retubelessize my front wheel 15 mins before closing on the Saturday evening!!
Scott

Gravity Enduro Series Champs Ballinastoe.

So with a months gap between the last round and the weekend there was a lot of waiting to be done for the series champs this year. The weekend started out with practise on Saturday. Practise went well and I felt I had got all of the lines I wanted remembered and had some great craic with Max and Alfie on some of the stages we did. The stages were really good with a good mix of fast sections, really loose steep sections and a bit of the coilte trails.

 Race Day

At 10 o'clock I lined up and headed out onto the Course. I made my way up to stage 1 by my self. The transitions to each of the stages were short enough so within 15 minutes I was at stage 1 ready to go.

 Stage 1 

So out of the start I felt fast getting through the first section of forest pretty fast and out onto the cross country singletrack section. As I was riding it I got a bit of the trail and hit a few rocks and came to a stop. I quickly dragged the bike back onto the trail and got going again as fast as I could. Got down the rest of the stage pretty well. I felt I could of gone a bit faster on the steep section From the bomb hole to the Finish but it was still fast enough to put me 3rd on the stage.

 

 Stage 2

Stage 2 started with a good pedal along one of the coilte trails. There was a quick section of grassy trail before dropping back onto the coilte where a hiding rock in the grass nearly sent me over the bars. Got back onto the pedals and hit the fireroad sprint. On the fireroad I started to hear a loud ticking noise from the back of the bike. At the time I didn't know whether It was the disc rubbing or I had bent my derailleur but I ignored it and continued on. Further on down the trail I ran of the trail and came to a stop again. I Got back on the bike as  quick as I could and got to the end where I slid out onto the fireroad and stopped on the timing pole. I finished 4th on the stage.

Stage 3 

Stage 3 was all Coilte trail. There was a lot of pedalling in this stage. There was no real technical sections on the stage so it went without any problems. The stage also brought you back to the pit area for lunch. I finished 2nd on the stage 2s of the stage winner. Time for Lunch!!

Stage 4

Stage 4 was one my favourite stages of the race. It started with a fast loamy forest section with a few tight turns and some flat out straight jump sections. I got all my lines through this section. After this We were on a straight fast double track and out onto a fire road and then into a coilte trail to the finish of the stage. I finished 2nd on this stage as well only 2s of the fastest time.

Stage 5

Stage 5 was definitely the most fun of the day. It started of with a super fast straight run down a gullied doubletrack that I hit 50km/h on. After that it was into some technical rooty tight singletrack. This section led onto a wide singletrack through the trees and into the open. Hit Big Vinnie And then into the climb out of it which on the last stage took a lot of effort. The final sprint down the fireroad brought you to the flyover bridge and into the finish. I finished the stage in 2nd on the stage.

At the Ended of the day I finished in 3rd which I was happy with but I felt I could of gone a bit faster. A big congrats to Conor Lavelle on the win and Stephan McCormack on 2nd.

Well done to Niall Davis for holding another amazing race and to all the GravityEnduro.ie Crew for their work to make the course.

I'd like to say a big thanks to Expert Cycles for keeping my bike running perfectly for every race and their continued support throughout the season.

Also Thank you to Action Photography for the Great pictures.

Scott

2013 Xc National Champs Garvagh, Carn Wheelers

So last weekend (21st) the Xc National champs were held in Garvagh by Carn Wheelers. The weekend started at 9 o'clock when we left the house in the car, Kyle with us as well. After 3 1/2 hours travelling in the car we arrived in Garvagh. At 2 pm we met up with the rest of the squad and we headed off to do some practise laps. The course was brilliant with no real long climbs and short fun singletracks. James, Kyle, and myself did 2 laps of the full course and then a lap of the U14's lap. After that we had a short meeting and then headed off to our separate B&B's.

Race Day

So the aim for race day was to try get a top 5 finish seeing as I had been away for 2 1/2 weeks in Spain with no biking. We arrived at the course around 10 and then went to watch the kids and U16/U14 races. There were some great races with some fantastic battles for the titles. After the races I started to get warmed up. At around 2 o'clock we lined up on the line ready to go behind the elites. Off the line I got an alright start and slotted into 6th on the fireroad. The lead guys started to pull away from me a bit on the first long fireroad but caught back onto them as we entered the first section of singletrack. After that the lads in front pulled away and Dan and myself were left a bit behind. We worked together to try catch up with the group again by drafting down the fireroads. As we came through the start/finish line I got a bottle while Dan sprinted on past me and put a bit of a gap between us on the next lap. I kept the gap at about 10 seconds until near the end of second lap where he got pulled away by some of the Masters going past us. On the third and forth laps I kept pushing on as hard as I could trying to keep ahead of Kyle who was behind me. For the rest of the race I just tried to get all my lines and have fun at the same time. In the end I finished 6th just over a minute off 5th and the work on the last 2 laps payed off as I put 3 minutes into kyle.

Credit goes to Carn wheelers for putting on a great National champs this year and Max Power for his work as Xc coordinator throughout the year.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Jon Hynes for all his work through the year with the squad,
 Bike Addiction for looking after me at race days if there was ever anything wrong with the bike and Dare 2B/Spin 11 for all the squad kit they provided us this year.

I'd also like to Expert cycles for their support of me this season and I look forward to continue working with them in the remaining Enduro's this season.

Finally congrats to all the new National Champions and I look forward to next seasons Xc Nps

Xc Nps Rd6, G-ride

So the last race of the Nps series was on last weekend in Gride in Glendalough. I arrived at the course at 12 on Saturday and met the rest of the team. Once everybody arrived we went out to do some practise laps of the course. The course is the kind of course that suits me. One climb one descent. Technical the whole way through. On Saturday I got 2 laps in then headed to Lynhams of Laragh with some of the team that were staying there. At 7:30 that evening we had a meeting about Nationals and our trip to Scotland. We were also told that 6 of the squad members were going to be going to the European champs in August.

Race day

So on Sunday I got a lift to G-ride with James from the squad. we arrived there just before 10am. We went and watched the strider race which was great. After that I hung around the team tent with some of the team having a chat while it bucketed rain. At 12 James, Luke and I watched the U14/U16 race which were very exciting. At 1  o'clock I started to warm up on the turbo trainer. Thanks Smithers! After warming up on it for a while I got on the bike and peddled up and down the start straight for a while. At 2 o'clock we lined up on the start line and 3,2,1, Go! I got a good start and sat mid pack till near the end of the road. As it started to climb at the end I put in a push and got into the singletrack in 3rd. But not for long as I then went on to miss the boardwalk near the beginning of the trail. So everybody went back past me. I caught back up with them again pretty quickly and moved into 5th behind Max Van Der Lee. I was behind Max till the switch back climb where a few mistake caused him to pull in to let me by. I then went on to chase down Anthony and pass him as well on the first lap. So I was in 3rd now. On the starting the second lap I was 50 seconds down on Chris in 1st place. About a quarter of the way through the second lap I caught my team mate Dan. I was behind him till the switchbacks and then made a move on him on a high line on one of the run ups to a switch back. After passing him I started to pull away from him. I was now by my self but pushed on as fast as I could go down the descents. On the Third lap I manage to catch Chris and then Stuck on his back wheel until near the end of the last lap. Then It started to get interesting. On one of the sections I tried to pass Chris and we hit bars  but he got back in front. I then went for the pass again right before the last section of singletrack but he blocked me and I couldn't get past. So as we came out into the start finish area things were made even more interesting by some backmarkers ahead of us. As we entered the last corner onto the straight Chris got stuck behind one of the backmarkers so I went around the outside and got the sprint on to the finish. As I was coming to the finish line 2 other backmarkers came into the midlle of the track and I ended up hitting the ground onto the finish mat at the same time as Chris was finishing. In the end up I finished 2nd, 0.6 seconds behind Chris.

So That's the end of my second years racing in the Xc Nps. Last year I was 3rd overall in the U16 cat. This year I finished 4th in Junior only 2 points behind my Expert Cycles team mate Daniel Brickendam.

Looking forward to Nationals on the 21st of July in Garvagh!!!!

I'd Like to say a big thank you to Expert Cycles for supporting me through out the year and for all their help and advice.

I'd also like to thank Jon Hynes for all the hard work he has done over the year helping us on the Development Squad. For all the organising on race weekends, getting us support with BikeAddiction, Dare2b and Biking.ie and everything else he's done. I think everybody would have to agree that he's done a great Job this year and has really brought the people on the team along as riders.

Gravity Enduro Rd3 Ticknock

Round 3 saw us on Ticknock in the Dublin Mountains. The weekend started early saturday morning arriving at the carpark at 9:30. After getting signed on The Mad Crew headed out to practise the course. The first stage was one of the metro trails which was flat out and rocky. Then a long sprint along a fireroad into a Muddy forest switchback section to the finish. After that we headed to stage 2. Stage 2 was one of the most physical stages of the day. It started with a slightly Muddy bermy trail. After that it was a long rocky section which claimed one of the Mad lad's and put him out of Sunday's race. Some of the other lads got him sorted and then we moved on to stage. Stage 3 was the most physical stage in my opinion. It started with a technical singletrack section followed by a flat out straight section. Then into an old downhill trail which was really technical but flowy. At the end it came into a slightly slick switchback forest section to the finish. After this I ended up leaving the Mad group and continuing on with my Expert Cycles Team mate Max Power. Stage 4 was great craic. Pretty much just a Muddy rutted switchback trail down the mountain and then a rock gully to the very bottom of the mountain. Max and Myself only went to the bottom of the Switchback section and the headed to do part of Stage 5. We only did the bottom half of stage 5 as it was the other metro trail which we had both ridden plenty of times. The bottom Section was a steep forest trail followed by a short rocky section to the finish.

Race Day

My dad and I arrived at Ticknock at 9am to get parked near the race village. After getting my self sorted I went up to the race village. I met up with Max before going through scrutiny. After scrutiny We headed up to stage 1 and were the first seeded riders to the top.

Stage 1

Stage 1 went well. Was fast down the metro pedalling every where I could. I had one big moment where I tried squash a jump and got bucked forward nearly over the bars. As I came out onto the flat section I put in a big sprint to get to the forest section. In the forest section I held my lines pretty well and kept good speed with only one small mistake on a off camber corner. After coming out of the forest it was a quick sprint to the finish. 1st on the stage in my category. I waited for Max to come down the mountain in the midges. Once Max got to the bottom we headed of to stage 2.

Stage 2

Once we got to stage 2 we only had a short wait for the Pro's in front of us to start. We were still driven mad by the midges. Stage 2 got off to a great start, nailing all my lines thought the Forest section. I got down through the rock section pretty fast. Into the forest again and got down the trail alright. Felt like I could of gone a bit faster but I still managed to come 1st on the stage in my category.

Back up the mountain for stage 3.  Got a good sprint of the start but as I came to the entrance to the forest I lost the back wheel and hit the drop into the forest sideways with on foot out. I lost a bit of time getting back up to speed but kept good speed through the rest of the trail. The next section was a flat rough section of trail. Next was into the downhill trail. I went well down through it with only one mistake that brought me to a stop for a second. The bottom Half of the downhill trail went well getting all my lines and at a good pace. 2nd on the stage in my category. I was left waiting a while for Max as he had a big of on the stage. Once he got I got a bar in before pushing up the climb to get back up half the mountain. Once we got to a point we could cycle we got back on the bikes and got up to the top of the mountain. At the top we met Dan one of the other Team Expert Cycles riders that wasn't racing the gravity. After that we got a glass of coke from Last Lap Cafe and the got ready for stage 4.

Stage 4

I was looking forward to this stage the most. Off the start I was fast on was quick down the rock gully and out across the road. A quick sprint along a sand path and into the mud. Held my line well  and felt fast enough. Came sliding out onto a small kicker and sprinted up it and then it was back into the mud. Got a bit out of control in the next section, flying down a mud gully with a foot out, not touching the brakes. Then a 20 metres on I got a bit of a swap on and clipped a tree going around the corner. Through the rest of the trail and out onto the fireroad. A quick 2 second sprint put me into the last section of trail which was a long rocky gully to the bottom of the mountain. Once again 2nd on the stage in my category.

Stage 5

Final stage of the day. Was looking forward to putting in a good run to finish of the day. Out of the start I felt good. Got down through the first half of the Metro fast. As I started the second half of metro I hit one of the rock gardens. As i went to pedal out of it I had nothing. The chain was off and my chain guide was broken. Words cant describe how gutted I was. I pumped as far as I could then began to run with the bike. I stoped and tried to get the chain back on so I could pedal but it wouldn't go back on. I continued on running and then Jumped back on for the Last section of steep forest trail. I let it hang out on the last section trying to make up time but it wasn't enough. Finishe 3rd on the stage but lost a huge amount of time.

In the end up I came 2nd in my category a minute behind 1st nearly completely because of the 5th stage mechanical. Little bit bumbed with the result as I could of potentially won but sure that's racing! Ended up 23rd overall. the Rest of the team went alright with a 6th for Alfie, and 30th for Max in their category's. Robin Had a mechanical on stage 3 put him out of contention for the day. Big thanks to Expert Cycles for their Continued support of me in all of my racing.

Scott

XC NPS RD5 Slade Vally

So I'm a bit late with this but here go's anyway.

On Saturday morning my Mum and I headed to the track. When we got there I went out and did a practise lap with The guys from Expert Cycles. After we finished the practise lap my team mates arrived for the Team Relay. Once Scrivo and Fergal were ready we went for another practise lap. The course was brilliant. It had a really good mix of singletrack climbs and descents as well as some fireroad climb. The Descents were technical and fun and quite fast. So at 1 o'clock I lined up to take the start of the relay for our team. Off the start I got away well and managed to get first into the singletrack. I held the lead until we came out of the first section of singletrack where some of the other lads went by me. I was now in 5th out of 6th. I pushed on trying to catch the rest who got away ahead of me. Half way around the lap I caught up with 4th place which was Paddy from the squad. I stuck on his wheel till the finish sprint where I just managed to pip him to the line. I tagged in Fergal and he set out to do his lap but got a puncture Half way around and we DNFed.

On Sunday my brother came with my mum and me. My brother and I went and did a lap of the course. After that I watched the U16/U14 races. The squad got some good results with a good few podiums. After the prize giving I went and warmed up doing 2 laps of the start loop which was about 3 minutes long. I then lined up on the start line in the front row for the race. At 2 o'clock the race got going and I got into the start loop in 5th behind Dan. We were like a train going thought the start loop all right behind each other. As we got onto the actual lap the top 3 started to pull away from Dan and myself. We started to work together on the fireroads to try catch the others. I pulled ahead of Dan for a while but he pulled back the time and near the end of the first lap a I had a stupid little crash. So for the 4th time this year I ended up doing the 2nd and 3rd laps by myself. I concentrated on trying to push on and get all of my lines. Going onto the last lap I was 50 seconds behind Dan.

My last lap was quite slow, losing a good bit of time on the rooty climb at the back of the course. I made it thought to the end off the downhill trail at the end of the course then all of a sudden Bang.. The Bottom half of the derailleur broke and would not tension the chain so I had to run through the last section of single track and up the Fireroad to the finish. Done. The Heat during the race was unreal. I finished 5th, 1 minute 40seconds behind Dan in 4th.

Big thanks to Expert Cycles For having my bike running sweet the whole way thought the race and for sorting me out with a new X9 Type 2 Mech since the race at a great price.

Also thanks to IMBRC for holding the best race of the year on the best course of the year.

Scott

Xc NPS Rd4 Lady Dixon Park

So Round 4 in Lady Dixon Park. This time around it was a one day job as a few of the others on the team were in the middle of exams. Lady Dixon last year wasn't a good race for me as on the first lap I got a puncture and had to run the rest of the lap and then had to ride out the race on a borrowed wheel to a 9th place. This year I was hoping the race would go a bit better. Now the course isn't my thing, it has a lot of climbing and flat grass sections and not much downhill or much technical stuff in it. Dad and I left the house at 8:30 and arrived at 10:30. I got signed on and then got my new Squad gear. After getting sorted I went on a practise lap with Jon. This year the course was slightly longer than last year with some more climbing and a little bit more single track. After the practise lap, Luke and myself watched the U16/U14 races. There were great results for the team with and 1,2,3 for James,Paddy and Conor in U16, 1st for Shannon in U16 Girls and 1st and 2nd for Jamie and John in U14.

So at 2'oclock we lined up on the start line and were ready to go. I got a good start off the line and got 3rd into the first section of singletrack but was soon squeezed back to 5th. For the rest of the first section of singletrack I sat in 5th behind Darnell Moore. As we came out into the first open grass section I passed one rider but then was passed by Daniel Brickenden and Anthony Quinn. So In 7th now and just tried to push on. The lads in front of me started to pull away and I just couldn't keep with them. So the rest of the laps went by alright, not making any time on Anthony and Dan ahead of me but not losing time to Luke behind me. On the second I had an off on the wooden bridge over a fallen tree and managed to knock one of my shoes off. After getting that sorted I kept going. It was quite warm out racing so at the end of the second lap I poured the end of the water bottle on my head. Third lap was much of the same just getting around and trying to keep up my times. On the last lap Niall Horgan from MAD MTB caught me. As he is someone I'd ride with a lot I gave him a bit of a race. I sat behind him till the only bit of Downhill, at the bottom of it I made my move back past him. Coming to the longest climb on the course, he went back past me for a short time but I wasn't gonna let him get away. I put a move on him just before the last climb to the start finish line. So I came into the finish in 7th, a couple of minutes behind Anthony in 6th.
                                                        

Overall My race wasn't great but at least the race is over and were on to the next 2 races which are a lot more technical and to my liking. Big thanks to Spin 11- High performance Custom Clothing for the amazing gear which looks great and is really comfortable to wear. I'd also like to thank Adam McGarr for doing bottles for me and Xmtb for holding the race. Finally once again I'd like to thank Jon for organising the Gear for us and
 to our squad Sponsors Bikeaddiction.ie , Biking.ie , Dare2B Clothing and Cycling Ireland 

Scott

Gravity Enduro Round 2 Ballyhoura

So last weekend was the second round of the Irish Gravity Enduro series in Ballyhoura. Dad and I left Dublin at 7:30 and travelled down. We arrived at 9:45 and I got signed up early and got a nice early start time for Sundays race. After sign-on I waited around for the rest of the MAD lads to arrive while my dad went off on a spin.  Once the lad's arrived we headed out onto the course. We did all 5 stages to know what to expect for the race. The stages were a mix of mainly coillte trails and some natural trails with lots of pedalling involved. The course ended up being just under 30 km and with nearly 1000m climbing, it was a long day. Once we finished up the spin we headed back to the hotel and hit the jacuzzi and sauna!

Sunday and I was up at 8 got breakfast and got in the car to go back to Ballyhoura again. It nearly didn't happen though as the van wouldn't start. After getting that sorted we got to Ballyhoura. My start time was 10:38 so I had a bit of time to chat to people before I set out on the course. After getting through scrutiny with no problems I headed out onto the course with Scrivo and Fergal. The first transition was only 20 minutes long so it wasn't long before the action started.

Stage 1 

Stage 1 was completely coillte trail. It was quite pedally and flowy. I started behind Scrivo. Off the start I was sprinting as hard as I could. No problems so far. Got out onto the fireroad and was back on the pedals. On the fireroad I passed Scrivo who had a puncture. Weaving through the tree's and pedalling at every moment. Towards the end I had a little bit of a slide on one of the corners but manage to keep myself upright and got to the finish line. Tagged out and Done. 2nd on the stage a second down on Conor Lavelle ( although I didn't know this at the time as with all the stages throughout out the day). Got Scrivo's Puncture sorted and headed to the next stage 40 minutes away.

Stage 2

Stage 2 started with a long boggy decent that was full of mud. I managed to get all the way to the bottom with no problem. Just before the flat mud section I had a small off but recovered quickly and put the boot down on the fireroad to the section of coillte trail and passed a rider on the fireroad. The Next section was quite fast but pedally as well. Finished it out and ended up coming 1st on the stage. On to Stage 3 only 20 minutes away but the bike sounded like it was 20 years old!

Stage 3

Stage 3 was another coillte based stage. It started with a fast rocky shoot and then a small fireroad sprint. I had caught a rider just as I got to the beginning of the coillte trail but he let me by no bother. No mistakes on the stage and even more pedalling but got to the end in one bit unlike Scrivo who had a nasty crash. Once again 1st on the stage in my category. Next up the lunch stop and then Stage 4.

Stage 4

Stage 4 was a verity of a bit of coilte trail, fast single track and Muddy natural trail. At the start I nearly missed the chicane as I came into it a bit fast. after that it was on to the coillte trails. This was the one of the best parts of the coillte trails as there wasn't a huge amount of  pedalling involved. Once I got to the end of the coillte trail it was a short sprint to the start of the muddy section of natural trail. I must say I was the most out of control but in control that I've ever been on this section of trail in my life. It was great craic barrelling down the trail to the bottom and into the finish line drifting around the last corner. 1st in my category again on the stage.

Stage 5

My god the climb to stage 5 was the most painful thing I've done in a while. For 40 minutes Fergal and I climbed and pushed up from 200m to the top of Seefin at 509m. Once Fergal and I got to the top we had a bit of a break before getting into the line to start the final stage of the day. I started off pretty fast hitting the rock drops and getting a good amount of air. Down the rest of the first rocky section passing 2 riders as I went. The next section was a crazy fast straight downhill piece of single track. I managed to hit 56km/h down it before dropping out onto the slalom road. Weaving between the poles and then into the next section of steep loose rocky trail which I nearly missed and had to ride down the side of the bank to get into. Lots of sideways fun down it, passed my dad who was taking photos and then the final sprint on the coillte trail for about 2 minutes to the Finish area. Done!!



1st in my category 14-18 nearly a minute ahead of Conor Lavelle in 2nd place. 12th overall just 20 seconds of a top 10 spot. Delight with the result in the first Gravity Enduro of the year for me.  Also well done to Jorday Kelly in 3rd, Luke Courtney in 5th and Leah Maunsell on taking the win in Pro Women. Looking forward to Round 3 in 3Rock next month now.


Big thanks to Expert Cycles for sorting me out with a set of American Classic's All mountain wheels which are super light and strong at a fantastic price which got a real test in the Enduro and ran great all day.  Thanks to both Alfie and Robin my bike ran great for the whole event without a single problem.

Finally thanks to Niall Davis and Biking.ie for holding a super event that was so professionally run from start to finish.

Scott

Xc NPS RD 3 MAD MTB, Home Turf

So last weekend was the 3rd round of the Xc NPS, and for me it was on home turf nearly in my back garden, 3 Rock. The run up to the weekend didn't go so well for me as I came off the bike on the Tuesday and gave myself a black eye and bruised my shoulder, which meant I didn't go out on the bike on Thursday either, but sure these things happen. The weekend started off in Larch Hill at 1 o'clock. Once everybody arrived we had a talk about Psychological preparation and training with Karen Weekes. She had some great tips for how to prepare mentally for racing and training. After the talk with Karen we got ready to go out for a practise lap. As the track wasn't taped out I guide the team around the track. The track suits me as its just one climb and one decent with a good amount of technicality . It was slightly muddy as well which also suited me. With the practise lap done we headed back to the hostel for dinner which was cooked by the parents (Thank you). After dinner I went to bed at 10:30.

Race day

On Sunday I was up at 8a.m. and on 3rock with Jon at 8:30 a.m. We set up the team tent and the Start/Finish arch in the rain. After that I got signed on for the race and chilled in the team tent till the U16/U14 races started. I watched them till they finished. The team got some great results in U16/U14's. At 13:20 I started to warm up on a turbo trainer as I didn't want to go out on the track and get the bike and myself dirty and wet before the race. At 2 o'clock I was on the start line ready to go.

3,2,1 Go! We all sprinted off the start line up the tarmac. As we got to the start of the first section of singletrack we were all spread out a bit. I was second into the trail and stuck to Dans wheel to the bottom. As we came out onto the road Max passed Dan and I so I was now in third. Down to the climb where I sat behind Dan to the top. Into the next section of trail and I manage to get past Dan after a small fall in the mud. We battled on to the top of the course were I got ahead just before the decent. I managed to put 10 seconds on Dan on the decent before coming across the line to finish the first lap.

Second Lap went Much the same as the first with Dan catching me at the end of the lap and making his move coming to the finish line. So Back to 3rd again. I continued to try keeping with Dan on the climb on the 3rd lap but was starting to fall behind. For the rest of the lap I continued to ride by myself just trying to get my lines and keep up the pace. The track was still holding up pretty well even with the amount of rain that we had earlier in the day and during the race. The downhill sections of the course were so much fun and the final section was just flat out.



So I came into the finish area to start the last lap. At that stage I was down 2 minutes on Dan's which was more than what I would of liked but I continued on to the climb. By this stage my legs were tired and the climb was a real slog but I made it to the top and headed of to A1 Sharon. I got my line through it perfectly and sprinted of up the fireroad to the start of the last section of downhill. I pushed on in the tree's and came down to the bottom of the mountain. I came out onto the fireroad to the finish line and sprinted from the bottom of the frieroad to the finish line. Done!

 So the race went well and I am Delighted with 3rd in Junior in my home race.

Thanks to MAD for holding the race, Jon Hynes once again for giving the team and I a great weekend riding, information and Fun, to Dare2B for the team kit which kept us nice and warm in the rain/wind and James Hanrahan for once again doing a great job on bottle Duty.

Finally a big thanks to Expert Cycles for doing a fantastic job servicing my forks and getting my bike running unbelievably smooth. Big help on the day having a smooth running bike.

Scott