2007 XC NPS & Champs

Great success was had by UCD last weekend at The National XC Champs with Oisin Boydell and Cait Elliott competing. The race was held by Banbridge CC at the hard fought for venue of Tollymore Forest in the Mourne Mountains. Much thanks has to go to Andy Potts, Afton Kirsten and Geoff Seymour for securing the venue and to Andy and Banbridge CC for putting on a fantastic race.

Oisin finished the Expert category in 4th place, seconding his best performance in the NPS this season but against a much larger and competitve field that always attends the Champs. His riding has gone from strength to strength in his first season racing at the Expert level, surprising many of the regulars.



Cait Elliott had a fantastic result in a competitive Ladies Elite category. With many of the elite riders missing from NPS races due to international competitions she was finally able to show her strength against a full field. Coming in 3rd place, trailing last years Irish Champion, Tarja Owens, by just a minute and beating the second Irish Squad rider Ciara McManus, she has made a stunning debut in Elite racing this year.

Full race report and results can be found at www.irishxcmtb.com

The National Points series wound up a few weeks ago in Tymon Park, Tallagh. The race was held by IMBRC in a common Cyclocross venue, but with brand new single track sections creatively carved from the forested land. Much thanks has to go to Dave Barry, Gar Maguire and the IMBRC for hosting an excellent event.

The weekend began with a very new idea: Saturday Team Relay. Seeing that so many people would arrive to a race on the Saturday for practice laps, IMBRC decided it would be a good laugh to host a relay event. It was a great success, not only in providing some additional competition for the hard-core racers but also in attracting people who've never raced before to a less serious, social event. UCD fielded two teams on the Saturday: 'Those Feckin' Students' with Oisin Boydell, Cait Elliott and Darragh Maloney (UL); and 'UCD' comprising of John Walsh, Robert Higgins and Les Walpole (IMBRC). The teams came in a reasonable 10th and 13th out of a field of 23 with WORC dominating the upper echelons (1st, 2nd & 3rd)!



The Sunday saw Cait, Oisin and Robert racing. Cait took the victory in the Elite category, her main competitor, Beth McCluskey was forced to retire after she suffered a mechanical in the first half of the race. This victory confirmed Cait's dominance in the National Points Series. She has competed in every round of the NPS this year, winning in 4 and coming second place in the other 3. It is a really fantastic achievement along with her racing in the K-Capital Cup and the Champs.

Oisin had a tough race in Experts finishing 9th among a very competitive field. However he took 5th place in the overall series, also attending a large number of races and giving the club name a lot of exposure during the season.



Robert took part in his second race of a season which has not seen him in the saddle very often. He almost had to carry his bike across the line in the Sports category after cracking his frame in the last 100 meters of the race, two places lost dropped him to 23rd.

Overall results for the 2007 NPS can be found here on www.irishxcmtb.com

Photo's courtesy of Ryan Sherlock and IMBRC