THERE was West Cork mountain bike success as the Grassroots Enduro Series returned to the Sam Maguire homestead in Mallabracka, Dunmanway after a three-year hiatus.
Hosted by local mountain bike club Rebel MTB, the event featured 200 mountain bikers of all abilities from all over the country, from first-time racers to Red Bull-sponsored athletes.
With the huge 80mm rainfall that fell the previous day the Rebel MTB crew had their work cut out for them to ensure the event could continue successfully.
On race day the sun shone and the rain clouds fled, leaving great race conditions. The tricky muddy conditions proved to be more suited to the experienced racers with national Enduro mountain bike champion, Red Bull athlete Greg Callaghan, taking the fastest time of the day and first in the M30 category.
The second fastest time of the day and winner of the 17-21 category was Brendan Conroy. Just seconds behind him in the overall were two West Cork riders Alan Connolly (Skibbereen) and Alex Nowotynski (Drinagh), taking third and fourth in the overall with a respectable first and second in the 21-29 category.
From there the West Cork success continued with club member Peter Burton (Schull) taking the win in the Hardtail category, Noel Twomey (Lisavard) taking the win in the Over-50s and club chairman Richard Thornhill (Skibbereen) finishing third in the E-MTB category. Rebel MTB’s youngest club member Gerard O’Brien (Kilmurry) held a brilliant fourth in his first national level Enduro, showing great promise for the future.
Rebel MTB had 18 competitors in the event, and if you are interested in taking up mountain biking in West Cork get in touch via email ([email protected]), Instagram or Facebook and join in on the club’s Tuesday evening spins.
