NPS2- Scriv Vs The Nagles

Myself and Fergal loaded up the Venga Bus on Sunday morning for the trip down to Fermoy, Corrrk for NPS2 on what was rumored to be a fairly brutal and demanding course. As I was riding shot gun, we managed to get lost. I don’t think I’ve ever been driving/in a car when we didn’t get lost. I once got lost going to Spar down the road. It’s a skill I’ve inheriated I think. Anyway, with my bad sense of direction we didn’t have time for a practice lap and it looked just as well. I first saw Oisin Boydell frowning and that guy always has a smile on his face and then people started to fill me in on just how bad it was- grim.

The race started bang on time and gridded- not that it would matter with 15minutes of open climbing ahead! We started up the fireroad and I took it very easy. I didn’t want to blow up as I had no idea how long the climb went on for and slipped back down the field. From the second lap on I started to make up places on the sketch descents but although I had good bursts of power on the steep climbs, my back was too painful to keep it up. Getting out of the saddle was definitely less painful but with the course being so brutally rough, I couldn’t do this much. Lesson 1: I’m going to do a shit load of core work in the next two weeks.

The course consisted of a long climb, a bog transition through some swimming pool-deep puddles and a ‘hang on for dear life’ rocky descent back to the start. I was really enjoying the descent in a weird kind of way. It was completely out of control and dangerous but fun if you got a couple of nice lines. Still, it didn’t make up for the frankly, shit, rest of the track.


(Photo: Richie Byrne)

Back to the race, after the first lap I developed a tail in the form of Gene from MAD. The little fecker was glued to my wheel the whole way round til I made my move on the last lap. I put in a good effort on the final climb before the descent and let it all hang out on the descent to be able to cruise up to the finish. I got to the fireroad and started spinning up and heard something behind me. Ah, not to worry, it’s only that Xmtb junior. But then everybody in the feed station started cheering on lads, plural. Shit. He made his move with about 200 meters to go and I had to let him go.

14th place- fairly crap eh? I was expecting to do a lot better in racing this year so here’s my excuses as I see them. S2 is a far cry from experts. These boys are the real deal with all of them putting in a serious amount of training and taking it very seriously. My back/hips are in a state as soon as I start going hard. I thought this would go away after the first couple of races but I’m going to do some serious work on it. I haven’t had my day yet. I had a couple of them last year and I’ve had a couple of them when I’m out training. ‘Your day’- That feeling that you’re Sam Hill on descents and Absolon on climbs. I’ll have it yet and with the new bike coming I’ll be more determined than ever. I’m slightly down but certainly not out. I’ll have a win in this damn NPS if it’s the last thing I do. Mean words eh?

New Bike!

I got some bad news during the week that the Lapierre Pro Race 900 that I had ordered has been recalled due to frame problems so I now have one of these babies on the way. I was dubious about getting a full suss but I took a Trek Remedy for a rip in Wales last weekend and there was virtually no bob and it seemed a lot smoother up and down the the hardtail and it was a 6inch machine! So it got me to thinking that maybe it was a blessing that the hardtail fell through so I could order one of these:


Without further adieu - The Lapierre X Control 900 Team. Huge thanks to the Cycle Superstore for hooking me up. They're a sound bunch of lads in there... Check out the full spec here It really is a complete dream bike, I hope I can do 'er some sort of justice!

NPS1

After a brutal race two weeks ago in Wexford (lets not talk about that one!) I was really looking forward to the first NPS on my favourite course from last year in Bellurgan, Louth. I managed to get my first win here last year so was hoping to do well there and with this in mind, I went up with the lads a week before to get a few laps of the course in. In some ways the course is the best in Ireland with endless flowing singletrack, testing features but every course has its faults.



I was feeling good and made my way to the start really early to get a spot on the front line. I knew the start was going to be absolutely crucial for this race as it the course quickly turned into tight singletrack with no opportunities to pass. Unfortunately a load of lads pushed in from the side as the S1s went off so I was pushed back to the 2nd/3rd row. I tried to fight hard for position before the start of the singletrack but it was mayhem with 70+ riders all going balls to the wall and swerving all over the place. I got there in about 30th with Oscar from EPIC and we began our race which would last 3.5 out of the 4 laps. The first lap was fairly brutal as we followed a string of riders, stopping at every obstacle but on the second we had broken through a bit and could start chasing down Fergal, Gene and the leaders.

I had a good race apart from the start, I was pushing hard but was not completely wasted at the end so maybe I have a little more to give. Oscar managed to put a gap into me on the last lap that I could never quite close and finished up about a minute ahead of me and 5 other guys. The new categories has led to really close racing which is brilliant but also huge numbers on often tight courses which leads to horrendous and frustrating traffic-jams. I finished up in 10th which I was a little disappointed with but on reflection of the results later on, it was actually pretty alright. The standard this year is ferocious with everybody stepping up their training and how seriously they’re taking racing.

I’ve been half-considering a new bike for a while now and casually asked the shop I work for, The Cycle Superstore if they’d be interested in supporting me. Within a week, I had a Lapierre Pro Race 900 ordered! I can’t wait to get my hands on her and ride with extreme care and attention at all times! Thanks a million to John and the lads in the Superstore for hooking me up. That’s the way to show people that you’re serious about mtbing and I wont forget it. Big up to MAD, the best club in the world too! There's never any doubt that there will be someone to do a pro job on the bottles and generally sort out anything you need before the race. Nice one Oisin Fitz and Aine, as always.



This weekend I’m heading to Wales in the Venga Bus with all the lads for loads of biking and debauchery! After that it’s NPS2 in Cork and then loads of exams and stuff I don’t like thinking about. Over and out.