NPS 4- 'The worst good result"

Before I get to talking about the NPS, last Sunday I entered the student championships that were being held in conjunction with the Dublin Blitz by Biking.ie on 3 Rock. We decided early on to only have one lap to encourage beginner students out. After digging real deep to put a UCD go behind me on the climb, I rode down to become student champ. I got this deadly glass trophy and a cool Columbia bag too..!





The preparation for NPS4 was not good. I’ve had a lengthly exam/study period this year with college ending in early April and exams not finished for another couple of weeks yet! It wasn’t just not getting out on the bike, it’s the whole lifestyle that comes with studying, convenience (shit) food, lots of coffee and generally getting fat in an effort to cram.

I rocked up to Tollymore, Co. Down with C-mac and Graham on Sunday morning and went straight into a pre lap. It was a pretty cool course, pretty much all singletrack with a few shortish climbs throughout the course. The wet weather all week had laid down a lot of mud which made the course pretty slow, control was going to be the key to doing any ways well. I didn’t get a gridding so got into the forest in around 15/20th. For the first lap we just cruised around and I took places where I could. I was feeling fresh for the climbs as I was riding the descents well.

On the second lap I started passing guys that have been beating me all season and started to realize that maybe I was feeling really good! For the third and last lap I was sitting in fourth and gaining quickly on Micky in third. On the final climb of the final lap I made my move and sprinted to pass him. I put a lot of effort into getting by him in the hope he would give up a bit and drop off. Unfortunately, he didn’t and managed to get me before the finish, which lead to a good sprint finish. He won this time.



Looking at the lap times, I’m delighted with them. My last lap was my quickest and the second quickest last lap of the day. I felt I could have done another lap even which means I’m definitely in better shape than I thought. I was beginning to think my legs had forgotten all of those hours in the ice and snow last January!

Huge thanks has to go to Aine, as always. I’d be lost without her at the races. From ALWAYS having bottles ready at the feed zone to giving me some water as I ‘purged’ myself of Redbull all over the finish line, she’s the club’s greatest asset. Oh, and the bike was UNREAL…… I’m never going to ride a hardtail XC race bike again if I can help it.

The next race is in Lady Dixon Park, one of my least favorite courses of the circuit but I intend on being fit for it and giving the lads who’ve been training on the road a bit of a race if I can.

Big shout out to Jimmy Dizzle.