Locals impress as mountain biking returns to West Cork

REBEL Mountain Bike Club members put their best pedal forward in the first mountain bike race held in West Cork in almost ten years.

The second round of the Mondraker Grassroots Enduro Series was held in Dunmanway, as 185 riders, from 12 years old up to 55, from all over the country took on the three challenging stages.

Stage 1 (Ri Ra agus Ruile Buile track) was the most physical, Stage 2 (Stump City) was the shortest and fastest, and Stage 3 (Bread and Butter) was the oldest and rockiest track.

Dubliner Dan Wolfe won the elite second ahead of Jason Murphy from Killarney while Olly Cornforth from Kealkill was third. Kinsale’s Daniel Kedney won the senior men’s class and in the 30-39 class it was another Kinsale man, Barry Llangrell, riding for 021Racing, who came out on top.

Of the other Rebel Mountain Bike Club riders Alex Nowotynski from Drinagh took eighth place in elites with Richard Thornhill from Skibbereen finishing 12th. Darren Harte from Baltimore came 16th in the U19 class with his cousin Cian O’Driscoll taking 22nd, just one place ahead of Luca Joyce-Nightingale from Glengarriff who finished 23rd in his first race.

Murray Tidmarsh saw the lull in the timing tent as a chance to knock out a few laps on his Ebike to get fourth place and the bragging rights over his son, James, in the Ebike class, who finished fifth.

Michael O’Sullivan from Skibbereen took a break from his Leaving Cert studies to take fourth in the Hardtail bike class while Alan Crowley (Skibbereen) started his season off with a solid seventh place in the 19-30 class, and Daire O’Connor (Ballincollig) taking 22nd. 

In the 30-39 class it was Shane McManus from Clonakilty with the club spoils and 11th in class, Cal Smyth from Midleton came in 13th with Mike Holm taking 18th.