We got cool Paris Roubaix Style trophies too!!! They are essentially big 3rock rocks!!
Richie
6/9/11
The Dublin Blitz 3rock
This was an amazing race with a HUGE atmosphere. Kudos to Niall Davis and the rest of the crew for organising this. The event itself was all about the opening of Dublin's first official mountain bike trails just 20 minutes cycle from my doorstep in central Dublin!!! This means money, with plenty of newbies taking up Mountain Biking!
The race saw an entry of around 200 People! with a few of my fellow Elite time racers up front ready for the Gun to go! Luckily the rain didn't affect the course too much, and the Kenda Small block/Karma up front kept me rubber side down! I eventually finished 3rd not far off the Winner. I made a tactical error and I learnt by it!
We got cool Paris Roubaix Style trophies too!!! They are essentially big 3rock rocks!!
Richie
We got cool Paris Roubaix Style trophies too!!! They are essentially big 3rock rocks!!
Richie
5/7/11
2 Races and a string of bad luck
So, I DNF'd at the first National race in Cork.This was down to two punctures and a 40 minute walk back to the start finish area. This was not cross country racing, this was atrocity on a hilltop.
I was feeling great legs wise, the long climb at the start suited me and within a few seconds from the gun, myself and Niall Davis rode away from the pack comfortably up the steep 10 minute climb . It was such a shame that the long descent happened to go down a bone rattling enduro moto track instead of some nice flawy single trail sections that you find in forests!! Anyways, after 5 hours driving we were back and I was home forgetting about the experience!
In the second National round I didn't manage to go as well as weeks before performance wise, it seemed to be an off day/l off last few days running up to event. I rested extrememlly well during the week,i slept a lot with my legs up but none of it helped. I remained philosophical about my lack of speed but made sure that in the end I completed the race! which was good even though I was slower than a dying pig! So in retrospect it turns out, I had a case of gum infection during the week, I thought it would dissipate by race day, but in fact they got worse. Anyway, Salt and water 5 times a day is the job, and now i'm back to normal.
The race course was phenonomal! here's some pics!
This is where I blew my lights!!
I have a hard block of training coming up to keep the body confused and sore!, Its in preparation for the middle season races, internationals / Champs. This pretty much includes an excellent club race on a tuesday, tempo on a wednesday, and another cub race on a thursday and a sprinting session on a Saturday with a Race on a Sunday!
Tomorrow is an excellent local mountain bike race. The start line is only 30 minutes away on the bike! Bit of light mist around the hills Kenda Small blocks tomorrow??!
I was feeling great legs wise, the long climb at the start suited me and within a few seconds from the gun, myself and Niall Davis rode away from the pack comfortably up the steep 10 minute climb . It was such a shame that the long descent happened to go down a bone rattling enduro moto track instead of some nice flawy single trail sections that you find in forests!! Anyways, after 5 hours driving we were back and I was home forgetting about the experience!
In the second National round I didn't manage to go as well as weeks before performance wise, it seemed to be an off day/l off last few days running up to event. I rested extrememlly well during the week,i slept a lot with my legs up but none of it helped. I remained philosophical about my lack of speed but made sure that in the end I completed the race! which was good even though I was slower than a dying pig! So in retrospect it turns out, I had a case of gum infection during the week, I thought it would dissipate by race day, but in fact they got worse. Anyway, Salt and water 5 times a day is the job, and now i'm back to normal.
The race course was phenonomal! here's some pics!
This is where I blew my lights!!
I have a hard block of training coming up to keep the body confused and sore!, Its in preparation for the middle season races, internationals / Champs. This pretty much includes an excellent club race on a tuesday, tempo on a wednesday, and another cub race on a thursday and a sprinting session on a Saturday with a Race on a Sunday!
Tomorrow is an excellent local mountain bike race. The start line is only 30 minutes away on the bike! Bit of light mist around the hills Kenda Small blocks tomorrow??!
4/12/11
Lough Derg Mountain Bike Stage Race - 3rd Overall
Wow! what an amazing event. The weather was brilliant, the trails dusty and I had excellent competition to work against.
This was my first stage event so I was pretty excited. I arrived expecting a good workout but nothing too serious competition wise. Turns out, I was wrong and there was absolutely solid competition from Nick Smith a strong UK rider, and a bunch of good Dutch Masters guys and of course Niall Davis, who was flying!I had a questionable previous night race preperation, I had to work late at a college Event the night before as part of our grading process. This meant few hectic days, 5 hours sleep, Some obnoxious darts players who don't eat vegetabables and a nutritious chinease takeaway at 12:30 the night before the race for dinner! (This habit was got to stop..) So, I knew I would suffer for the first stage, so I kind of just embraced it and went to Lough Derg to race my eyes out!!
Luckily, after my first 'hanging on for dear life' stage things began to open up and I felt fresher, and faster. I only manages 4th place in the first stage behind the English, Dutch and excellent Irish rider Niall Davis.
In the second stage, I hung on more to the leaders and felt better, but not 100% I claimed 3rd place here. It was a great stage, as it encompassed a huge climb followed by a dusty and insanely long downhill shred!!!!
The 3rd and 4th stage went much better, l suffered less but definitely felt quicker, Us first three riders broke away from the rest of the group almost from the start of the long climb.
We managed to stick together till the end and In the final km of the stage I jumped in to 2nd position near the final descent. This descent was a cunning idea but was just plain nuts. It was a 1/2km of a rough and rocky vertical chute towards the finish line with some mini jumps. We three soldiers went down this thing at 60.3kmph with a hair's distance between all three of our bikes. This was definitely dangerous but exhilarating!
The fourth stage went very nicely, This was a 30 minute sheer uphill MTB time trial with some super ninja techincal singletrack to finish it off. I was paired with Niall Davis and we shot off together, I mostly leaded us up the climb and decided to make a break for it towards the top of the climb, and into the extremely technical single trails. I rode smoothly over the countless roots and and managed to finsh in 1st place.
So overall, it was excellent, I was happy to feel better as the stages went on! 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st in that order left me in 3rd place overall!!
Check out my team mate, who finished 5th in the first stage behind me, he's getting fast!! http://andrasgercsenyi.blogspot.com/
Happy out!
http://www.mountainbikechallenge.ie/
3/21/11
Season Begins! Two excellent races so far
So, I came back from Bordeaux slightly worried about my skills on the mountain bike. I felt strong and light, but found it difficult to get down the mountain trails quick!! That is that 3-4 weeks on a road bike does to you!! So, I quickly decided to concentrate on my technical downhill/uphill skills after getting back!
Now, I am back on track and doing well in the Mountain bike races with confidence and speed.
Also, The new bike arrived recently, which is absolutely incredible! Its a Trek 9.9ssl with internal gear cables and all the go faster parts!
Race 1 ) Belfast - McConvey Cycles Round- 2nd Place (1minute30 of winnner Matt Adair)
This was a tester for me, I was not fit race wise but was ready to test myself. My plan was to get a good start next to Matt Adair and see how I went from there. This went nicely but the stronger man on the day won!
Race 2) Leinster League Round 1 - 1st Pace
I love this track, I won it last year and was happy to win it again. Its an old school race track, One pure uphill fireroad climb with a long flowy technical downhill. The trails rode perfect even with the mud and slippery parts.! Some of my new 'tools' provided by sponsors really shone brightly today. The Kenda Karma's 1.95 literally kept me upright for the entire race, with only two minor dabs!! And the Ashima AirRotors provided incredible stopping power in the mud!
My aim for the race was to chill out with the pack on the climb in around 3-5th position. I knew Joe McCall would be good on the techincal sections, So at the top of the climb we both made a break from the pack to get to the flowy descents! I was 100% concentrated but having serious fun!
After the first descent, I decided to test myself and ride away from Joe and the pack, This went smoothly, and I ended up with a comfortable gap until the end of the race.
Adios!
Now, I am back on track and doing well in the Mountain bike races with confidence and speed.
Also, The new bike arrived recently, which is absolutely incredible! Its a Trek 9.9ssl with internal gear cables and all the go faster parts!
Race 1 ) Belfast - McConvey Cycles Round- 2nd Place (1minute30 of winnner Matt Adair)
This was a tester for me, I was not fit race wise but was ready to test myself. My plan was to get a good start next to Matt Adair and see how I went from there. This went nicely but the stronger man on the day won!
Race 2) Leinster League Round 1 - 1st Pace
I love this track, I won it last year and was happy to win it again. Its an old school race track, One pure uphill fireroad climb with a long flowy technical downhill. The trails rode perfect even with the mud and slippery parts.! Some of my new 'tools' provided by sponsors really shone brightly today. The Kenda Karma's 1.95 literally kept me upright for the entire race, with only two minor dabs!! And the Ashima AirRotors provided incredible stopping power in the mud!
My aim for the race was to chill out with the pack on the climb in around 3-5th position. I knew Joe McCall would be good on the techincal sections, So at the top of the climb we both made a break from the pack to get to the flowy descents! I was 100% concentrated but having serious fun!
After the first descent, I decided to test myself and ride away from Joe and the pack, This went smoothly, and I ended up with a comfortable gap until the end of the race.
Adios!
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