The Welsh champs was on at the weekend (1/2 of may) in Llangollen, Wales.
It unfortunately clashed with Irish NPS round 3, but as there is a BDS race on the same track later in the year I thought it would be better to do the welsh champs which will give me experience on the track.
Myself, my dad, Ben Kennedy and Dan Wolfe headed off on friday morning in the big red beast of the van, we arrived at the track at about 3 and set up the pit. We walked the track on friday evening – it was pretty mental, so steep and muddy with some drops at the finish! I couldnt wait to get some runs on it!
Saturday practice went well, I did some runs with Dan Wolfe and Adam Brayton so I got up to speed pretty quickly. The track was changing so much throughout practice, with new lines forming every run.
Sunday was wetter after rain during the night. I got 2 practice runs and felt pretty good, although the track was so hard to race as it was so steep and muddy, and who ever stayed on their bike would probably win.
My first race run went badly, I crashed at the very top and fell down the steep hill, by the time I climbed back up to my bike the next rider was coming, so I let him past, only to pass him over again half way down. I was in 13th place after that run.
2nd race run didnt go much better, but I stayed on which was the main thing. Due to crashing in my first run, I just wanted to get down safely – which ended in going very slow! I caught a rider on a fast straight which lost me a bit of time, I nearly crashed again but managed to save it and get to the bottom.
Photo by Anthony Willet - www.AnthonyWillett.com
I ended up going 1 minute 6 seconds quicker, putting me in 3rd place, .2 of a second off second place and only a few seconds off first. Considering my run I had I was quite happy with 3rd.
It was also great to meet Joe from Bigstone (FiveTen UK) and Will from Juice lubes.
Chris at Schwalbe UK has hooked me up with my tyres for the season. Schwalbe have an amazing range of tyres going from the ‘Dirty Dan’ to the ‘Wicked Will’ and eveything inbetween for every type of track.
Im really happy to be riding them and think they are the best tyre avaliable, the ‘gooey gluey’ compound and snakeskin walls go together to make a strong, super grippy tyre.
This season ill be using the Dirty Dan, Muddy Marry, Big Betty and Wicked Will.
Round 2 of the Irish National point series took us to Killarney, Kerry. We drove the red A team wagon 5 hours to the track on Friday, set up the BBQ and had some dinner. A good sleep and ready for practise the day after.
The sun was out on Saturday morning and I was ready for some runs. The track was dusty and running sweet, Its a very short course but packed with everything and is fast and rocky so it was real good fun to ride. Saturday practise went well, although I was a bit nervous on the steep rocky steps were I broke my collar bone last year. After a few runs behind elite rider Dan Wolfe I was feeling pretty quick. 1 slight over the bars crash which was luckly saved by the Knox armour.
After practise I sessioned some of the bottom sections with some mates, which ended in me snapping my crank spiders, chain ring and bashguard, luckly I got it sorted for Sunday.
Headcam of the track, following Greg Callaghan.
Sunday morning was again sunny, I managed to get 3 practise runs in, but pushed up for 2 of them due to the long Qs. I was feeling confident enough for my race runs but I knew it was going to be very tight on such a short track with no room for error.
My first race run went OK, I clipped out near the start and it took me a while to get back in, but other than that it was pretty smooth. I was in 1st place after my first run, about 3 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
2nd run went even better, but I only managed to make up 1 a second, I kept first place, about 4 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
My time put me 3rd place in the Junior category, only 1 second from winning it, which shows how tight the track was!
All in all a great weekend and another win, I have so far won every race in Ireland.
My next race is the Welsh champs in Llangollen in a week, Which I cant wait for!
Round 1 of the newly named ‘British Downhill Series’ took place in Rheola, South Wales. I have been to Rheola back in 2008 for a Welsh dragon race and got 3rd, So I knew I could do well again.
I was feeling confident coming up to the race as I had a really good days riding on Wednesday, I felt fast and strong on the bike so I knew if I rode well I could get a good result.
Myself, my dad and Damo headed of in the camper on Friday evening, we had a 2 hour drive to the ferry in Wexford, then a 3 hour crossing and another 2 hour drive the other side.
We met up with James OC, Natalie, Rob Davis and Gavin Carrol at the port. On the ferry James built my wheel up with a new rim, Cheers!
We got to the track at 3am in the morning, and straight to sleep. After a few hours sleep I was up again ready for Saturday practise.
The weather was amazing, and the track was even better – long, Steep, fast and rough with a few technical bits. After sectioning bits of the track I was feeling good and was ready to do some fast runs. I did a run with expert rider Simon Parsons which was great and got me up to speed. I ended the day with walking the track and checking out some lines.
It was also great meeting Jeremy from Chocolate Distribution – who sorts me out with all my great Nema kit, Jamie from WideOpen Mag and the guys at Juice Lubes!
I was up early on sunday morning and got on the first uplift, I had a clean first run and got all my lines pinned. I did a second run with fellow Tomac rider Philip Atwill, which also went well so I was feeling good for my runs!
I set off at 11.06 for my seeding run, It went pretty good, about 90% of what I could do. I came down in 3rd place, on the same second as 2nd place. I predicted I could go another 5 seconds quicker and was feeling even better for my race run.
The race run went pretty good, I got very wild up top and nearly lost it which lost me a bit of time but otherwise it was a pretty clean run. I got a bit loose again in the off camber, which was expected with my ‘win it or bin it’ attitude. I came down and held onto 3rd place. I only managed to go 1 second quicker in my race run, which got me a 3.21.
Really happy with the 3rd place, as the competition is so much higher than in Ireland. I was planning on using this race to see what my pace was like for the rest of the year so getting a podium was great.
The bike went amazing all weekend and just wanted to keep going faster! Huge thanks to James & Natalie O Carrol from OC Tuning, having them there made such a difference, Not having to worry about my bike and having it clean and ready to go for each run took alot of pressure of me and let me focus on getting ready for runs!
Thanks to my sponsors for all the support – Tomac, OC Tuning, Chromag, Knox, Nema , Novatec, MuleBar, Green-Oil, FiveTen.
Next up is Irish NPS round 2 in Killarney, should be good!
The weekend of the 3rd and 4th of April saw the first round of the Irish NPS in Cahir, Co. Tipperary.
The venue has been used for the Irish champs in 2008 and 2 NPS rounds in 2009. Myself, my dad, Ben kennedy and doner kabab arrived down on friday, Set the pit up and changed the tyres to spikes.
The track was pretty good except for the last section which was flat and muddy but the rest was fast and rough!
I got up on saturday morning, did some slow runs to get the hang of it and then did a fast run with Dan Wolfe which was great. The track was quite muddy due to the showers and sun which was making it sticky.
At the end of the day there was a big shower and the track was mint, so wet and fun with foot off on loads of turns! After practise there was a prize giving for the winter league overall, I came first overall in the under16 category and there was only 1 other rider who won all 3 races.
Finished the day with washing and checking the bike, walking the track and have a big dinner.
Sunday morning was quite sunny, but the track was again wet. On my first run down I slid out on a drifty flat corner, landing in the biggest pile of mud ever and getting absolutely covered in mud, a quick cruise to the bottom to change my gloves and i was ready for another run which went a bit better.
I rested up for the race run and washed the bike. I had a pretty good first run for the conditions, blowing out and stalling in a few corners and catching up on 2 riders slowed me down a bit, but I got to the bottom and went into first, 10 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
My 2nd run was much faster, but doing a sam hill about half way down on a muddy corner made me fall on my face, that was the end of that.
I stayed in first with my first run, 10 seconds ahead of 2nd place Cameron Cornforth. My time would have won the Junior category by 4 seconds and I would have finished 8th in Elites.
The bike went amazing all weekend, smoothing out the rough stuff and nailing the corners at the top and then pedaling like a dream at the bottom!
Dan Wolfe smashed Elites in his first race back and Ben kennedy stormed Under14s!
Im off to the first British downhill series in rheola at the weekend!
Nema will be sorting me out with kit for the season, which im really happy about!
Nema’s products are made specifically for mountain biking unlike all the other motox cross over stuff, so its made for pedaling. The quality and feel is amazing and on a totally different level than any other brands ive used.
It all looks amazing and comes with nice big hidden pockets, made with fancy material and I think its the best riding gear available at the moment, so its a pleasure to ride for Nema.
Im happy to say that I will be riding for Knox this season and will be protected by all their great armour. After having a rough season last year with lots of injuries its great to know that I will be protected properly and hopefully have an injury free year thanks to Knox.
I got all my armour last week and got the chance to test it out at the first Irish race at the weekend. Im really happy with all the products – its all really comfy and great protection.
The ‘Warrior BC9′ is made and works very well my Leatt brace, which fits on perfectly without the need to cut up jerseys or armour, its also highly adjustable, comfy and doesnt cause you to get all hot and stuffy.
Other products I received were the ‘Cross Guard’ elbow pads, ‘Cross Lite’ knee pads and ‘Cross Max’ knee and shin guards.
It all works a treat and stays were it should.
