MTB Report – NPS Round 1, Davagh
The Dromara XC race team headed to Davagh forest on Sunday 19th May to take part in the first round of the 2019 Irish NPS Series. A mixture of natural and man-made trails awaited the riders, as well as the infamous Davagh midge population.
First up was Fiadh Kellett in the under 6 race. Fiadh was not best pleased with the course on her pre-race inspection. The holes and roots were all bigger than her 14” wheels, making forward progress very difficult for little legs. Undeterred, with the thoughts of a goody bag at the finish line, off she set to complete her lap of the testing course and collect her hard earned Cheese and Onion Tayto crisps and Haribo.
Next up was big sister Aoife. Aoife unfortunately had a back of the grid starting position as her Daddy didn’t register her anywhere near early enough for a good starting spot. Following her little sisters example however, she powered through and despite an early slip and fall in the woods, rode strongly and calmly to move up the field and take 4th place, only 5 seconds off that elusive U10 podium place.
James Armstrong was our only other youth rider on track today, and put in a solid performance on a testing under 12 loop to take a well earned 5th place in a field of talented riders.
In the S4 beginners race, Derek Graham produced a fantastic ride to take 5th place. Derek was only bettered by Neil Armstrong who took the only podium place on the day for DCC, with 2nd place, despite reportedly suffering with a bad chest infection!
Andra Hamilton produced an excellent display and proved all her hard work over the winter and early spring is paying dividends with a strong 4th place in the S2 women’s race. Her other half, Paul, produced the best ride of our S3 contingent, matching her result with a 4th place finish and in doing so, creating a warm fuzzy ambient mood in the van for the long drive home.
Also in S3, Graham Smyth, Gibson Chambers and Brian Kellett all made the top 20 with solid performances. Mick Foley stepped up out of S4, as he is no longer a beginner after weeks of club league action, and showed he is well fit for it with 26th place.
Barry Kellett was the sole representative in the S1 race. Barry started at the back of the grid alongside national legend, Gareth McKee. Somehow Gareth had no difficulty getting to the head of the race within one lap, but Barry had exhausted himself by the same stage and got as far as 5th where he was stranded with a big gap to the leading 4 riders. Unfortunately, over excitement on lap 3 resulted in a front wheel puncture and a slow bumpy ride to the pits, where a new wheel went in and off he set again and moved back up to 5th, only to puncture the new tyre again on the same piece of trail on his 2nd last lap.
The NPS Continues next week in Killarney, with round 3 following the weekend after at Ticknock.
Report by Barry Kellett
