S1   a savage pace in the big race of the day saw Peter Buggle (rocky m) 1st with Ray o’shaugnessy (Cuchullainn) 2nd and 3rd was Roger Aiken (Banbridge). Mad had 3 riders involved, Mark McGauley (Mad/OC tuning) 6th but lost a sprint for 5th with Aiden McDonald (Cuchulainn) , Ciaran Byrne (Mad) was 10th and Richie Close (ktm/cycle inn) 12th just getting by Alfie Wallace (Expert cycles).  savage racing and a great start to the NPS.

S2   really close racing with only 9 seconds separating the top 3,  1st Stuart Galloway (worc)  2nd  Simon Curry (Banbridge)  3rd Paddy Mackey (worc).  Gene Ryan (Mad) finished a good 9th after a mix up at start line meant a battle through the big field. Cormac Ahern (Mad) finished 40th

S3   1st B Hutchinson (epic) 2nd M Drozdziok 3rd Mark Farrell.  Mad lads Martin Butterly fin 37th (in pic jumping off drop!!) and Kemble Larkin 48th

S4   the two lap race was won by Barry McCabe (Killarney) 2nd Peter boaden (Epic dh) 3rd Joe oleary (Killarney). Mad riders Mark McCourt 22nd, Colm O’Reilly 25th, Paul Hunter 41st and Alan Walsh 50th.

S1 Ladies  was won by Ciara mc Manus and Agata Tamulewicz (Mad) 4th in her first S1 race

S2 Ladies  1st Julie Rea, 2nd Caroline Murphy and Paula Keohan (Mad) a good 3rd

U16   Some great racing in what looks a competitive field this year whch bodes well for the future,  1st James Curry (Banbridge)  2nd Conor Kavanagh (Boyne) and 3rd Scott Wallace (Mad) who pipped Conor Lavelle (Mad) 4th in a deadly race that also included Jonah Clegg (Mad) finished in 8th position

Great racing and a great day, round 3 is in Tracton woods co Cork may13th GET IN THERE!

Pro cat podium was 1st Joe Barnes 2nd Jerome Clementz 3rd Nicolas Lau

16-29 cat   Mad rider Steven Scrivener(ducc) finished 11th overall with consistent riding, Rob Roest Whittle (Mad) was 24th, Dave Senior (Mad) fin in 30th position, Mad’s Martin Butterly finished 47th overall after two punctures ruined a couple of stages, Martin was a good 3rd on stage 3.

30-34 cat    Gene Ryan (Mad) finished a solid 9th place overall, Peter Loscher finished 15th, Tom Heavey (Ducc)24th and Sean Mackessy(Mad) 28th, Derek Hayes finished 59th after problems but had a good stage 2 finishing in 3rd place.

35-39 cat   Graham Diamond (Mad) finished 25th overall with Mark McGauley (Mad/OC tuning) in 26th, 1st on stage 1, 2nd stage 2 and joint 1st on stage 4, but a puncture on Toro on stage 3 scuppered overall hopes, Mad’s Niall Horgan was 30th overall.

A really great weekend on the mountainbikes and with round 2 in Ticknock/3rock  GET IN THERE!!

Thanks for pics by Aine Conneff, Donna Hayes and Steve Donnellan

Superpro was won in a close finish by Peter Buggle (Rocky mnt) with Richie Felle(USN) second, 3rd was young Robert Scanlon(Worc) and 4th position went to Mark McGauley(Mad/OC tuning) the only other Mad rider in superpro was Nick Lanoote who fin 35th . Overall series podium was 1st Richie Felle(usn)  2nd Mark McGauley(Mad/OC tuning) and Sebastion Rakos of Chile in 3rd, good close racing and thanks to Biking.ie and Harrys bikes for the generous prize money. 

Superpro women also raced 4 laps and Mel Spath (cycleways) won with Mad’s Claire Breslin in 2nd. Claire also won the overall series with Mel Spath in 2nd

Baggy shorts was won by Brian Joyce with Mad’s Peter Loscher in 13th, Mad trio Keith Wallace 61st, Conor Craig 66th and alan Walsh 67th

U16 was won by Anthony Quinn, a fine 3rd place by Mad rider Jonah Clegg and Rising star Scott Wallace (Mad)finished 6th after storming on after a big crash, a nice field of 22 lads racing

U12 winner was Cian May and Mad’s Matthew Wallace was a fine 4th in his first race

An amazing sprint finish in S1 saw Martin Allen{Riverside) pip Peter Buggle(rocky m) by .700 of an second!! 3rd was Richie Felle while Mark McGauley(MAD) was 6th with Ciaran Byrne having bad luck and was a dnf. Savage competitive racing as usual in S1

S2 was won by Paddy Mackey (worc) 2nd Stu Galloway and 3rd Paul Coyne both from Worc, Gene Ryan (MAD) was 6th after a very close battle for 4th spot, only 4 seconds between them, Conor Conneff finished a good ride in 19th position. Fergal Kilkenny and Seven Scrivener both had to retire with the dreaded dnf. Its competitive racing in S2 again this season.

S3 was won by Brian Hutchinson (Epic) and local Racing 795 boys Ross moorhead an Lynn Hayden 2nd/3rd. Niall Horgan (MAD) was 14th with Rob Roest Whittle(MAD) a close 15th, Derek Hayes was 23rd just ahead of Martin Butterly in 24th, Peter Loscher fin in 31st, Ian Heald was a dnf after missing start of S4 after forgetting about the clocks goin forward!! Fair play for giving s3 a shot. roll on rd 3 in Bellurgan now for the S3 bragging rights!

S4 was won by Sean Walsh, MAD rider Mark McCourt finished 6th place.

U16 winner was Conor Lavelle (MAD) in a time that would easily have won S4, 2nd Conor Kavanagh and Cian Mulligan in 3rd

Ladies S2 won by Caroline Murphy(Epic/expert cycles) and Agata tamulewicz (MAD) 2nd, Paula Keohan a dnf

Brilliant day! roll on the Blitz/Gravity Enduro/NPS and to more dry trails

Thanks for photos by Richie Byrne and Rebecca Brannigan

GET IN THERE!

Below: Graham riding the chute to fireroad.

right:  Ronan leads the MAD chrge in S3

right:Gene on S2 podium

MAD did very well again, in S4 Mark McCourt finished 8th in his first race and Paul Hunter fin 17th, Alan Walsh dnf.

Big S3 field was won by Brian Hutchinson and MAD lads Derek Hayes 15th, Martin Butterly 19th, Niall Horgan 23th who just pipped Rob Roest Whittle in 24th. Ronan Mooney was 31st and Graham Diamond was 35th, Morgan OConnell fin 37th in his comeback race, Nick Lannoote was 46th, all the guys loved the course especially after the big switchback climb

S2 was won by Paddy Mackey(worc) Stuart Galloway 2nd and Gene Ryan from MAD with a fine 3rd, Steven Scrivener had bad luck and dnf

MAD’s Agata Tamulewicz took the win in S2 Women.

S1 was won by XC champion Robin Seymour(worc) Peter Buggle was 2nd and American Martin Allen in 3rd, Mark McGauley was 6th and the only MAD rider in S1 today

Brilliant day’s racing now roll on Racing 795 great race next sunday march 25th, GET IN THERE!

left: Niall nailing it

And finally it’s here: a new MTB website designed for women and written by women: WomensMTB.ie!!! It’s still a baby-site but it’ll grow soon! You can help it get bigger and better – have a say on the forum, send us over your race reports, gear reviews, events information and whatever else you wanna share with other women interested in offroad cycling.

We’ll be running our first introductory series of spins this month over three consecutive Saturdays – March 10th, 17th and 24th
It’s not essential to turn up to every spin, but to get the most out of your mtbing you’ll need to be getting out regularly.

What to expect
We’ll divide people into small groups based on ability and set of for a casual mtb spin. MAD club members will be on hand to answer any questions you may have and offer advice.

What to bring
Please ensure you are prepared for each spin. Your bike must be in 100% working order when you arrive. Ensure you have a helmet, gloves and all the other essentials.

If you’d like to come along, please complete this form.

We’ll email details of each spin to the participants a few days beforehand.

Read more in the club forum.

MAD have had a good start at the Blitz in Ballinatoe on Feb 19th, with podiums for Brian oDriscoll[ Baggy shorts], Steve Scrivener [Student champ] Claire Breslin [pro women] and some top ten’s in Super pro men from Mark McGauley and Oisin Boydell. It sets up the season nicely so get racing!

• Saturday September 24th
• Saturday October 1st
• Saturday October 8th

There is no charge for the course but everyone will have an opportunity to join MAD afterwards. We require everyone to register for the course beforehand – please use this form:

Registration Form

and ensure your details are correct. We’ll email locations and times to registered riders a few days before each spin.

These spins are suitable for everyone – although a basic level of bike-fitness will really help. See the information on our Beginners Page for details on what to wear and bring. Helmets are compulsory for all riders – no exceptions under any circumstances. Also Check out the information on the site and if you have any further questions please email committee@madmtb.com.

What to bring?
There are a few essentials which you should have with you on every ride:

• Water – at least one bottle
• Food – you use up a lot of energy while mountainbiking so it’s important to refuel regularly. Bring whatever you like to eat:.bananas/Mars bars/ Fig Rolls are always popular.
• Spare tube (or two) – You’re sure to get a puncture eventually so it’s wise to have a spare tube with you. It’s faster to change a tube then to patch an old one (you can patch it at home later)
• Pump – You won’t get far if you can’t inflate your tyre after a puncture. Don’t assume someone else will have one
• Basic tools – at a mininum you should have tyre levers and allen keys for the bolts on your bike. If you’re unsure about working on your bike just ask someone in the club.