100 – Irish Race Review – Part 2

Photo’s: fmxphotography.ie & Chris O’Callaghan trailriders.ie

Todays Guest

Its episode 100! and what better way to celebrate than to get Robert back on the show and do a mid-season review of the Irish race scene. There has been loads happening, lots of great results, surprise results, falls, slips, breaks, venue changes, we have seen it all over the last 3 months or so. There is loads to chat about and never a dull moment in the Irish race calendar. We first got together on episode #85 (listen here) to review the first part of the season and it went down so well, it would be rude not to cover the rest of the season in the same fashion. So this will be our mid season review and after the season is all said and done we will get together and do a full season recap. I am really looking forward to it.

Since recording Part 1 which aired on the 02nd May, I have had a number of Irish riders on the show including Ronan Dunne, Hannah Harvey, Leah Maunsell and the master himself Glyn O’Brien. We chatted about their season so far, their up’s, downs, wins, loses and everything in between (I will put links to their episodes at the bottom of the show notes for your easy access). It is always great to get the Irish race crew on the show to share their stories. It still amazes me the wealth of talent we have from this little island in the mountain bike scene and not only the EWS talent but the young up and coming rippers that will keep this sport healthy for many years to come. Whether this is down to trail centres, natural talent or pushy parents it is great to see and I have a feeling it will only get better in the upcoming years.

So take a weight off and tune into what’s been happening up until this stage in the Irish race scene.

Right click here and ‘Save as’ to download to your computer.

Find Out:

Race results
Race attendance numbers
Winners & Losers so far
Standouts
The rising youth field
Who has a title already in the bag
Who has it all left to fight for
How our EWS & UCI riders have been preforming
Injury’s and breaks
Who is returning from injury
Nationalities in the Irish race scene
How Ireland will preform in the Trophy of Nations
What’s at stake over the next few months

The Irish race scene is a jam packed calendar, you could race every weekend if you really wanted to and it is great to see. Most of the competitors have to pick and choose their race weekends as it is simply impossible (in the real world) to be available for every race event. But I am sure there are a hardy bunch out there that manage just that and get to every race going. The number of competitors showing up and returning to race and compete in the different events across the country is very encouraging. Most events are averaging around the 200 mark with some races even reaching 250 competitors. In my eyes that is very impressive’ for such a small sport (on the scale of things) in Ireland and to see the numbers growing every year is pretty awesome.

I think it just goes to show how open and welcoming the mountain bike community is in Ireland, we like to see new people getting involved, we like to see that smile that comes from your first ride and we all love to be on two wheels. I would say most of the people that compete don’t do it expecting a podium place and aren’t (in most part) racing for the win, they are doing it because of who they ride beside between each stage, of the great craic, of the community feeling, of meeting old friends and riding some awesome trails together. And that’s what is of the most importance here…together. It doesn’t matter where you are from, what bike you are riding or what you think about brexit. The key ingredient is we are all riding bikes together and having a total blast doing it. Nobody really cares who comes last, how you performed or what your time was, as long as you had fun with friends, that is what matters.

In the end we all do it because it gets us together, out in nature, time away from the 9 to 5 grind and somewhere to share fun times and experiences. So here is to the Irish race scene, to all the competitors, spectators, organisers, weekend warriors and mountain bikers. Thanks for making the Irish scene such a great community to be involved in and thanks for making 100 episodes of this podcast possible. Without your support and encouragement it would never have happened. So lets look forward to another 100 episodes, great racing, brilliant trails and more awesome stories from riders, companies and people like you and me, that make the mountain biking scene the great lifestyle it is. Thank you all so much!

Remember: To keep up to date with what is happening in the Irish race scene check out Robert’s website freewheelin.ie for race review and results when they happen!

And stick around until the end of the show to here a short message from Keith and his Just ride your bike! – N.Ireland Facebook group about how to get stated in mountain biking.

To Connect with Robert and Freewheelin’:

Website: freewheelin.ie

Facebook: freewheelin.ie

Instagram: freewheelin_mtb

Twitter: FreewheelinMag

Resources in this Episode: