Joe Barnes and Tracy Moseley win the second round of the Irish Gravity Enduro near Dublin.
The Monmouth massive loaded up the van and journeyed over to Dublin to race this event so stay tuned for a full roadtrip/race report/bog snorkelling/drinking story in the magazine soon.
Big thanks to organiser Niall Davis for looking after us and putting on a cracking event.
Here’s what Niall says:
The second round of the Irish Gravity Enduro series just wrapped up on the outskirts of Dublin this weekend. Despite some very challenging weather conditions, over 300 riders turned up to race and everyone put in amazing efforts to complete this tough competition. The locals turned out in force to test themselves against the visiting talents of Downhill World Champ Tracy Moseley and Megavalanche specialist Rene Wildhaber. After his success at round 1, Joe Barnes returned to defend his series lead.
There is a good reason that Ireland is known as the ‘Emerald Isle’ – lots and lots of rain! After the first round in amazing sunshine, the 2nd round was treated to what must be the wettest June in living memory. The course was incredibly water logged, with rivers of mud flowing down the hill. The 5 special stages had a mix of natural terrain – roots mud and heather, alongside the solid granite of the permanent MTB Metro trail, so there was plenty of variety to test any rider. In these exhausting conditions the best racers charged through to show their superior abilities, putting some big time gaps into their competitors. For the less experienced riders, this was a tough one – there were some very weary bodies rolling into the final stage.
Photos: Victor Lucas.
In the Pro Women category, Tracy Moseley took a convincing win, with a total stage time of 34 mins 01 sec. She said ‘This is pretty damn tough. Some of the most natural trails I’ve ridden for a long time, not super steep but lots of roots and rocks and slippery mud. It’s a great experience!’
In the Pro Men Category, Joe Barnes set a time of 27 mins 24 sec, taking the win ahead of Rene Wildhaber. Perhaps the mud, roots and peat bog were more familiar to the young Scots rider than the alpine terrain that Rene Wildhaber is so experienced with. Rene said ‘Its great to see such nice trails so close to the city. The grip was actually OK, with the granite rocks and all the water to keep the tyres clean. Its pretty physical and pedally. A tough race.’
