Now that the dust has literally settled on Carrick mountain the reality of what happened last weekend is starting to sink in. Mountain biking in Ireland has seen a surge in growth over the last few years with “Enduro” proving to be particularly popular. For those unfamiliar with it, the most basic definition of Enduro is timed downhills and untimed uphills. Racing is over a series of special stages and whoever has the fastest combined time after those stages wins. Riders need to get between the stages, often for a set start time.
The rise of Enduro in Ireland is due, in no small part, to the hugely successful Gravity Enduro Ireland series created by Niall Davis of Biking.ie. Not satisfied with an Irish series Niall and his team set about bringing a round of the Enduro World Series to Ireland and last weekend, that dream became a reality at the Emerald Enduro. The top teams and best riders in the world arrived in the small town of Gleanealy, Co. Wicklow for what was the biggest MTB event (and arguably one of the biggest cycling events) ever to be held in Ireland.
The event organisation was exceptional and we’re not sure how Niall managed it but the weather also played ball with the thousands of spectators needing sun cream rather than umbrellas!
As if holding the event was not exciting enough, just after 6pm on Sunday evening the results were officially announced and 22 year old Irishman Greg Callaghan was the fastest man on the day beating a stacked field of international riders. This is Greg’s first year as a pro having been signed by the CUBE Action Team at the beginning of 2015 and no doubt marks the beginning of many more top results. Other top Irish results include Leah Maunsell winning the Under 21 category, Killian Callaghan coming third in Under 21 men’s and Joules Dormer finishing 3rd in the Mens Masters 40+. Well done to all the Irish riders who raced on Sunday.
Event director Niall said “it was such a massive honour to bring this event to Ireland. We're so proud of all the people who worked so hard to make this happen, and to have so many Irish on the podium was incredible. Greg's win was straight out of a fairytale, it's incredible to see how far he has come in such a short period of time. The future is bright for Irish mountain biking.”
For anyone that missed the event or for those who want to relive an amazing day check out this highlights video courtesy of Pinkbike.com
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/ews-official-video-wicklow-highlights-rd-2-emerald-enduro-ireland.html
The next round of the Enduro World Series takes place in Tweedlove, Scotland on 30th – 31st May.