The third round of the 2026 Cross-country Mountain Bike National Point Series took place at Dunmore Mountain near Dromore County Down on Sunday 24 May. This is the third year that Banbridge Cycling Club has now hosted at this private venue with Gareth and Ruth McKee overseeing the course build and event management. Lots of prep work on the course which has plenty of climbing. It had been dry in the lead up to the race and the course was in great condition. From the top of the hill there are great views of the Mourne Mountains. Practice was available on Saturday 23 May which included an ebike race which attracted 8 riders. Conditions were great on Saturday and then Sunday they were even better. Blue skies, warm sunshine, light winds. Summer? The heat did affect some of the riders who couldn’t finish their race along with some who ended up with punctures. The race village was back down in the lower part of the field. Paul Joyce was on the microphone and Last Lap Café were serving drinks and snacks. The event attracted 130 entries, lower than the first two rounds but on par with the attendance for Dunmore.

View of the Mournes

The first race of the day was for the Under 6s. A course had been strimmed around the race village – thanks to Paul Hamilton. The riders took on two laps. A goodie bag awaited them at the finish.

The Under 8s then lined up. They had 5 laps of their own course to take on. There were more girls than boys on the start line. In the boys’ race Leo Belgrano (Un-Attached Leinster) got his second win of the series. Liam Fitzpatrick (Omagh Wheelers Cycling Club) managed to pass Cian Phelan (MTB Assoc of Dublin) on the final lap to take second leaving Cian in third place. Among the girls it was Alice Bell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) who got her first win of the series. Hope Corey (Apollo Cycling Team) was second with Elisa Tyszecka (MBCC) third.

The Under 10s then lined up at the start line with 3 boys and 3 girls all setting off together. Ríonach Campbell (Square Wheels) powered around the 6 laps to win overall. Marian Mulvaney (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) and Zara Aiken (Banbridge CC) were second and third respectively in the girl’s race. Senan O’Brien (Square Wheels) won the boys’ race. Éanna Dolan (Western Lakes CC) was second with Jack Corey (Apollo Cycling Team) third.

In the Under 12s race there was another close battle between Benjamin Cunningham (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) and Lewis Bell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC). This time it was Lewis who was out in front for the first 5 laps with Benjamin on this back wheel. On the final lap Benjamin passed Lewis to take his third win from the three rounds. Lewis had to settle for second. Josh Ruddell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) was third with Carlos Gonzalez Romero (Killarney Cycling Club) fourth. Among the girls Pippa Ruddell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) finished ahead of Emilia Tyszecka (MBCC).

After the Under 12s race it was time for the podium presentations for the Under 8s, Under 10s and Under 12s. During the presentations Ruth McKee was presented with a birthday cake (her birthday was earlier in the week) and Happy Birthday was sung.

At noon the Under 14s, Under 16s, Senior 2 women, Senior 3 women and Senior 4 open riders lined up. The Under 14s and Senior 3 women had a shorter course to race over with the rest taking on the full course.

In the Under 14 boys’ race Rían Watkins (Galway MTB) got his third win of the series. Billy Lord (Breffni Wheelers) was second with Nathan Baker (Breffni Wheelers) third. Aoife Campbell (Square Wheels) made her return to racing in the Under 14 girls race after a long period of injury. Great to see her back. In the Under 16 boys’ race Kieran Mulvaney (Sliabh Luachra Cycling Club) got his second win of the series when he finished ahead of Cian Walsh (IMBRC). Ava Baker (Breffni Wheelers) got her third win of the series in the Under 16 girls race. Aoife Kellett (Dromara Cycling Club) was second with Ciara O’Connor (Drogheda Wheelers) third.

In the Senior 3 women’s race Karen Coulter (The Feel Good Factor) crossed the line first ahead of Laura Brown (Bangor City Bike Club) and Gillian Kennedy (Agivey Cycling Club) who crossed at the same time to be joint second place. Julie Murphy (Un-Attached Ulster) was delighted to get round the course in one piece.

In the Senior 2 women’s race Fiona Lally (Team WORC) got her first win of the series. Catriona Wheeler (Agivey Cycling Club) was second with Hazel Murphy (Cuchulainn CC) third and Rachel Jones (Ballymena Road Club) fourth. In the Senior 4 open race Stephen Millist (Un-Attached Leinster) got his second win of the series. Renato Dalzochio (EPIC MTB) was second with Ciaran Campbell (Square Wheels) third, Justin Doherty (Dunloy CC) fourth and Colm Farrell (Navan Road Club) fifth.

At 2 pm the final race of the day took place. The temperature was up into the mid 20s. Lined up were the Senior 1s, Junior men, Senior 2s and Senior 3s. Also racing at this time was Ciara Macmanus (Un-Attached Ulster) in the Senior 1 women’s category. Ciara was meant to be racing against Joanna Bula but her car had mechanical issues and she couldn’t attend the race.

In the Senior 3 open race Stephen McKenna (Omagh Wheelers Cycling Club) took the chequered flag after 4 laps finishing ahead of Jonny Adams (McConvey Cycles). Colm O’Byrne (IVCA Cycling Club) was third with Jason Malone (Cuchulainn CC) fourth and Padraig Ryan (Fermoy Cycling Club) fifth.

The Senior 2 open race was held over 5 laps. Leading for the first 3 laps was Glyn O’Brien (Un-Attached Ulster) but punctures took him out of the race. Pj Hynes (Bellurgan Wheelers) got his first win of the series. John Doris (EPIC MTB) was second with Colm Bradley (EPIC MTB) third, Richard Felle (Team WORC) fourth and Nick Lannoote (Team WORC) fifth.

The Junior men started at the same time as the Senior 1 open riders. Caleb McGreevy (Région Sud Cycling Academy) set the fastest lap time of the day on his first lap but also had to deal with a puncture on lap 2. He went on to win his race. Darragh O’Keeffe (EPIC MTB) was second with Alex Lonergan (Un-Attached Leinster) and Fionn Crinion (IMBRC) both retiring from the race.

In the Senior 1 race Nathan Kurensky (Un-Attached Connacht) was leading for the first 4 laps before he suffered from the puncture fairy. Graham Boyd (McConvey Cycles) stepped up to take the win, his first NPS win ever. Michael Burton (Team WORC) was second with Ian O’Connell (Team WORC) third and course builder Gareth McKee (Cycleology Racing Team) fourth.

Senior 1s

Looking back to the ebike race on Saturday, Glyn O’Brien (Un-Attached Ulster) finished first ahead of Barry Toland (Agivey Cycling Club) and Richard McCartney (Agivey Cycling Club). Social media star Roy Porter (Un-Attached Ulster) was fourth with Paul Byrne (Banbridge Cycling Club) fifth. Mark Gaul (Agivey Cycling Club) had taken a wrong turn on his first lap. In the women’s race Gemma McNamara (Bangor City Bike Club) and Sara Whiteside (Agivey Cycling Club) crossed the line together.

Many thanks to all at Banbridge Cycling Club and friends for pulling together a great race and a great venue. Thanks to our series sponsors Cycleology and Cup and Cone for the great podium prizes.

Round 4 will be in Fermoy. Details on www.irishxcnps.ie.

Commissaire: Martin Grimley

Results
Overall series

Report by Martin Grimley

Photos
Paul Byrne (Facebook) – set 1, set 2, set 3,
Paul Hannigan (Facebook) – Banbridge Facebook page
Fran Hollywood (Facebook) – U12, U14, U16, Women, S4 open
S1 open, S2 open, S3 open, S1 women