Ireland’s Dan Sheridan is in downhill action in South Africa (Photo: Duncan Philpott)
Irish MTB downhill riders are about to get their international season underway in South Africa in the qualifiers of the UCI MTB Downhill World Cup.
The trio in action in the first showdown of the year are: Christopher McGlinchey, Dan Sheridan and Cameron Cornforth.
Ben Reid of the Dirt/Norco Race Team was to ride but illness has meant he did not travel.
The riders get their campaign underway this morning, Friday, in the qualifiers. For those who make it past that round, the race proper takes place on Sunday at the end of what looks like a great weekend’s schedule of downhill and XC MTB action.
There are races for men and women in both XC and downhill for junior, U23 and elite riders. However, the only Irish representation at the Pietermaritzburg meeting is the downhill trio.
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The venue is being used for the 2013 world championships, meaning all but a handful of the world’s top riders have travelled to South Africa to race there and test out the courses this weekend.
The intensity has been heightened further in the XC events because riders are keen to grab as many world ranking points as they can towards securing slots at the Olympics.
The downhill course the Irish riders will face is a 3.12km run regarded as being both physically and technically challenging.
A hard pedalling section in the middle will test the riders’ strength on their way down the fast and thus far dry track.
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The Downhill World Cup is a series of seven races worldwide, the first of which is in South Africa this weekend. Other rounds are in Val di Sol in Italy; Fort William in Scotland; Val Disere in France; Windham in the USA; Mt Saint Ann in Canada and Hafjell in Norway.
We’ll keep you posted on how they get on this weekend.
The riders:
Christopher McGlinchey is a 17-year-old from Belfast who rides for the Nukeproof junior team. He was Irish junior champion in 2010 and was 5th overall in the British Downhill Championships. Last year he qualified at the Fortwilliam World Cup meeting.
Dan Sheridan is aged 17 years and is from Dublin. He’s already won a range of national titles from schoolboy level up through the ranks and has victory in the National Points Series on his CV as well as third overall in the British Downhill Series. He also rides for Nukeproof.
Cameron Cornforth, is the third 17-year-old in the team and hails from Kealkil, near Bantry in Co Cork. He has been dominant in the National Points Series since his early teens and counts is 4th place at the European Championships in Norway in 2010 as his career highlight to date.
