A taste of the atmosphere and racing about to unfold on Carrick Mountain, Co Wicklow, this weekend.
Ireland will host the 3rd round of the Enduro World Series from the 13th to the 15th of May 2016; that's today, tomorrow and Sunday.
The world’s top riders will line out in the Wicklow Mountains for two days of practice and one day of racing in a rally style format called Enduro.
Enduro racing is about riding your mountain bike as fast as you can on downhill 'special stages', which are timed.
The event has attracted the super stars of the sport with several World Champions taking to the start line on Sunday.
What: Round 3 of the World Enduro Series (EWS); For the official site follow this link.
Where: Carrick Mountain, Glenealy, Co. Wicklow; directions here and if staying the night get more info here.
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When: Friday 13th May - Sunday 15th May from 10am - 5p.
How to Get Involved: Entry is €5 for one day or €8 for all three. Make as much noise as you can!
Where to Park: Park right on the site
Stall the ball, what exactly is enduro racing?
Highlights of last year's Emerald Gravity Enduro; round 2 of the Enduro World Series which was visiting Ireland for the first time ever.
Enduro is a growing division of mountain bike racing that is similar to rally car racing. Riders set off individually and face several 'special stages', timed descents.
The winner has the lowest cumulative overall time for these special stages.
It looks like great craic so if you want to find out more about where you can race enduro on the Irish scene through the season, check out this link for more info.
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The Emerald Enduro this weekend is round 3 of the Enduro World Series and it's the second time the world series has come to Ireland; first visiting this time last year.
Irish rider Greg Callaghan won last time around; his victory helping ensure the weekend was a real triumph.
This weekend features seven special stages that operate in a ring around Carrick Mountain in Co Wicklow.
Riders will leave the race village and pedal to the top of Carrick for several stages before returning for a 30 minute lunch stop in the event village and then face into the final few stages (it's a bit like cricket - Ed).
The riders are seeded and the last man on course is the number one seed.
The race course layout allows spectators to catch the top riders on every stage, simply move to the right after each stage to access the next stage.
Find out more about the Emerald Enduro course this weekend by clicking here.
They'll even let you have the craic and a few pints if you wanted to; they're sound like that!
And who are the Irish to watch?
Greg Callaghan who won last year will be one of the favourites this year again but the field is strong with many riders capable of winning on a good day.
Last year's world series overall winner, American Richie Rude, won the opening two rounds this year and is undoubtedly the one to watch.
In the women's field Tracy Moseley has semi-retired from racing having won all three EWS World Championships so far.
This year she is racing only selected races and the Emerald Enduro is one.
As to the Irish, last year Leah Maunsell was barely old enough to race yet took the victory at under 21.
She'll be looking to repeat this year and Killian Callaghan who was third in the hotly contested Under 21 male category is hungry for more success.
Last year ended in a fairytale as Greg Callaghan took his maiden win and he is seriously on the hunt for the top step again on home soil.
We'll have more coverage so chill out for a bit and don't be hitting the Facebook and Twitter machines battering us; we're new to this! It should be a bloody brilliant weekend.
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