Rónán Dunne, the 21-year-old downhill rider from Co Wicklow, said he is "stoked" to have taken such a big victory at Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania, Australia, last weekend.
Dunne, now riding for Mondraker Factory Racing, beat British rider Bernard Kerr (Pivot Cycles) by almost two seconds on what was a very challenging course in Derwent Valley.
Kiwi George Brannigan (NS Bikes UR Team) was 3rd, almost three seconds down on a flying Dunne, who was 2nd in at the UCI World Cup in Snowshoe, United States, at the end of last season.
The Irish rider overcome the setback of his race bike not arriving in Australia, which also cost him some training days on the course, to focus on the task at hand and nail a big win, setting the fastest sector times on all but the final part of the course.
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"I'm super happy to take the win and first proper race this season, couldn't think of a better way to start. Especially with the new bike and new team, it's a nice way to kick it off."
Dunne continued: "This is insane, it was such a sick weekend, the track was so mental, the crowd was insane, they were on it all weekend. This is my favourite race out of every race I've done ever.
"I'm so stoked for the (Red Bull Hardline) series, I can't wait for there to be more and more and Wales... I'm frothing for that.
"I had a pretty good quali (qualification) run to be honest, didn't do crazy well. And that isn't my race bike as well so it was, for sure, a little bit nervous. But I was super happy with my race run, I felt like it was a pretty solid one and I'm stoked."
Dunne is currently training in New Zealand with his eyes now fixed on the UCI World Cup, where compatriot Oisin O'Callaghan, the former downhill world junior champion, will also look to impress after the duo went 1-2 in Snowshoe in the final round of the 2023 World Cup.
