Mad Mac's 6hr xc race

[Rudolf]

Hello, well that was a nice day at the office. This adventure started last thursday when one of the Epic mtb lads didnt fancy doing the full 6 hrs on his own. So I said ok ill come along and we do the team option. The race was in Gortin Glens forest park in Co Tyrone. We arrived in the mornig to set up in the pits with food spare wheels coffee etc. There was no plan made and there was no time for a practice lap so we went with a few other riders on a warm up half lap. The down hill section through the forest was deadly. Drop offs and jumps followed by rooty single track. 11.00 am was the start. With no idea what to expect I was of first and went for it on the first lap. First it was the "waterfall " climb which was super steep but short. After that a long fire road climb to the middle section which was called " no mans land. This was a boggy open mountain singletrack section. More climbing to come after that which brought you to the "Hells Ally" a super fast narrow gravel swooping decent. A short fire road brought you into the forest single track which I described earlier. Back over the finnish line and into the pits to swap the timing chip to my team mate Colm McCarvey. He then went off and did the same lap again. I was waiting in the pits area and getting ready for my next lap. Towards the 4 hrs it became harder to push the gears on the climbs. We still managed to keep a consistend laptimes although they became a bit slower towards the end. From the beginning of the race we were in the lead in the team race. There were two teams behind us looking for a chance to take the lead. With no mechanicals and a steady ride toward the end we manged to do 13 laps in 5.40hrs. The 2 teams chasing us were on 12 laps towards the 6hr mark and did not have enough time to complete another lap. 1st place for Colm and myself. This was a great event and well organized. Also great craic in the pits and food after the finnish for all the competitors which was needed.

Results are to come later this week on the Mad Mac's website.

http://www.madmacevents.co.uk/

Rudolf

[DavidC]

Good man Rudolf, great win, well done.

[frankb]

Tough day by th sound of it - well done on the win

[DavidT]

Well done Rudolf! Fair play to you

[DavidF]

nice one. you will be in good shape for the weekend.

[don]

Serious stuff Rudolf, 6 hours in total, wow. Not for the faint hearted.

[BrianM]

Sounds real tough, well done Rudolf

[lazyboypops]

Great day out Rudolf, well done, sounds tough but you are made of hard stuff.

[BShaugh]

Well done Rudolf. Good to see that knee 100%.

[DavidT]

Bionic knee