Team WORC is staging the fourth round of this year's Irish National Points Series MTB XC series in Ballinastoe Woods, near Roundwood, County Wicklow this Sunday, June 18. The event will be based at the Luggala entrance to the forest on the Sally Gap Road.
In past years this event has been promoted as the Pog Chase, a very long single-lap, mass start race that had proved very popular. This time around, however, the event has UCI E2 status and as a result has to conform to the more usual multi-lap format with separate start times for the various classes.
The elite men's race will feature another encounter between perennial favourite Robin Seymour of the promoting club and the Niall Davis (IMBRC), the young pretender. Both competitors have been competing abroad in recent weeks and have scored some impressive results.
Seymour has secured a sponsorship deal this year with the UK-based Endura Voodoo Singletrack Team, which means he'll ride the British National Points Series and the Trek Marathon series. He placed fifth in the XC event two weeks ago at Margam Park in South Wales and followed this with an excellent second in the marathon event the next day. The women's elite race is perhaps more open, depending on who makes the start. Tarja Owens (Team WORC), Jenny McCauley (Bray Wheelers) and Beth McCluskey are all capable of winning.
Sign-on starts at 10am, with underage and sports classes starting at 12pm. All other classes begin at 1.30pm.
