The XC race calendar can be accessed here
The Cycling Ireland General Regulations and Procedures document for 2009 can be found here. You will need a licence to race in all OffRoad events. A licence may be obtained from Cycling Ireland (CI), you do not need to be a member of a club to join Cycling Ireland. You may either pay for a full year off-road race licence at a cost of 85 euro if you are a club member, or 115 euro if you are NOT a club member (plus approx. 3 euro admin charge), or, you can purchase a 1-day licence on the day of the event. A one day licence costs 20 euro to a non Cycling Ireland member and10 euro to a Cycling Ireland member (prices subject to change). Youth riders are free.
A list of the Cycling Ireland fees for 2010 can be seen here.
It is entirely up to yourself as to which licence option you will purchase, but the 1 year option is generally better value.
The current Day Licence process is being reviewed for 2010, meantime, clubs should have a special sign on sheet/pad issued by Cycling Ireland for Day Licences.
If this is not available, clubs should keep a separate entry sheet for one day licences, taking a riders name and address, and fee paid.
It is up to the Club organising the event to make the one day returns to CI Office.
If you purchase the one-year licence and are a club member, the licence will get posted to your club secretary, you can then collect the licence from your club secretary.
If you are not a club member, your licence will get posted directly to you.
You need to produce your licence at race sign-on, so keep your licence safe!
Events
There are many XC racing events during the year, these can include:
NPS XC series
National XC Champs
EPIC Blast
K-Capital Cup series
Marathon Champs
Adventure races
Club/inter-club leagues/races
Other events can also be scheduled, check here for the latest race schedule information.
Below is an explanation of the format of the various racing events.
NPS XC (National Points Series Cross-Country)This series of events is run over a time period from (approx) April to July each year.
Each rider in points-categories competes to attain points over the series. The points scheme can be seen on the Points Scheme tab hereThe NPS consists of approx between 5 to 8 race events at various locations in Ireland. A course lap is generally between 4.5 to 6.5km, and usually includes a mix of fireroad and singletrack.
National XC Championships
This single event is usually run in July each year, it consists of the same categories as the NPS
EPIC Blast
This event is run once or twice a year and is hosted/run by EPIC club.
The format of this race is unique in that it combines XC with DH (Downhill)
Blast race format:
Each rider competes in an initial heat of 10 riders.
The riders resulting place from this heat determines which heat final they go into.
The final race involves ALL riders being lined-up together, everyone starts at the same time, first to the bottom wins.
Check the EPIC website for further info
K-Capital Cup
For 2009, this event will be run over 3 meetings and is scheduled for June, July and August
Check the XC MTB Race Calendar for the latest race schedule information.
Marathon XC Champs
This single event is usually run in September each year.
It consists of a single lap of a course which can be from 50km to 80km long.
This is a very physically strenuous event and is ideally suited to riders with intermediate/advanced experience.
Adventure races
Ireland is experiencing a massive groundswell of interest in Adventure Racing,and with good reason.
We have some of the best terrain in the world for delivering challenging
yet accessable events, with every type of physical challenge imaginable on our doorstep.
As a result, several adventure races are scheduled each year which incorporate an XC MTB section.
Club/inter-club leagues/races
Various clubs hold league races in which their members compete for positions.
There are also inter-club races where members from different clubs can race each other in the same race series/league.
These races are excellent training and experience for such races as the NPS series.
