Just like to say a some thanks for the Kcapital Challenge Series, firstly to thank Mark Kenny and FD K capital Source for the support of our series. Thanks to Mick Jordan and the Cylce Inn, long time supporter of Irish MTB, and happy to see him promote his KTM brand at our events and also through him PowerBar for their help with the feed station. The support of these people help us plan our events with some confidence.

A big thanks to Killruddery Estate, Kippure Estate and Coillte for the use of their land around Wicklow. Some great venues and trails out there now.

I must mention the support of the clubs, Boyne Valley, Cuchullain, Epic, Imbrc, Mad, XMTB and others for bringing out big numbers to the events, and supporting a different format to racing. We hope people enjoyed the slightly longer one lap events which in the end surprisingly led to very close racing with what seemed a never ending stream of riders snaking through the hills.

Today I need to thank Luke Manning for the trojan amount of work he did on the course. Taking many days off work to complete the trails in time, and also Colm Keane and the rest of the IMBRC crew for their work on their great venue,

Lastly I must mention the Team Worc riders, who gave up their racing to help with sign on, time keeping, marshalling and setting up the courses in all the rounds, sacrificing racing this summer and autumn.

Robin

Well done to everyone who rode today. It was a tough tough course but made a bit easier by the fantastic weather we've been having. A big thanks to chief course designer and builder Luke Manning for the hours he put into building the course. Also thanks to Kippure Estate for letting us use their fantastic venue. Check out their website, free Christmas dinners I believe are on offer for work do's... Also a huge thanks to all the marshal's who kept you on course and made sure you found your way home.

T-Shirts will be hot off the press on Sunday for all those riders that finished the 3 rounds.

Long course - 34km's

Short course - 18km's

The Start is a mass start leaving Kippure house with a nice fast 1.5km on the road.... A couple of minutes later and you will hit Athdown and you're on fireroad and climbing for one kilometer. On from there and you head downhill on the first technical descent of the day and into some flowing fast single track for 1km before getting on to an old double track for 2km's. You're now in Cloughleagh and more winding single track and double track before getting into even more single track ahead of a fireroad climb for 200meters. Head down from here and full concentration required as you have 2km's of intense single track... After the last 2km's of single track it's time to get into a rhythm and focus on the steady 3km climb before you get into a steep one hundred meter climb before a short descent and a river crossing (feet up) and then more climbing through a fantastic open heather single track for another km. Back on the road for a bit and some more tarmac let you get your breath back and it's on to Butter Mountain and we're back into a mix of fireroad and single track before descending down the old downhill track (just past Mick Jordan's house, K Capital Challenge feed sponsor, so just pop in and ask for food if you're hungry) and a bit more climbing now for about 2km's and you're into some nice double track climbing and descending. From here it's a short bit of tarmac before heading back towards Athdown to climb for the last time before hitting the fast flowing single track before the finish. Once you're back into the grounds of Kippure house it's head down for the final finish loop.

notes

• There will be a feed on the course as per the other rounds.

• It is hunting season in the area so pre-riding on the Saturday is not advisable.

It's the final round of the 2009 K Capital Challenge. If you haven't done the other rounds don't worry you can still come along and enjoy the fantastic trails which have been purposely built for this event. Chief trail builder Luke Manning from the K Capital course design team has been out spilling blood for the last few weeks bringing you a course to remember. Race HQ for the day is Kippure house. Kippure House is privately owned and it offers quality accommodation and facilities privately set in 240 acres of mature woodland and rolling farm pastures. So if you don't fancy coming up the morning of the race why not come up the day before and avail of their special B&B rates. If you plan on bringing the family out for the day then there is lots for them to do while you negotiate the wonderful single track of the Dublin mountains. Check out the website for more information.

As with the two other rounds racing starts at midday with all riders taking to the trails in a mass start. For new racers one day license are available on the day and as with the other rounds it's a great way to get an introduction to racing without the super competitive pressure of cross country racing. For most it's a day out in the hills and discovering new trails. It's also a way to test yourself and push yourself a little further than you have done before. There is nothing like seeing a rider 50 meters ahead to make you dig that bit deeper and try and gain one more place.

For those that have done the previous two rounds the special finishers t-shirts will be given out at the finish which you can wear at the next race to let people know you 'kick ass' and finished the K Capital Challenge Series.... We'll see you all next week in what has to be one of the most idyllic settings for an off road race... if you're racing bring your camera as we would love to see your photos from the race.

K Capital Challenge Team

Directions.... download directions here

Round 3 will see the riders head to Wicklow again and to the perfect venue that is Kippure Estate. With onsite accommodation why not make a weekend of it and stay in the Kippure lodge guest house and wake up fresh for the morning of the race.

Kippure Estate, in County Wicklow, is a very special place, offering quality accommodation and facilities privately set in 240 acres of mature woodland and rolling farm pastures. The estate is surrounded by the wild and beautiful Wicklow Mountains and adjoins the fledging River Liffey.

Our onsite accommodation options include self-catering holiday homes, as well as guesthouse accommodation in the Kippure
Lodge. We have a number of meeting- and multi-function rooms, an onsite bar, private dining with flexible catering arrangements from picnic to barbecue and multi-course dinners.

Kippure Estate is also one of Ireland’s foremost providers of corporate events, team building and outdoor activity days, catering for corporate groups as well as private groups. If you are looking for a venue set in truly stunning countryside, with comfortable surroundings and a team of welcoming, professional staff, then Kippure Estate is an excellent choice for any type of family function, including smaller to medium sized wedding ceremonies or, alternatively, a larger marquee wedding reception.





Perfectly situated for rambles, hillwalking and enjoying the many attractions of the area, Kippure Estate is less than an hour from Dublin city, Dublin airport and major ferry ports.

Check out the Kippure Estate website for more details www.kippure.com

Like to say a big thank you to everyone coming out and supporting the 2nd round of Kcapital challenge. Carrick is a great venue, and the course held up quite well in spite of the awful wet weather. Great turnout again in the Masters Category, 67 riders and 128 riders overall, a good turnout with the rain. Without a get out clause of round one, lots more finishers today in all the categories. So well done!

Great to see so many new names and faces out there too.

I would like to thank again, Mark Kenny for his generous support, Mike at the Cycle Inn and Powerbar for the feed station, both on course and for refueling after.

Thanks also to the Carroll family for the use of their feild and the great finish loop and Dave in particular who helped so much in faciltating and even helping to build some of the course.

Check out the results section for today's results. Well done to all those that took part today. Conditions made it a little tougher but all the smiles at the end meant it was no less fun.


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Carrick Mountain is situated in Wicklow between Ashford and Glenealy, about 20 mins south of the M50.
It is a massive forest with endless trails but virtually un-ridden by Mountain bikers to date.
Its the eastern most mountain so from the summit has great views up and down the coast

We are using a single lap in Carrick which should be less difficult than the first round in Killruddery but there is still a big climb to the top, the full course is just 30km long at this stage and should be pretty fast rolling. It has a very different feel to it from other wicklow riding with varied terrain including a Euclyptus plantation in the middle of it.

We are using Mr. Carroll's field near Glenealy[site of Downhill champs] as a start area before heading out on the loop around carrick, we have a finish loop then to bring us back into the parking field.

We have 2 underage point to point loops as well for the under 14/12 and under 10

Where as Killruddery had 1 or 2 loops of the 15km lap, in Carrick we are going to have two different lengths of courses, about 18km and 30km. We will have a common start area and the course will split with the shorter distance turning off. The rider can choose which he wants to do at sign on. Under 16 riders will ride the shorter loop

All categoriess Start in one group at 12.00, down to Under 16, Under 14 and 12 will start2 minutes after and under 10 2 mins after that.

Sign on will be open from 10.30

I know a lot of people were undecided during sign on... so opted for the two lap race instead of the one lapper... most decided for on the two lap race as it gave the them the option thus making the results a little skewed but it shouldn't take away from those who DNF'd in the two lap race. I was surprised at the number of first timers at the race on Sunday. Imagine your first event was a challenge event!!!! Half way between what is a really tough XC race and an even tougher marathon race!!!! Hats off to those that did the two laps.... the extreme in times shows how diverse the sport of mountain biking is, hats off to those that DNF'd (it means nothing) in the two lap race after only doing one lap... the course was savage..conditions made it even more savage..... on a dry day it would have been tough but after the few days of torrential rain we were blessed it was as good as it was.

So endurance racing. New to a lot of people. Most XC races for sports should be under one hour. A marathon is about four hours for the fastest rider (six to eight for the rest of us). These new Challenge events are somewhere in between with top riders finishing in around two hours and the rest of the field coming home in under four hours. So a good place to bridge the gap and get a taste for endurance riding. If you imagine that yesterdays race was won in just over two hours by the winner. Imagine doing something like the Transrockies where the average stage is won in about four hours by the winning team. Now get up every six days after that and do the same only sometimes longer and you have some idea what the what multistage day racing is like.

To sum up..... endurance racing is for everyone... from the guys finishing the TR stages in four hours to the people coming home in eight hours. It's about competing, about finishing , about pushing yourself to the limit. When you're out there on the bike it is you against the course, you against the mountain. No matter what is going through your head your body has limits and it is down to you to push yourself to the limit and beyond.

Round 2 of this years K Capital Challenge should be a bit easier for most with the focus on the trails being faster and flowier. The distance may be longer but the expected finish times much faster. Perhaps a chance for riders to get into groups and work together to finish as high up on the day as possible.