XC League, Round 2 - Ray in winning form

Round 2 of the Cuchulainn XC league took place on the open mountain, word must have gotten around about the free beer or the great craic after Round 1 as 42 riders signed on to race, unprecedented numbers!!  Photographs; thanks to Brian Mulligan.

It was some sight seeing the riders 4 wide and 10 deep up the fire road for the start of the race, no gridding, first come first served, elbows out they're off. The course a short but technical 6.5k loop started with a series of climbs and flats to the Muddy River, followed by full-on technical downhill to Aidens Canyon followed by technical sections through the forest, the old XC course and finally into Lucy's Loop to the finish in the bowl.  First to exit the forest was Ray O'Shaughnessy followed closely by Aiden McDonald and Brendan Callaghan rounding out 3rd exiting the forest.

The positions didn't change for the top 3 placed riders as they crossed the line in Lucy's Loop in the same order they exited the forest.  

Unfortunately not all riders made it home in one piece, Gerry McCabe became another victim of the Stinger luckily we had resident doctor Meave Baxter on hand to assist. 

Congratulations to the first 3 riders:

1. Ray O'Shaughnessy
2. Aiden McDonald
3. Brendan Callaghan

More info: Full results here 

A very well done to the rest of the field, some new faces this week, hope to see you in the coming weeks.

We look forward to seeing you all next week for Round 3.