Tracton Woods Rounds Out XC National Series
The 2026 Cross Country National Points Series came to a close on Sunday as Mountain Bike Club Cork hosted Round 6 at Tracton Woods, Co. Cork.
Gary Donaldson, Caldwell Powerhouse Racing, took top spot at the final round, but it wasn’t enough for him to clinch the over Series, as McConvey Cycle’s Graham Boyd saw his consistency over the season leave him at the top of the standings. Donaldson did take second in the standings, ahead of Team WORC rider Michael Burton in third. Sunday’s Senior 1 podium was rounded out by host club rider Fionn Desmond in second and Team WORC’s Sean Feeney.
Joanna Bula of Team WORC took top spot on Sunday and in the overall series standings, in a very successful season that saw her take two wins, two second place finishes and a third place finish over the six rounds. Ciara MacManus took three wins over the series, leaving her in second overall, with Greta Lawless, having missed a number of rounds due to national team and road racing commitments, listed in third.
The season long battle between EPIC’s Darragh O’Keefe and IMBRC rider Fionn Crinion came down to the last day and saw O’Keefe coming out on top. The final series standings saw O’Keefe crowned champion with Crinion second and Alex Lonergan taking third in the Junior Men’s category.
PJ Hynes also saw his consistency across the season pay off as the Bellurgan Wheelers rider took top spot on the day and in the overall Senior 2 standings. Consistency was key for this season, as EPIC MTB pairing Colm Bradley and John Doris took second and third respectively in Cork and in the overall final standings.
Jonny Adams of McConvey Cycles took the Senior 3 series win ahead of Hush MTB rider Fergal Kilkenny in second and IVCA’s Colm O’Byrne in third. Adams and O’Byrne missed the final round however, where Kilkenny took the win ahead of David McCarthy of MBCC in second and Velocity MTB rider Gene Ryan in third.
Fiona Lally was on the podium for every round of this year’s series and last Sunday was no different as she took her fourth win of the year. The Team WORC rider saw that consistency pay off as she claimed the Senior 2 Women’s title. Cuchulainn CC rider Hazel Murphy took second place on Sunday, enough to take third place overall, while Agivey’s Catriona Wheeler took third on the day and second in the overall standings.
Stephen Millist finished atop the Senior 4 standings, ahead of EPIC MTB pairing Renato Dalzochio in second and John Moran in third. Moran took top spot in Cork on Sunday ahead of Dunloy CC rider Justin Doherty in second and Dalzochio in third.
Agivey’s Gillian Kennedy took the win in the Senior 3 Women category on Sunday and cemented her place atop the overall series standings ahead of EPIC rider Caroline Murphy in second and Ballymena RC’s Rachel Jones.
Sliabh Luachra rider Kieran Mulvaney saw his consistency across the year pay off, and despite missing the final round took the top spot in the series ahead of IMBRC rider Cian Walsh in second. Walsh’s club mate Ronan McCarthy’s win on Sunday was enough to solidify his third place in the overall U16 Boys standings.
The U16 Girls category was dominated by Breffni Wheelers’ Ava Baker, who took the overall win. Drogheda Wheelers’ Ciara O’Connor ran Baker close throughout the series, enough to see her take second overall ahead of Dromara CC rider Aoife Kellett in third.
The U14 Boys category saw absolute domination by Galway MTB Rider Rían Watkins, who won every race in the series and took the overall title by almost 80 points. Breffni Wheelers’ Billy Lord took second overall, with Western Lakes Cathal McTavish taking third.
Square Wheels’ Aoife Campbell’s two wins saw her finish atop the U14 Girls standings ahead of EPIC MTB rider Georgie Wallace in second and Ailbhe Kelly in third.
Benjamin Cunningham (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) has won each battle with Lewis Bell (Shelbourne/Orchard CC) this season (first 4 rounds) but Benjamin missed Round 5. For Round 6 it was expected that these two riders would play cat and mouse again, one sitting on the rear wheel of the other, but this didn’t play out as Lewis went off hard from the start and held the gap over Benjamin. This win for Lewis wasn’t enough to change the overall series though as Benjamin lifted the trophy for 1st place overall, Lewis was second. Carlos Gonzales Romero was consistently in the mix across the six rounds, and took third in the overall.
MBCC rider Emilia Tyszecka took three wins and three second place finishes over the six races and cemented her place atop the U12 Girls standings ahead of Shelbourne/Orchard CC’s Pippa Ruddell in second and Comerach rider Cliodhna De Barra in third.
Orwell Wheelers’ Naoise Cunningham was top of the U10 Boys table after the six rounds, followed by Square Wheels’ Senan O’Brien in second and Killian McCarthy in third.
Square Wheels were on the podium again in the U10 Girls category, as Ríonach Campbell took the overall series win ahead of Sliabh Luachra’s Marian Mulvaney in second and Greenmount’s Katie Cashin in third.
Ballinasloe CC rider Hugh Dolan took top spot in the U8 Boys overall standings followed by MAD’s Cian Phelan in second and Leo Belgrano.
Elisa Tyszecka from MBCC finished the season top of the U8 Girls standings ahead of Shelbourne/Orchard’s Alice Bell in second and Fiadh Bradley in third.
A massive thank you to all the clubs, volunteers and riders that made this series possible this year.
All eyes now turn to XC National Championships, taking place in Carey's Castle, Co. Waterford on July 19th. A short track demonstration (non-championship) event will also take place on Saturday, July 18th, at the same venue.