Race Report: Vitus Gravity Enduro Ireland Series 2022, Ballinastoe

The second race of the Vitus Gravity Enduro Ireland Series 2022 is done and dusted. And dusty it was, with high temperatures in Ireland and not much rain last couple of weeks trails are running fast, dry and dusty, something not very usual in the region.

It was a full weekend of racing with two different formats on Saturday and Sunday, "mashup" and "classic" format, something for every rider. Close to 400 riders gathered to enjoy a great weekend of racing and good riding. For this particular race, every participant had the opportunity to have a go on three newly built trails on the venue, Ballinastoe mountain bike trails. Some fresh jumps, doubles, berms and rollers made everyone enjoy each and every one of their runs. With 23km and near 800m climb with 5 special stages, it was just a matter of enjoying and having fun on the trails whilst trying to go as fast as possible.



In the women's field, the seven-time Irish enduro champ Leah Maunsell smashed the clock and won every special stage to win the overall with near a minute over Eilis Davey, the next woman on the podium. The legend Meave Baxter was third 13s shy of Eilis. Liz McAuley and Julia Kuczma completed the podium in the women's category.

The men's field saw a fierce battle between the top guns. Drew Armstrong started the day winning the first stage and putting 5 seconds over the Brazilian William Fernando. On the second stage, Gary Donaldson pushed hard and recovered some time, winning it by a margin of just 0.15s over William and getting 1.66s over Drew Armstrong. On the third stage, Drew managed to win and put some extra precious seconds over his competitors with young Brendan Conroy coming second, 2.35s behind. Ben Wilson pushed hard on the pedals for stage four with Gary Donaldson coming second and Drew third. On the last stage, William Fernando took the win with Brendan Conroy following close behind by just 2.75s. It was a good mix on the podium, with three elite riders, one senior, and one U21.

Results Classic format

Full Results Classic format

Full Results Mashup format

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