The 8th Coillte Biking Blitz will take place at the beautiful Derroura Mountain Bike Trail, Co. Galway, on Sunday the 11th March as part of a series of events to mark the start of the 2018 biking season.
The Coillte Biking Blitz is a cross country mountain bike series that will see over 1,500 mountain bikers take part in a series of events around the country every second weekend until the 25th of March.
Event organiser Niall Davis of Biking.ie explains, "The Coillte Biking Blitz series is a brilliant introduction for children or adults who want to try out mountain biking for the first time. As a beginner friendly mountain bike series, with free events for kids on balance bikes as young as 2 years old, our aim is to ensure everyone has a fun experience. Winning or losing isn't on the agenda and everyone gets a medal. Events like these can really open the door to endless adventures."
The Coillte Biking Blitz is mostly aimed at mountain bike novices, but all other ability levels are also welcome.
"As the age category rises so does the level of competition. Senior races are split up into two classes, 'Baggy Shorts' for first timers, who want to have some fun on the hills, and 'Super Pro', for the longer distance and more experienced category. Race distances vary but are typically 15km or 30km and the first to post is crowned the winner," Niall Davis explained.
Each of the Biking Blitz event courses are located at one of Coillte's flagship mountain bike recreation sites, which are open to the public year-round. Coillte has over 300km of cycling trails for family friendly beginners to advanced mountain bike loops with dedicated mountain bike centres at Derroura in Galway, Ballyhoura in Limerick, Ticknock in Dublin and Ballinastoe in Wicklow.
Speaking about this year's Biking Blitz, Daithi de Forge, Coillte's Head of Recreation said, "Mountain biking is a fast becoming a very popular sport in Ireland and, as the leading provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland, Coillte are delighted to be the lead sponsor of this year's Biking Blitz. In recent years Coillte has and continues to play a major role in providing the kind of world-class mountain bike facilities that are encouraging more and more people to participate in this wonderful outdoor activity."
2018 is the 8th year of the Biking Blitz and competitor numbers are expected to be up on previous years. The Biking Blitz event village will have something for everyone with food venders, live music, interviews and exhibitors. Admission is free for spectators and competitors are urged to enter online in advance of the closing deadline, three days before each event.
For more information about the event people are encouraged to visit www.bikingblitz.ie and follow @bikingblitz on Facebook and use the hashtag #bikinginIreland.
