K-Capital Cup round two heads to Moneyscalp

Round two of the International K-Capital MTB XCO Series heads to Moneyscalp Forest near Newcastle in County Down for Easter Sunday, March 23. The race was originally set for Tollymore, but upon the advice from the forest service, the race was moved to Moneyscalp Wood, which in fact is an annex of Tollymore. The new venue is largely made possible through the work of Banbridge Cycling Club, which has been working tirelessly for two months to open up part of a neglected trail network to yield a race-worthy course for the K-Capital race.

The top Belgian MTB squad, Team Barracuda will be at the race, led by Patrick Gaudy, who is the eighth-ranked elite racer in Belgium. His team-mates will include Cedric Gaudy, winner of the 2007 Wallonia Cup, U23 racer Jorgen Flion. Welsh rider Lee Williams, who finished third in round one, will be back along with fifth-placed Adrian Lansley (Pedalon) and Paul Beale (Team Orange Monkey) making his Irish cycling debut. The British Cycling Federation team will not be attending due to other commitments.

For the Irish Elite riders, this will be another chance to pit their talents against visiting opposition. For Robin Seymour (Team Worc), Niall Davis (IMBRC) and Conor McConvey (McConvey Cycles) it will be part two of the "race to Beijing". In round one Seymour finished second to British Champion Oli Beckingsale while Davis finished sixth. McConvey was forced to miss the first round after sustaining a broken shoulder in an accident, though he finished second in a road race last Saturday. The rider who scores the most points over the first three K-Cap races gets the Irish ride at the Olympics.