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Coillte Biking Blitz 2018 is on its way back to Limerick for it’s 8th edition!

Coillte Biking Blitz 2018 is on it’s way back to Limerick. Picture: Adrian Van der Lee

Coillte Biking Blitz 2018 is on it’s way back to Limerick for its 8th edition!

Coillte Biking Blitz 2018

Coillte Biking Blitz 2018 is in its 8th edition! Picture: Adrian Van der Lee.

Coillte Biking Blitz 2018 returns to Limerick this spring for its 8th edition with over 1,500 mountain bikers expected to take part in a series of events being organised to mark the start of the 2018 biking season.


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The Coillte Biking Blitz 2018 is a cross-country mountain bike series that is taking place every second weekend until the 25th of March. The second event in the series takes place on Sunday, February 25th, at Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trail in County Limerick.

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 2018 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 quickly 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 even bigger than 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, which is three days before each event.

 

For more stories on biking in Limerick, go here.

For more information on Coillte Biking Blitz 2018, go here.

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Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.