Saddle up for the first Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Festival in Laois and Offaly

Laois and Offaly are hosting what promises to be a fantastic weekend of mountain cycling events over the May Bank Holiday weekend as part of the first Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Festival.

The three-day festival event will also showcase the spectacular Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trails which offer over 100km of riding on fast and flowing single track.

The festival kicks off with a 'Cross Country Fun Enduro' and 'Family Trail Quest' on Friday, the 'Coillte Biking Blitz' competition on Saturday and Sunday, plus the 'Big Bike Movie Night' on Friday and live music on Saturday night.

The 'Coillte Biking Blitz' is a mass start cross-country mountain bike event, aimed primarily at beginners but with something for everyone. There are three categories for adults to choose from: Novice; E-Bike; or Expert, plus youth events for 6-year-olds and up.

The festival lineup is as follows:

Friday 28th April – Kinnitty, Co. Offaly

Family Trail Quest | 4pm to 8pm | free event
XC Fun Enduro | 5pm – 8pm | pre entry only
Big Bike Movie Night – Giltraps Townhouse | 8:30pm

Saturday 29th April – Baunreagh, Co. Laois
Coillte Biking Blitz Day One | 9am to 4pm | pre entry only
Kids events | 10am
Senior races | 12:30pm
Live music – Slieve Bloom Bar, Kinnitty Village | 8:30pm

Sunday 30th April Kinnitty, Co. Offaly
Coillte Biking Blitz Day Two | 9am to 4pm | pre entry only
Kids events | 10am
Balance Bike Track | Open from 10am | free event
Senior races | 12.30pm
Awards Presentation | 4pm

Event organiser, Niall Davis, commented: “Ireland is long overdue a mountain bike festival and we’re sure that the Slieve Bloom mountain bike trails will deliver a top class event.”

Head of Recreation for Coillte, Daithi deForge, welcomes the creation of the new festival. “Coillte is the largest provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland, with 12 forest parks, 260 recreational forests and over 3,000km of marked walking trails. The

Slieve Bloom MTB trails which span the Offaly and Laois borders are just one of five national mountain bike centres which Coillte has created. Events like the Coillte Biking Blitz and the new Slieve Blooms MTB Festival will showcase these world class trails to the domestic and growing international audience.”

Failte Ireland commented: “Festivals and events are a key element of the tourism offering in Ireland, and Fáilte Ireland is pleased to support this year’s Slieve Bloom MTB Festival, which will showcase Ireland’s fantastic outdoor activity offering to domestic and international visitors. Developing unique visitor events like Slieve Bloom MTB Festival plays an important role in the recovery of the tourism sector for Laois and Offaly and the wider Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands region. Participative festivals like Slieve Bloom MTB Festival create new and compelling reasons for visitors to explore Ireland and experience first-hand our world-class outdoor activity offering. Events like this have the ability to drive footfall for local businesses, which in turn generates revenue and supports jobs in communities and revenue generation.”

More lots more info on the event check out HERE.