Limerick downhill champion Oisin O'Callaghan showing his class

YOUNG Limerick downhill mountain biking world champion, Oisín O’Callaghan, has astonished fans at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup once again.

Competing in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Qualifiers in Switzerland, Oisín performed valiantly despite adversity.

During the recent race, which drops 3 km in roughly 2 minutes and 50 seconds, Oisín’s foot got caught on a tree stump, which removed his shoe at lightning speed, but that did not stop him in his tracks. He continued to complete the course in an excellent time, despite unfortunately missing the top 25 places.

Speaking of the incident, Oisín’s proud father Chris said: “I have told him for years about never, ever, giving up and fighting for every 0.1 of a second in true Limerick fashion.”

The Ardpatrick native, aged 20, has been riding bikes since the age of three. He grew up in the hills of Ballyhoura and learned his craft with the help of his father, Chris, who offers a bike rental service in the area. Winning the 2020 UCI Junior Downhill World Cup, Oisín has now moved on to compete in as an Elite, despite being much younger than the rest of the category.

“Now being in the Elites, most of the top guys are quite a few years older than me so it’s just a case of gaining some experience and I should be right up there,” outlined Oisín.

Oisín suffered an accident last year during the championship which left him with multiple broken bones and ruled him out of the remainder of the competition.

Despite this, he has made a full recovery and competes in Austria on June 16 and 17 to continue his pursuit for the world cup. Oisín and his racing team, the YT Mob, are being broadcast throughthe season and on June 16 and 17 via Eurosport, Discovery and GCN TV channels.