Donaldson claims third place in Madeira

GARY Donaldson’s impressive season continued over the weekend when he finished a superb third overall at the Trans Madeira five day enduro race.

The Omagh man, who finished third overall in the Irish National Championships behind Greg Callaghan and Kelan Grant, also won the Vitus Gravity Enduro Ireland Series title in 2022, and he still has the World Enduro Tour of Nations in Italy to look forward to next week.

His most recent achievement on the Portuguese island was hard won with five gruelling days that covered approximately 250 kilometres with over 6000 metres of climbing and 15,000 metres of descending during the 30 stages of racing.

“I wasn’t expecting that result, it’s a bit overwhelming but it’s good,” he beamed. “Over the five days it worked out at over two hours of times racing – normally in an Irish race we would have a 13 minute race so it’s probably more racing this week than I have done all year!”

From Madeira, Donaldson travels to Italy to team up with another Omagh man, Grant, and Callaghan, all of whom make up the Irish team for the prestigious Tour of Nations.

Gary earned his spot on the team alongside his two full-time professional riders, by earning points at a World Enduro Series event in Scotland and following his third placed finish at the National’s.

And while he’s looking forward to the experience of racing as part of a team, he’s not sure what they can achieve given the nature of the sport.

“We’ve got a strong team, so hopefully we can put something together,” he said. “We all bounce off together and we’re good friends so it should be a good trip.

“But I don’t think anyone can go to it and expect to win because there are so many factors and enduro is normally an individual sport whereas this is the only time you’ll ever race in a team format. But I think we could definitely go top 10 and if we have a really good day, top five, which would be something else!”

Gary also works full-time for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council as a Community Coach, while riding part-time for Vitus, which allows him to enjoy the best of both worlds.

And as part of his regular job, alongside his membership of Omagh Wheelers, he will host a ‘have a go’ session at the club’s forthcoming cyclocross event at Ecclesville Park in Fintona.

“I did this with the cycling club last year and I tried to link it in with my work,” explained Gary, who has impressed as a road racer during his teenaged years.

He continued: “I brought down the wee balance bikes we have and was able to give the kids a go but I think I’ll be b ringing down a couple of mountain bikes this time, to let people see them and to se what the craic is.

“Cyclocross is a really good pathway into off-road cycling and then you can see what other routes there are from there.