Located in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, the Slieve Blooms are no stranger to mtb, but they’ve seen nothing like this before!

Date

25th April 2026

Base Camp

The historic Kinnitty Castle is our home for the weekend of the GRS Slieve Blooms.

Campers and Camping

There is ample room for campervans and camping at the event, so why not arrive on Friday and stay over Saturday to make a weekend of it! No need to book ahead and no additional charges apply. Our only ask is that you take home what you bring in, please follow Leave No Trace principles.

There is a dedicated camping field for tents right beside the parking area but no vehicles permitted to enter the field.

Routes

We are not permitted to publish the route maps publicly. Riders will be emailed the GPX file in the briefing notes on Wednesday 22nd April at 10pm.

• GRS Classic – 103km, 2165m
  • Forest Road – 72km
  • Singletrack – 8km
  • Grassy Laneways – 16km
  • County Roads – 7km

• GRS Tour – 63km, 1390m
  • Forest Road – 47km
  • Singletrack – 7km
  • Grassy Laneways – 2km
  • County Road – 7km

• GRS lite – 45km, 1050m
  • Forest Road – 28km
  • Singletrack – 7km
  • Grassy Laneways – 0km
  • County Road – 10km

Schedule

Friday 24th April

• Registration – 7pm to 9pm

• Last food orders – 9pm

• Live Music – 8pm to 10pm

Saturday 25th April

• Registration – 8am to 10am sharp

• Coffee Shop – serving from 8am

• Start Time – 10.30am (all categories)

• Dungeon Bar – kitchen serving from 12.30

Cut Off Times

In the interest of safety, we will apply the following cut offs whereby riders must leave the cut off point by the specified time. 

• GRS Lite 43km – no cut off
• GRS Tour 63km – cut off at 27km: 12.45PM
• GRS Classic 103km – cut off at 37km feed station: 12:45PM

Mandatory Equipment

Riders must carry the following items at all times, checks will be carried out before you join the starting area.

• Multitool, tube (2 recommended), tire levers and pump or C02
• Waterproof jacket
• Enough food and water for the event
• Mobile phone fully charged with emergency number stored 0834173899

Feed Stations

Located at 20km, 37km, 58km, 78km, 92km.

• Water, energy drink and coke
• Sweets and biscuits
• Fruit
• Tube exchange
• Tool kit and pump
• Bottle drop

Live Tracking

You can view all the riders on all the routes here. Individual distances below.

• GRS Classic 100KM here. 

• GRS Tour 65KM here.

• GRS Lite 45KM here. 

Route Marking and Tracking

Each route will be fully marked with sign posts and leader tape. There will be marshals at major junctions only. Riders will be issued with a GPS tracker at registration. The replacement fee for a lost tracker is €100.

Bikes

You can enter on any type of bike, gravel, cyclocross, mtb and ebikes. Your bike should be in perfect working order and you should carry spare tubes, a pump and multitool. You can also rent a gravel bike from Biking.ie here.

Parking and Directions

Please respect our neighbours, drive slowly on approach roads to the venue and use official car parks only, please do not park along the road side. Campervans are welcome to arrive on Friday 24th, please park tight together and be prepare to be moved slightly on Saturday at 8am.