This is the home of Michael O’Brien’s official web site, This space will be constantly updated to bring you all the latest news and views pertaining to Michael throughout the season to follow.

The 7th and   8th of august was the date set for the fourth rnd of the bds series. We packed up to leave on friday morning and arrived at 2.00pm on friday noon. After we unpacked it was time for the track walk. It went well and i found a few lines for the practice and race day. Practice came round and with it being a fairly hard track on arms and hands i only did 5 practice runs on the saturday and with a ever drying track from the morning it was not worth more. Sunday was race day i was pumped and ready, i got 2 warm runs in before quli and was feeling good. Quli came and went . It went fairly well just a crusing run to give a slight indercation of were i would be in the race run. I came down in 20th place which i wasnt really to happy with. Race run was next and i knew i had to knock about 10 seconds of for the poduim. Unfortunatly it the run didnt really go to plan with a few moments in some turns i finshed up in 15th place. I am farily happy but know i could have done alot more with it but i was fairly happy as i was not used to this type of track. It is a good bench mark for the next one were hopefully i will be in the top 5 were i no i can be.

 The ixs German cup was my first euro race. I was looking forward to it so much! I headed out to German with my team Hbrook racing on Thursday. Friday afternoon was the first day of practice; before practice started we headed up to walk the track. It was a whole new track with lots of pedalling!
After this it was time for practice I didn’t do much practice on the Friday as i knew the track conditions were going to change a lot and that the track was going to get a lot more beded in. I finished up with practicing runs under my belt and feeling good on track. Saturday came and it was qualifying day, the qualifying run didn’t go so well for me as I had a little fall in one of the tight turns. I ended up in 6^th but knew I could do a lot more for the finals tomorrow.  With Saturday day finished before I knew it was race day. I headed up for my race run feeling good, I had a good run down and ended up in 3^rd place which i was very happy with as the opposition was as good as it was going to get. I had a great time and was very pleased with the outcome !. Next race is nat champs on my birthday which i am very much looking forward to and feeling strong.

July the 4^th was the date of round 3 of this cup, Unfortunately we could not make Saturday practice so had to go up early on Sunday morning. When we arrived I unloaded the bike got changed and headed up the track as I knew I didn’t have much time and with no track knowledge practice was going to be key. I managed to do 2 practice runs in the morning which got me fairly familiar with the track. Next up it was race run number 1 and I was just going to treat it was another practice run and went into 9^th place out of no less than 30. For the second run I was ready to put a quicker time in till the rain started the fall which was un expected. With this the times were not going to improve so I treated it as just another race, I got the 4^th place out of the wet times which I was happy with as I had very little practice time. Overall a good weekend and a good  result.

The next round of bds took us to Llangollen in Wales. On Friday we arrived set up the team pit and headed up to walk the super steep, short Llangollen track.
The track was looking good and fast with it being really dust due to no rain. On Saturday it was practice day, only managed to get 5 runs down the track in as the uplift was running very slow, despite this I was feeling good and quick on the track. On Saturday night we headed back up the track again to check for any new lines and place that I could make up time as the track had changed a lot.  Before I knew it was Sunday, I headed up for my one practice run in the morning before racing started I felt good and got all the new lines dialled in. It was time for my seeding run; it was not such a good run with a little slip up and then just cruised the rest of the way down.  With this behind me it was then time for the race run which went fairly well for me ending up in 10^th place on 1.9 seconds off the podium which I was pleased with. Overall and very hot and good weekend and I look forward to next bds at Moelfre

British champs round 2- Fort William -22 place

 Bds Round two at the awesome fort bill, with not having raced there before I was so excited to ride and race the track. On Friday I went up to walk the track that was looking super sweet and smooth.  By mid day Saturday that had changed as the track was getting some huge holes put it and the new sections were getting bogie. By the end of sat I had blasted out a few practice runs and felt good on track. Sunday came and it was soon seeding and time to go. By seeding my hands were hurting a little so cruised down to save some energy. After a rest race run was on It was a fairly good run until somebody crashed in front of me in the woods causing me to get off my bike and go round them  and ended up in 22th place.  I wasn’t too happy with that result but for my first race there I will take it. I am very much looking forward to the next 3 bds races as they will all be on tracks I will prefer and will hopefully be were I want to be in those races.

Here are a few links to some of the team vids !
http://video.mpora.com/watch/DFD0Przvy/
http://video.mpora.com/watch/Ur9J63oT0/
http://video.mpora.com/watch/Csq7YVrYp/

This weekend plays host to the fourth round of the bds series. It is at the well known moelfre track. The track is 100% open and flat out all the way down. As i am writing this i understand the trail builders have added a new jump and corners up top which should be intresting and some pretty big long berms and jumps down near the finsh. The track will have a super long 200 meter finsh ara also which sounds pretty mint. For sure i am looking foward to race this w.e and with some new track sections its going to be awsome. I am feeling fit and heatlhy so it should be a good weekend !

 The 10^th and 11^th of April saw the first round of the British downhill series at Rheola. This was the start of the proper race season for me and an event I had been looking forward to for some time.  We headed up to the track on Friday to set up the pit area and walk the track, it was looking very dry up on the loose rocks and still fairly dam in the wooded sections leaving a choice for tyres.  Saturday came and we had a few problems with are bikes so only managed to get 3 practice runs in, but in this time we got the bikes setup  into the track and they were working really nice and everything was set for a good race on Sunday. When Sunday came round I couldn’t wait to get up the hill, I suppose it was excitement sort lived as I got a puncture in the second corner and had to go very slowly back to the pits. With this problem I could not fit another practice run in as we had no time to change the puncture so I had to go up and start seeding with it, were I just went through the beam leaving me in last and first down in the race run. For my race run I was not very confident as I had no knowledge on the track on Sunday, This lead to a very slow run were I just wanted to finish and get the weekend over leaving me in 32^nd place for the meeting and very disappointed. I am much looking forward to round 2 at fort William were I hope for a better result and no mechanical issues.

March the 14th was the first race of the year at Astonhill, a race that i had been looking foward too as it is my local track and i track that i like. On saturday i had a good day of practice on the track and i felt strong on the track. Sunday came and it was soon time to get racing after a few practice runs in the morning i felt good. My first run went ok as i came down in forth place with run with no mistakes. Before i knew it i was heading back to the start for my second and final run of the day, the run was fairly good with it being the same time as the first which left me in 4th place for the weekend. I am now feeling strong  riding wise and will keep working hard for the next race.