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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
PRECISION AND POWER EARN SEYMOUR EIGHTEENTH NATIONAL TITLE
By Shane Stokes
8 Jan 2012,
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| Robin Seymour nets win
number eighteen |
See video interviews
A tale of two laps; well, not quite, but two out of the nine circuits of St.
Anne’s Park played a very large part in shaping the outcome of yesterday’s
national cyclo cross championships and simplifying the path to Robin Seymour’s
eighteenth win.
Seymour showed a remarkable consistency throughout, with each of his nine laps
being between six minutes 53 seconds and seven minutes seven seconds. For
runner-up Roger Aiken, two laps would prove disastrous for his chances.
The Banbridge CC rider had shown superb form in the run up to the event, taking
all six rounds to dominate the Ulster cyclo cross league, as well as clocking up
two rounds of the Supercross series.
Although Seymour’s career record dwarfs his, the ten year age difference
between them, Aiken’s run of form and his speed meant that many thought he
would have the edge yesterday.
Things didn’t work out like that.
Aiken started well, with he and Seymour neck and neck behind Matthew Adair in
the opening minutes. Lap two put the first spanner in the works, though, as his
chain dropped off and forced him to stop to put it back on. He crossed the line
thirteen seconds behind Seymour and, dripping a further six seconds on lap
three, was facing a huge fight to get back on terms.
Aware he was in the driving seat, Seymour continued on in a smooth, consistent
fashion. Aiken pushed hard behind and was quicker than him on lap five, taking
seven seconds back and prompting speculation amongst the spectators that maybe,
just maybe, the gritty pursuit might lead to a big showdown.
“He’s coming back, he’s coming back,” said one of those watching. “The
gap is definitely coming down,” said another, even though there was a lot left
to do.
However the second blow happened soon afterward, when his chain came off again
and he lost another half a minute.
Aiken knew the game was over and the momentum went out of his chase. Seymour was
aware that there was a big gulf between them but continued to racing hard; he
avoided risks on the technical sections, yet dug deep physically, pushing
himself all the way to the finish and a dominant success.
He crossed the line with a load roar, punching the air and savouring a
remarkable eighteenth win. Aiken rolled in one minute 42 seconds back, giving a
wave of acknowledgement to the crowd despite his disappointment.
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| Aiken, Seymour and Adair
made up the elite podium |
Adair was a further one minute five seconds back, while Evan Ryan, Anthony Doyle
and Daragh Mortimer were just over a minute apart in fourth, fifth and sixth.
“It went really well,” said a satisfied Seymour after the finish. “I think
Roger slipped his chain off on top of one of the ramps, and it was just an
opportunity I wanted. You know then you have a ten second gap and you are going
to really work and really manage it from there.”
The spectacular course twisted back and forward regularly, giving every rider a
chance to see who was behind him and what the gaps were. Seymour used this to
monitor his advantage over Aiken, and also got some feedback from the crowd plus
those who were there supporting him.
He knew what he had to do was maintain the lead, keeping the pressure on without
taking any risks. “It was very hard for about four or five laps, and it was
just tooing and frooing, a second here, a second there,” he explained.
“It’s not very much, but it the course is very good because you can see lots
of gaps...you can tell if you’ve pulled out a bit of time from lap to lap.
“There were sections where I had pulled out a gap and he would close it back
in on another section. You’d be like ‘oh, keep your head down, keep
pushing.’ Then he had another problem and that was it.”
Aiken battled hard to get back on terms, but it wasn’t his day. “There were
three of us together early on - me, Robin and Matt… I was in the lead at the
time, then the chain jumped off and the rest of them got a gap. I caught Matt
again, I passed him, and kept the gap steady to Robin.
“It was in around 15 seconds with three or four laps [to go], then the chain
bounced off again.”
----
It’s a question of shouda coulda woulda, but an inevitable one; had his
problems not happened, would things have been far tighter? Both he and Seymour
agreed that it would.
“It’d be a hell of a lot closer…it definitely would have been,” said the
runner-up. “When someone is on your wheel, it is hard to get a gap…once a
gap is there, it is easier.
“At some points, I was getting a little closer. But 15 seconds…the guy is
out of sight. It is hard enough when the gap is smaller…it would need to have
been maybe five seconds, then I would have had a chance to catch him – but not
fifteen.”
Seymour spoke to Irishcycling.com earlier this week and acknowledged that Aiken
had been going very well. He was guarded then about his chances, saying that he
hoped to be in the hunt for the win.
After the finish he opened up a little more about his feelings, saying that
Aiken ‘was probably the favourite.’ “With his form so far this year, the
fact that he’s been riding really strongly, it [the outcome] was certainly not
a foregone conclusion,” he said.
“Roger is amazing…he wouldn’t have done so years ago, but he rides the
bike so well now everywhere. He wouldn’t struggle on a course like this to
ride this quickly. I probably still have the edge on him on the technical stuff
but it’s not that much of a difference anymore. He is a good enough rider in
that respect.”
Once the gap opened, though, Seymour did things perfectly to ensure that he
remained clear. “I think once you get your opportunity, then you’ve got to
seize it and go for it,” he explained, describing his mindset at that moment.
“Because once somebody is under pressure on a race, once there’s a ten
second gap, they are always a fighting to get back on. They are always running
wide on corners, they are on the limit everywhere.
“If you have a little cushion, you can control that – if you are riding
quicker, of course. It doesn’t happen if you are not at the races. But if you
have that pace, you are able to control the race a little bit and make it really
difficult for others.”
Adair scorched clear at the start and while it was unlikely he could keep the
momentum going throughout the race, his effort then and throughout the race
showed his potential to aim for the championship in the future.
He was satisfied with how things played out. “I’m happy enough…it’s my
first senior race, so to start with an Irish medal is good,” he said.
“The tactic was to go out hard and try to get a gap over the rest of the
field. It worked out well enough, I think a group of five formed after that –
then me, Roger and Robin took off out of that group. I just kept riding hard
after that to keep my place.
“Roger’s chain dropped on lap two. It must have bounced off when he set his
bike down. It was disappointing for Banbridge… we were hoping for first and
second or first and third, so it was disappointing. But that’s racing.”
Adair said that he too had chain problems, but fortunately didn’t have to stop
to put it back on. He was able to continue with only a small loss in time, and
spent the rest of the race monitoring the gap between himself and Evan Ryan
(Team WORC). The latter was chasing hard but with Adair ensuring he didn’t get
too close, would finish forty seconds back at the line.
Ryan picked up fourth, while Anthony Doyle, Daragh Mortimer, Stuart Galloway and
Ciaran Bucke filled places five through to eighth.
John Bogues beat Peter McConville and Johnny McCabe to the veteran’s prize,
while Ciara McManus got the better of Claire Oakley and Gill Smith. Robert
Deegan, Stuart Ballantine and Aaron McCann scrapped it out for the junior medals
and finished in that order.
As for the other competitions, Sebastian Roman won the B race ahead of Ian
Cassidy and Russell Treacy. Craig McCarthy, Conor McLaughlin and Cathal Clarke
won the under 12, under 14 and under 16 races.
Most stayed around to see the big battle in the main championship event; it may
have lacked suspense in the final laps, but was compelling nonetheless.
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
Robin Seymour interview from national cyclo cross
championships
Roger Aiken and Matt Adair speak after the national
cyclo cross champs
2012 Irish Cyclocross National Championships:
Senior Men:
1, Robin Seymour 01:02:57
2, Roger Aiken 01:04:39
3, Matthew Adair 01:05:44
4, Evan Ryan 01:06:24
5, Anthony Doyle 01:07:09
6, Daragh Mortimer 01:07:44
7, Stuart Galloway 01:08:28
8, Ciaran Bucke 01:08:46
9, Robert Scanlon 01:08:51
10, Niall O'Hara 01:09:09
11, Gerard Wolf 01:09:52
12, Timothy O'Regan 01:09:55
13, Sean Downey 01:10:06
14, Jason Henry 01:10:18
15, Sean O'Tuathail 01:10:19
16, Colm Ahern 01:10:24
At 1 lap:
17, Mark McGauley
18, Gareth Gormley
19, Drew McKinley
20, Keith Meghan
21, David O'Neill
22, John McCarthy
23, Murt Rice
24, Brian McCarthy
25, John Dempsey
26, Michael Cowan
27, Don Travers
28, Gary Sheils
29, Damien Duggan
30, Paul Norton
31, Luke Manning
32, Redmond O'Toole
At 2 laps:
33, Graham Hand
34, Peter Doyle
DNF:
Kenny Bucke
Andrew Newman
Note: time gaps are approximate due to technical problems
Senior Women :
1, Ciara McManus
2, Claire Oakley
3, Gill Smith
Junior :
1, Robert Deegan
2, Stuart Ballantine
3, Aaron McCann
Veterans :
1, John Bogues
2, Peter McConville
3, Johnny McCabe
4, Nigel Elder
5, Stephen Moffitt
6, William Mulligan
7, Mark Kenny
8, Colm Bracken
9, Fred McSorley
10, Donough O'Keffe
11, Declan McCabe
12, Richie Byrne
13, Mark Bartley
B Race:
1, Sebastian Roman
2, Ian Cassidy
3, Russell Treacy
4, Alan Cullen
5, David Dune
6, David Carroll Campbell
7, David Concannon
8, Damien Creighton
9, Joe Henry
10, Allen Slevin
11, Dave O'Connor
12, Martin Henderson
13, Robert Magee
14, Cronin O Doibhlin
15, Justin McGee
16, Gareth Fair
17, Cathal Johnston
18, Ronan Kearney
19, Michael Grimes
20, Robert McAlinden
21, Conor Graham
22, Richard Lynch
23, John Walker
24, Barry Keogh
25, Martin Grimley
26, Paul Faherty
27, Gerard McNamara
28, Matt Naughton
29, Greg Campbell
30, Martin O'Hagan
31, Graham Diamond
32, Eoin Moran
33, Rory Murphy
B Race Women:
1, Erica Grant
2, Carol Farrelly
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