Robin Seymour further extended his superb run of senior national championship titles when he took his eighteenth Irish cyclo-cross jersey this weekend.
The record, when combined with his seventeen cross country and one downhill MTB gold medals, gives him a senior offroad national championship tally which is likely unprecedented globally. He has also taken one marathon XC title, bringing his overall total close to forty gold medals.
The Team WORC competitor finished far ahead in St. Anne’s Park in Raheny on Saturday, with double champion Roger Aiken crossing the line one minute 42 seconds back and his Banbridge team-mate Matthew Adair a further one minute five seconds in arrears.
Aiken had been expected to challenge, but dropped his chain twice and was unable to get back on terms.
“It went really well,” forty year old Seymour smiled, speaking in a video interview 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.”
Once ahead, he was able to see Aiken on the sections of the course which twisted back and fourth, and knew what he had to do was maintain the lead.
“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.”
Adair took the lead early on, opening a slight lead by the end of lap one of nine. Seymour and Aiken were neck and neck, but spectators anticipating a battle right until the end were surprised to see a large gap suddenly open. The news of Aiken’s dropped chain filtered back to them over time, making it clear what had happened.
“There were three of us together early on - me, Robin and Matt…,” he said, rueing how things had played out. “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.
“At some points, I was getting a little closer. But fifteen seconds…the guy is out of sight then,” he said. “If it was five seconds, I would have had a chance to catch him, but not fifteen.”
Seymour is known for his technical ability, and was unlikely to make mistakes on what was a relatively dry course. He pushed hard where necessary, but also knew that the gap meant that he didn’t have to take any major risks.
His lap times were very consistent and while Aiken chased hard, it became apparent that he was running out of time to close the gap. The second incident then sealed it, ensuring that he’d have to settle for silver.
“It was in around 15 seconds with three or four laps [to go], then the chain bounced off again,” he said. From that point on, he knew he’d have to wait until 2013 for the chance to take another gold medal.
Adair was pleased with third place; he’s still just eighteen years of age, and has considerable promise. I’m happy enough…it’s my first senior race, so to start with an Irish medal is good,” he smiled, knowing that if he continues his progression, he will be in the hunt for national jerseys soon.
As for Seymour, he doesn’t show any sign of packing in the bike. His record is a staggering one, and he’ll likely keep aiming to extend it.
----
2012 Irish Cyclocross National Championships:
Senior Men:
1, Robin Seymour, 1 hour 2 mins 57 secs
2, Roger Aiken, at 1 min 42 secs
3, Matthew Adair, at 2 mins 47 secs
4, Evan Ryan, at 3 mins 27 secs
5, Anthony Doyle, at 4 mins 12 secs
6, Daragh Mortimer, at 4 mins 47 secs
7, Stuart Galloway, at 5 mins 31 secs
8, Ciaran Bucke, at 5 mins 49 secs
9, Robert Scanlon, at 5 mins 54 secs
10, Niall O'Hara, at 6 mins 12 secs
11, Gerard Wolf, at 6 mins 55 secs
12, Timothy O'Regan, at 6 mins 58 secs
13, Sean Downey, at 7 mins 9 secs
14, Jason Henry, at 7 mins 21 secs
15, Sean O'Tuathail, at 7 mins 22 secs
16, Colm Ahern, at 7 mins 27 secs
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