Greg Swinand on his way to the National Veterans' Time Trial Title again in Omagh on Saturday. He was quickest of the combined vets and juniors field and also broke the course record (Photo: Paul Coyle)
By Brian Canty
Greg Swinand claimed his second National Veteran’s Time Trial title in some style on Saturday when he beat John Heverin (Clann Eireann) by over a minute and a half in Omagh, Co Tyrone.
The Usher Irish Road Club man feared Heverin the most as he had been clocking some impressive times lately. But American-born Swinand said it was anything but a stroll for him.
“I’m very pleased alright; just over the moon because as Joe Fenlon said to me, ‘you’re a bit keener because you don’t know how many more are left in you’.”
Advertisement
“I was confident that I was going well and training well but I knew Heverin would be the man to beat because he had been putting up some good times. But I knew I’d put up a good time. I sort of felt it would be down to whoever has a better day on the day.”
The course itself was anything but straight forward and gave Swinand more than a few headaches.
“It was a tailwind on the way out but it was so twisty there were crosswinds too. The way out was mostly uphill but we were still doing 50kph. There were times when I was doing 65 out, but 25k back. There was a lot to consider in it.”
“I knew I had done okay but I wasn’t 100 per cent sure how good. I didn’t know. I had been messaging some of the other guys and it seemed that everybody died on the way back into the headwind.”
“It was a hilly course and into this savage headwind and it was twisty. It was a tough course.”
“Some of the marshals were shouting splits and I knew I had gained a small amount of time on the guys ahead. But based on what I knew, the part where I died the most was where I gained the most time. The long and short of it is everyone died into the wind but I seemed to die less.”
Swinand also won the title in 2011, the year he won the road race title. And he won silver in the road race in June in Carlingford, Co Louth; beaten on the day by Hugh Mulhearne of Carrick Iverk Produce in a two-up sprint.
However, despite that success and the fact he is has been a very high profile and prolific rider for many years all around Ireland, people still regularly call him Swinard.
“The name is anglicised,” he says.
“Our name is unique and its origins are Hungarian, German but it was probably simplified at some point. I’ve raced everywhere and everyone seems to change it to Swinard.”
National Veterans’ Time Trial Championships 40 km
Saturday, August 19th in Omagh, Co Tyrone. Promoted by Omagh Wheelers
|
Position |
First name | Surname | Club/Team |
Time |
|
1 |
Gregory | Swinard | Usher Irish Road Club |
53:16 |
|
2 |
John | Heverin | Clann Eireann |
54:47 |
|
3 |
Chris | Troy | Castlebar CC |
55:39 |
|
4 |
Mark | Greer | Maryland Wheelers |
56:25 |
|
5 |
Hugh | Mulhearne | Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers |
56:44 |
|
6 |
Rodney | Stewart | TVR |
56:59 |
|
7 |
Des | Woods | Newry Wheelers |
57:04 |
|
8 |
Kieran | McKenna | East Antrim CC/AUDI |
57:07 |
|
9 |
Liam | Curran | Curran racing |
57:48 |
|
10 |
Kevin | Lynch | Newry Wheelers |
58:12 |
|
Related News
11 |
Brendan | Hessman | u/a |
58:54 |
|
12 |
Enda | Marron | Dave Kane/Northern CC |
59:25 |
|
13 |
David | Fagan | Lakeside Wheelers Mullingar |
60:22 |
|
14 |
David | McKnight | TVR |
60:23 |
|
15 |
Harry | Gibbins | UC Monaco |
60:26 |
|
16 |
Michael | Russell | FourMasters CC |
60:35 |
|
17 |
Dominic | Drumm | Bann Wheelers |
60:54 |
|
18 |
Jerry | McCarthy | Tralee Manor West BC |
60:55 |
|
19 |
James | McCusker | Orchard Shelbourne CC |
60:58 |
|
20 |
Kevin | McAlinden | Banbridge CC |
61:51 |
|
21 |
James | Cribbin | Lakeside Whs Mullingar |
62:26 |
|
22 |
Jason | Henry | unattached Ulster |
62:27 |
|
23 |
James | Hegarty | Phoenix Cycling Club |
63:17 |
|
24 |
Rory | Wyley | Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers |
63:52 |
|
25 |
Simon | Stockton | Team Madigan |
63:54 |
|
26 |
Frank | Togher | North Pole Cycling Club |
64:54 |
|
27 |
Kenneth | Brewster | Team Madigan |
66:15 |
|
28 |
Harry | Martin | Clann Eireann |
67:16 |
|
29 |
Robert | McCollum | FourMasters CC |
68:41 |
