Roger Aiken of Louth Charter Prague was second overall in the Rás in 2008 riding for the Irish national team and won the opening stage into Emyvale in 2005. But last week he carved his legend into the unique character of the race with a stunning week-long performance (Photo: Brendan Slattery).
By Gerard Cromwell
In finishing eighth overall, second on a stage and claiming the county rider’s jersey no less than three times on this year’s An Post Ras, having ridden few races this year and while working full time, Roger Aiken has unwittingly become a legend of the race.
Aiken finished just 51 seconds behind race winner Marcin Bialoblocki (UK Youth) when the race wrapped up in Skerries, north Co Dublin, on Sunday. And he knows it could have been even closer but for some mishaps along the way.
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“I lost 22 seconds with that crash in Carlow,” he said of a tussle with a roundabout just outside the final 3km on stage six.
“And the day before I lost seven seconds when there was a split in the bunch. But in saying that, if I wasn’t that far back I might not have been let up the road on Saturday.”
Aiken put in a storming ride over the Wicklow Mountains on the penultimate stage to finish a very close second into Naas. And he finished 17th on the final stage to finish four minutes clear of nearest rival Damien Shaw (Aquablue) in the county rider standings.
This was despite having only ridden the John Beggs Memorial and the Tour of Ulster prior to the Rás and using the daily commute to his job in Belfast as part of his training.
“I haven’t raced much but I know my body pretty well,” said Aiken in Skerries on Sunday.
“I’ve been training hard and been on the bike consistently the last two years, with commuting in and out of work. All that was lacking was the speed from racing in the big bunch. You don’t get that race speed at home here, so once I got the first stage over and got that speed into the legs it was okay.”
The current national cyclo-cross champion and ace mountain biker was second overall in the Rás in 2008 when Stephen Gallagher won the race for An Post-Sean Kelly but since then has rarely been seen on a road bike.
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“In 2009 I did very little on the bike,” he says.
“I haven’t been doing much really the last couple of years. I’ve been doing a lot of mountain iking. As far as the road goes, I got myself a good bike this year, got myself back on road pedals, a good set up. I’d been riding an old hack cyclo-cross bike the last few years. It’s nice to be on something fast.”
“I love doing the Rás. I can get really motivated for it, the big bunch, the speed, the good riders you’re racing with. I’d say we (Louth Charter Prague) would have won the county team overall but we lost Ray O’Shaughnessy with a crash. And then Bryan (McCrystal) lost 10 or 11 minutes the first stage when he punctured and didn’t get back on.”
“We definitely had the riders to win it. I think some of the riders here, like those young Englishmen, can go on to better things. I rode against Tony Martin in 2007 and it’s good seeing him now, what he’s done.”
Even though his current form will not tempt him into driving around Ireland to race, the mild mannered Aiken is hoping to be selected for the Commonwealth Games this year.
“I’m not doing the national championships; I think it’s my weekend at work. But I’ll try and do something with the form I have. I won’t be travelling around Ireland to race but if there’s any teams going away or whatever, I’m trying to get myself selected for the Commonwealth Games.”
“There’s an option there. I don’t know whether I can go for the road or the mountain bike. I’ll have to see what the criteria is but this will stand to me this week.”
With the form he has, could he be a wild card for the Irish team at the world championships if we qualify a few riders?
“The hilly course would suit me, but there are a lot of riders knocking on the door before me,” he admits.
“I’m well down the list but we’ll see how it goes.”
For now though, Aiken has thrown off his superman cape and simply returned to work yesterday morning, resuming his Clark Kent role as a fitter in Northern Irish Rail.
“I’m back to work tomorrow at 7.30,” he said on Sunday.
“But I don’t think I’ll cycle in.”
Roger Aiken winning the opening stage of the FBD Rás into Emyvale in 2005, though he did not take the yellow jersey due to time bonuses mid stage.
