It might have been a long time coming, but victory for Keith Fox in the Tommy Brady Memorial was worth the wait for the Shannonside rider.
By Gerard Cromwell
Having finished second to former Irish international Aidan Duff on the same course 20 years ago, Keith Fox’s career has taken many a twist and turn between then and his victory in the Tommy Brady Memorial in Robinstown on Saturday.
While his brother Morgan went on to become Irish national road race champion twice and to turn professional when he signed for the Belgian Tonnisteiener team in 2002, Keith gave up the sport and headed to England to study instead.
Upon qualifying from Liverpool University as a physiotherapist he worked with both Crewe Alexander and Coventry City football clubs before returning to Ireland five years ago and starting racing again.
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“I enjoyed it but I was 10 years in England and I said if I didn’t come home then, I was never going to come home.
"So I came home and set up Action Physio in Athlone and started racing again.”
Although he has been an A1 for the past four years and has had some decent results, victory has always eluded Fox, until Saturday, when he outgunned Timmy O’Regan (DID Dunboyne) and the in-form Eoin Morton (UCD) to claim his first senior victory at the age of 38.
“Yeah it’s my first win ever,” admitted a jubilant Fox today.
“I’ve been at it for a while so it’s been a long time coming.”
Having started with a deficit to make up on the A3 and A4 group, Fox only made his way across to the front of the race with two laps to go.
“There was a big group of A1s and A2s there but there was no cohesion,” he says.
“No one was riding together. It was just attack, attack, attack all day.
“A couple of lads rolled off the front and myself and Keith Wall from Navan rode over to them and suddenly there were about seven of us clipped away.
With UCD CC duo Sean McKenna and Eoin Morton, Olan Barrett (Aquablue), Mark McAauley (MAD) and Timmy O’Regan of DID Dunboyne also in the group, the septet worked well together until they caught the front group of A4s and began attacking each other again.
“Obviously the two UCD lads there, Sean McKenna and Eoin Morton, were a big threat and Olan Barrett was riding really well too," said Fox.
“But on the last lap, with about 4km to go, Timmy O’Regan slipped of the front with the guy from MAD, (McAuley) and I skipped over to them and Keith Wall was with us too.
“We got a gap and I turned to Timmy and said ‘we’ll ride to the top of the hill and just duke it out then’. He just nodded and on the last hill we looked back and you could see Eoin Morton coming like a train.
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“I dived down the inside and kind of went long in the gallop and just about got there in the end.
“Eoin was screaming across to us though and I’d say if there had been another 50 yards he would have got us. I think we caught him on the hop a little bit.”
Fox’s victory came as a surprise to many, not least himself, he says.
“There were a few good names up there so I was as surprised as anybody to win, especially after waiting for so long to get it.
“I was nearly thinking ‘it’s time to throw your hat at it’, thinking it was never going to happen.
“When I got the cup, they told me it was 38 years old. I said ‘Jesus it’s as old as myself’. But it just shows you that if you keep at it, eventually it will happen.”
Having worked with Connaught Rugby on his return to Ireland Fox now plies his trade with the Irish rugby team as well as in his Athone clinic.
“I go with them whenever they’re in camp, so whenever they’re in Carton House or away on tour, I’d be with them; the Six Nations, World Cup, and all the internationals.
“I have some time to train now, but the first part of the season is always rubbish for me because I don’t get to train.
“When Ireland are in the Six Nations there’s a 10 week block when it’s just full-on rugby, so it can be hard coming into the start of the season, hitting the Des Hanlon Memorial with no training in your legs.”
Having ridden for various teams in the last five years, Fox is now back with his hometown club, Shannonside, and hopes to get a few more races in before Joe Schmidt comes calling.
“There’s a team from Shannonside going to the Suir Valley Three-Day, which is the first time we’ve ever had a team there so that’s quite nice.
"Hopefully I’ll get to ride Ballinrobe and maybe Donore next week but after that I’m at Joe’s mercy.
“I’m sure he’s going to call a weekend training camp or two at some point soon so my season might come to an abrupt halt.”
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