Ireland's Glenn Kinning in the colours of his own team Kinning Cycles team just behind the legendary Sven Nys and Wout Van Aert at the World Cup on Sunday. Respect!
By Brian Canty
Despite looking very strong on the domestic front all season, Glenn Kinning recalled how his race in Sunday’s Koksijde World Cup in Belgium was all about survival right from the gun.
The Belfast man battled bravely against many of the best riders who have ever graced the sport but the gulf in class was evident from an early stage, he said.
“After about five seconds I was already last man and by the first corner I’d lost a few bike lengths,” he recalled.
“I made some time back on the run-ups and I paced myself. I didn’t panic and I managed to make the time up later on.
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“It was just 100 per cent flat-out, on and off the bike. The crowds were going crazy; there were even a lot of supporters for me, which was great.”
Home favourite Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink) proved his class with a brilliant win from Wout Van Aert (Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace) and Kinning remembered in painful detail the moment the pair lapped him.
“It was really good racing from the leaders and I was happy enough with how I went,” he continued.
“I wanted another lap but I got lapped and that was unfortunate as it was shown on TV!
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“I wanted to get out of the way instead of causing chaos so it was a case of jumping on the back of the guys and hanging on for about 10 seconds,” he said.
“They’re just in another league; they’re floating around the corners. I wasn’t 100 per cent myself but it’s a completely different ball game when these guys come to play.”
While clearly up against the giants of the pro game; as an amateur coming from a country like Ireland with a small cyclocross scene compared to nations like Belgium, Kinning’s performance was more than admirable.
Indeed his willingness to get in against the pros has won him huge respect on the home scene.
Kinning's weekend Belgian odyssey
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