A top A1 rider turned leading masters racer, Glenn Kinning was once again top of the podium at the end of the Masters 40 men's race at the National Cyclocross Championships in Co Galway today.
The Kinning Cycles man and rival Ronan O'Flynn (Orwell Wheelers) put on a fantastic race, especially on the final lap, and it was too close to call right up to the final bend.
However, Kinning has been around for a long time and though he has moved into the Masters category now, he has retained his abilities and will to win.
And, as O'Flynn found out in the final hundred metres in Ballinasloe today, once a rider like Kinning gets a look at the finish line in a winning sprint scenario, he is hard to beat.
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"I've done a couple of sprints in my time in the cyclocross so as long you get onto the finishing straight first, there's never normally enough room to get around somebody," Kinning said of the duo going into the final corner together and then having the superior kick coming out of it.
Asked what it meant to him to win, he said: "It means I don't have to buy another jersey for another year! I got a couple of bronzes and silvers in the seniors and missed out on a couple of golds so it makes up for that."
Asked if he was worried when O'Flynn got ahead, Kinning said "I'm too old to panic now", adding his Orwell Wheelers rival today "put in a great ride".
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"I just rode my own race," Kinning said. "He was holding (his lead) and there was nowhere really to get on top of the gear, it was real slow course, 72 corners.
"He was riding the banks a lot stronger than me. I think he was running a lower PSI and he rode really well. I was going to go in and change the pressures but it would have been for minimal gain."
Though O'Flynn pulled ahead for much of the race, Kinning was never too far behind, and certainly never at risk of watching O'Flynn build an unassailable lead.
"I got caught behind Marcus (Flavin, bronze medal winner) for a bit and he let the wheel go a wee bit, it was tight. I kept closing to him (O'Flynn) and then he kept getting away. And I was trying to work out where he was stronger and to ride a bit defensively."
In the end, just two seconds separated champion Kinning from runner-up O'Flynn, with that gap only opening after the latter eased off the pedals just before the line as he realised the victory had slipped through his grasp.
Flavin put in a very strong ride behind the two men who led the way throughout. The Dungarvan man took bronze, some 1:07 down on Kinning, and 20 seconds ahead of 4th place finisher Evan Ryan (Team WORC).
Kevin Keane (St Tiernan's) was 5th, only 19 seconds down on Ryan, with top road rider Ronan Killeen (Lucan Cycling Road Club) rounding out the top six a further 24 seconds back.
