Roger Aiken in the white and green, right, of the Irish cyclocross champion on his way to victory in the dark at Orangefield (Photo with thanks to Darren McCann)
One of the country's best cyclocross riders and in the top layer on the road too when he switches his attention there, Glenn Kinning had to settle for 2nd place last night in a spectacular cyclocross opener.
But he was still very much the man of the moment.
The bike shop owner is the driving force behind the new Kinnings Cyclocross Series, the first round of which was held under floodlights on Orangefield, Belfast, last night.
Kinning would come home behind national champion Roger Aiken (Team ASEA) but his being edged out for the win was definitely the only slight disappointment for him on the night.
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He and a team of Irish cycling stalwarts put on a fantastic event that will hopefully grow and grow for years.
Kinning on his way to 2nd place; he rode a great race and has added a brilliant fixture to the domestic 'cross scene (Photo with thanks to Darren McCann)
Aiken may have won the race by a decent margin solo in the end, but it was a much tighter affair than some races north and south in recent years.
And the battle for 2nd place was intense; man of the moment Kinning, riding in his new Kinning Cycles colours, getting the verdict over Graham Boyd of XMTB McConvey Cycles.
Both the runner up and Boyd finished on the same time – 42mins 23secs – just 12 seconds behind the triumphant Aiken.
And U23 Irish champion David Conroy (Donnybrook Landscape-Scott) wasn’t far off the pace either, taking 4th place just 9 seconds behind Kinning and Boyd.
Indeed it was the aforementioned Conroy and Boyd who got the best start on the night, completing the first lap of 7 faster than anyone else in the large field.
Though Aiken was just one second slower, Kinning lost a bit of time as he completed that opening lap in 6:55; giving away 8 seconds to Boyd and Conroy and 7 to the eventual winner.
Aiken put in a charge on the second lap to open a gap at the head of the race, going out onto lap three 8 seconds ahead of Boyd and Conroy, with Kinning a further 6 seconds back.
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Anthony Doyle was one of a large number of riders to make the trip from Dublin; being tracked closely here by VC Glendale's Brendan Doherty (Photo with thanks to Darren McCann)
But on lap 3 the shine went off the challenge for victory of both Boyd and Conroy; Kinning putting in the quickest lap to catch and pass the pair just ahead and close the gap to Aiken by 4 seconds.
And on lap 4 Kinning shaved another 3 seconds off Aiken’s lead while putting 4 seconds into Boyd and 13 into Conroy.
The following circuit – lap 5 – was the tightest of all; the leading three all racing around within 3 seconds of each other as 4th placed Conroy put in a huge effort to stay in contention for a podium finish.
He was the fastest of the leading four; his lap time of 5:57 was four seconds quicker than Aiken, six seconds faster than Kinning and seven seconds quicker than Boyd.
Going out onto the penultimate loop it was still Aiken leading solo and looking good for the win.
However, Kinning was never too far away and trailed by just 9 seconds, with Boyd another 8 seconds back and Conroy another 8 seconds further behind.
But on that lap 6 Aiken put in a big shift to put another 11 seconds into Kinning and build an unassailable lead of 20 seconds before the final lap started.
And as Aiken pulled away from Kinning on that penultimate lap, Boyd was piling the pressure on just behind as he attempted to catch the man in second place.
And having chipped two seconds off the gap between himself and Kinning on lap 6, Boyd shaved off another 6 on the final lap to catch Kinning but he still didn’t beat him to the line.
Aiken eased off a little to savour his win up ahead but still had 12 seconds in hand on the runner up and third placed man, with Conroy fighting all the way for 4th.
The leading four were clearly the very strongest on the night, with Barry Kellett of Dromara taking 5th place 1:17 after Conroy had finished.
We'll bring you results from the other races on the night when we get them.
Kinnings Cyclocross Series
Fri, Sept 23rd: Round 1, Orangefield
Sponsored by Kinning Cycles
1 Roger Aiken Asea Wheelworx 42:11
2 Glenn Kinning Kinning Cycles 42:23
3 Graham Boyd Xmtb McConvey Cycles 42:23
4 David Conroy Donnybrook Landscape Co.Scott 42:32
5 Barry Kellett Dromara Cycling Club 43:49
6 Anthony Doyle Velo Revolution Strata3 44:54
7 Brendan Doherty VC Glendale 45:11
8 Craig McCarthy Xmtb McConvey Cycles 46:02
9 Christian Nachtigall Phoenix CC 46:25
10 John Bogues Phoenix CC 46:35
11 Jason Henry Unattached Ulster 46:45
12 Nathan Mullan Dromara Cycling Club 46:54
13 Mark Harvey Xmtb McConvey Cycles 46:55
14 Dominic McCartan Apollo CT 46:55
15 Barry Convery Newry Wheelers CC 47:14
16 Joseph McCrory Carn Wheelers 47:25
17 Stephen McKenna Omagh Wheelers 47:38
18 Stephen Cunnningham Shimna Wheelers 47:40
19 Derek Finnegan Keevan CC 47:53
20 Peter Morrison Velo Cafe Magasin 48:08
21 Gary Sheils Newry Wheelers CC 48:08
22 Kevin Keane Belpark Triathlon Club 48:11
23 Peter Davison Dromara Cycling Club 48:11
24 Andy Layhe Trail Demons CC 48:21
25 Adam Duff Xmtb McConvey Cycles 48:23
26 Thomas Creighton Xmtb McConvey Cycles 49:25
27 Benjamin Cady Velo Cafe Magasin -1 lap
28 David O'Neill Swords CC -1 lap
29 Richard Cowan Dromara Cycling Club -1 lap
30 John Dempsey Carrick Wheelers CC -1 lap
31 Drew McKinley Newry Wheelers CC -1 lap
32 Mickey Clarke Shimna Wheelers -1 lap
33 Conor Halvey Errigal Cycling Club -1 lap
34 Gerry Irvine Unattached -1 lap
35 Gerry McCabe Cuchulainn CC -1 lap
36 Gerard McNally Bann Valley Road Club -1 lap
37 Brian Kellett Lakeland CC -1 lap
38 Eamon McConvey Xmtb McConvey Cycles -1 lap
39 Matthew McAllister Island Wheelers -1 lap
40 Robert Greer Apollo CT -1 lap
41 Anthony McConville ChainReaction Cycles -1 lap
42 Darren Toombs 0745 Rouleurs -1 lap
43 Mitchell McLaughlin Errigal Cycling Club -1 lap
44 Ed Boyle Phoenix CC -1 lap
45 Mark Kendall Banbridge CC -1 lap
46 Lukasz Oleksiewicz Acuphysio Clinic -1 lap
47 Kenny Bagnall -1 lap
48 Deon McNeilly Shimna Wheelers -1 lap
49 Matty Blayney North Down CC -1 lap
50 Shea Gribbon Carn Wheelers -1 lap
51 David Livingstone Rouleurs -1 lap
52 Marcus Cromie Shimna Wheelers -2 laps
53 Glen Pollock Phoenix CC -2 laps
54 Teo Davidson **UNATTACHED Ulster** -2 laps
55 Padraig Rogan Phoenix CC -2 laps
56 Eric Parsons Titanic Quarter Cycling Club -3 laps
57 Ryan McClelland Trail Demons CC -3 laps
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