Seymour pushed very close by Kinning in cyclocross opener

Great Shot: Robin Seymour leads Evan Ryan and Glenn Kinning in the opening round of the Fixx Supercross Cup in Dublin (Photo: Gareth Gibbons)

Robin Seymour has taken the opening race of the 2014-2015 cyclocross season, but the Team WORC man was pushed all the way for victory by Glenn Kinning of Kinning Cycles.

It was not until the final two laps that Seymour took control of the game of nip and took that had unfolded over the first six of eight circuits on the Grange Castle estate course in west Dublin.

Kinning had matched or bettered the master all the way until the start of the penultimate lap when Seymour reached for the afterburner and pulled away.

A very big field of some 63 riders took to the start line, and it was eventual runner up Kinning and veteran Zippy Doyle who started best; both taking off really fast in a bid to set down an early marker.

Kinning was quickest, zipping around the opener in a time of 6:56, with Doyle next some two seconds back and Seymour only third quickest, a full seven seconds behind the leader.

The start of the race looked more like a Phoenix Park gallop in the old days than a cyclocross event (Photo: Gareth Gibbons)

However, any thoughts that Seymour’s form was not where it usually is at this time of year were short lived when he did the fastest lap 2 by far; his 7:04 some six seconds quicker that Kinning and so pulling back almost all of the time he had lost to him first time around.

Doyle was also very fast over lap 2; his time of 7:07 bested only by Seymour’s.

Going out onto the third lap there was nothing in it; Seymour leading Doyle by one second with Kinning in third another second back.

On lap 4 it was Kinning who dug deepest, retaking the lead from Seymour and just nudging ahead of him with Doyle still 3rd but now six seconds behind the leading pair.

The intensity of the head-to-head unfolding at the front of the race was clear from the splits on lap 5; both Seymour and Kinning whipping around in a time of 6:59, some 15 seconds quicker than the best of the rest.

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There were plenty of features to the test the riders yesterday; with the size of the fields and the intensity of the racing suggesting a great season is ahead of us (Photo: Gareth Gibbons)

And again on lap 6 they each clocked the same time, of 7:13. Doyle had fallen back after a mechanical and it was Team WORC’s Paddy Michael and Bray Wheelers Sean O’Tuathail now challenging for the final spot on the podium as the field headed out onto the penultimate lap 7.

And it was here that Seymour won the event. He put in the quickest lap of the race; his 6:51 a full eight seconds faster than Kinning and nearly 30 seconds quicker than the duo battling for 3rd place.

That put Seymour six seconds to the good heading out onto the last lap and he used that final circuit to put a further four seconds into Kinning and come out the winner by a modest enough 10 seconds.

Another 1:10 would elapse before Michael took 3rd place, winning the fight for a place on the podium by just four seconds from O’Tuathail, with Doyle forced to settle for 5th another nine seconds back.

The fastest starters, Glenn Kinning leads Zippy Doyle; two men who have pushed Seymour very close the past couple of seasons (Photo: Gareth Gibbons)

Round 1, Fixx Supercross Cup

Sun, Sept 28th, Grange Castle, Dublin