Evan Ryan leads team mate Robin Seymour on their way to bagging a 1-2 at the inaugural Muddy Cup cyclocross race in Cashel yesterday, Sunday (Photo: Sean Rowe)
The venue for yesterday’s inaugural Muddy Cup cyclocross race in Cashel, Co Tipperary, may have been a new one, but the names to the fore had a very familiar ring to them.
Robin Seymour (Team WORC) extended his winning run this year even further when he took victory from team mate Evan Ryan with Sean O'Tuathail (Bray Wheelers) rounding out the podium.
Seymour and Ryan were very close for much of the race and on the opening lap on what was a cold but dry day for racing, they were fastest of the field.
They both clocked a time of 4:35 to put them just 1 second ahead of Paddy Michael, 2 seconds up on Maciej Staroniewicz and 4 seconds clear of O’Tuathail.
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Those gaps were extended on most of the challengers on the second lap, with the leaders coming through the start-finish area neck and neck having put 15 seconds into eventual 3rd place O'Tuathail and 12 seconds into Staroniewicz.
Michael, however, had a stormer of a second lap and matched Seymour's time of 4:36, with leader Ryan lapping quickest just one second faster.
At the end of lap 2, Ryan led by 1 second from Seymour with Michael just one second further back. Staroniewicz was 4th, some 12 seconds down on Michael. O'Tuathail suffered a slipped chain – the first of two such mishaps on the day – and was 16 seconds off the pace of the leader after lap 2.
On the third lap, it was O'Tuathail who was fastest; going around in a time of 4:38, some 4 seconds faster than Seymour and 5 seconds quicker than Ryan.
Staroniewicz narrowed the gap to Ryan by 3 seconds and gained 2 seconds on Seymour. Paddy Michael put in a time of 4:40 and that saw him, Ryan and Seymour all ride through the start finish area equal on time at the head of the race going out onto lap 4.
However, Ryan and Seymour got their finger out during the next circuit, and on that fourth lap of 10 they opened the gap again on those three just behind by between 4 and 8 seconds.
Ryan just about led Seymour through the start-finish area to go out onto lap 5, with a 1 second advantage. Michael was 4 seconds down in 3rd place, O'Tuathail was 10 seconds off the lead in 4th, with Staroniewicz 5th 19 seconds off leader Ryan.
On that fifth circuit the dogged chasers were not giving up, with O'Tuathail clocking the fastest lap time to that point, storming around the course in 4:30 and pulling back a significant 9 seconds on Seymour and 8 on Ryan to bring himself right back into the game.
And on the 6th lap O'Tuathail kept the pressure on, going around in 4:34, some 16 seconds faster than early leader Ryan, and 22 seconds quicker than Seymour. The Team WORC men were slowed when Ryan suffered a minor spill, with team mate Seymour waiting for him.
That sixth lap saw O’Tuathail close up on the men ahead to lead the race by 6 seconds from Ryan with Seymour a few seconds behind and just four of 10 laps remaining.
However, Seymour is not the most decorated rider in the history of Irish off road cycling for nothing, and he completely reversed the table on O'Tuathail on lap 7 as the racing entered the business end of the day.
He clocked the quickest lap time to that point - a 4:26 - which saw him put 27 seconds into O'Tuathail, who lost 20 seconds to Ryan.
That saw Ryan go back into the lead just ahead of Seymour, with O’Tuathail in 3rd some 14 seconds off the leader.
On lap 8 Seymour put in a time of 4:33, which was exactly matched by Ryan but which saw O'Tuathail lose eight seconds. It left Ryan leading by a few lengths from Seymour, with O’Tuathail now 22 seconds down.
But Seymour kept the best til last and on the penultimate 9th lap he put the after burners on, clocking 4:15 - the quickest lap time of the day by a huge margin of 15 seconds.
That ended the contest and saw Seymour pass Ryan and put 29 seconds into him in just one lap as the gap to O'Tuathail grew by 23 seconds to put him 46 seconds off the lead now.
And, as is so often the case when Seymour sticks a number of his back and takes to a start line, the final circuit was little more than a lap of honour, with Seymour running out the winner in a time of 45:45, some 29 seconds up on Ryan and 45 seconds clear of O'Tuathail.
The race was a great addition to the Leinster-based Fixx Coffeehouse Supercross Series and the Ulster Cyclocross Series; the two main cyclocross leagues during the winter months.
It will hopefully be the first of many fixtures outside of those two competitions to bring the booming cyclocross sector to parts of the country where races and less in evidence.
Yesterday's race was promoted by South Tipperary CC with the support of Cashel Lodge B&B - www.cashel-lodge.com - Hugh Byrne and the team at Sundrive Track Team, Paul McQuaid's Phoenix Park Bike Hire - www.phoenixparkbikehire.com - and the Cassidy's and Connaughton's Cycleways shop on Dublin's Parnell St - www.cycleways.com
Muddy Cup Cyclocross Race
Sunday, Nov 24th, Cashel, Co Tipp
|
1 |
ROBIN SEYMOUR |
A |
10 |
45:45 |
04:35 |
04:36 |
04:42 |
04:33 |
04:39 |
04:56 |
04:26 |
04:33 |
04:15 |
04:30 |
|
2 |
EVAN RYAN |
A |
10 |
46:14 |
04:35 |
04:35 |
04:43 |
04:32 |
04:38 |
04:50 |
04:33 |
04:33 |
04:45 |
04:29 |
|
3 |
SEAN OTUATHAIL |
A |
10 |
46:30 |
04:39 |
04:51 |
04:38 |
04:37 |
04:30 |
04:34 |
04:53 |
04:41 |
04:38 |
04:29 |
|
4 |
MACIEJ STARONIEWICZ |
A |
10 |
47:21 |
04:37 |
04:47 |
04:40 |
04:40 |
04:41 |
05:01 |
04:46 |
04:48 |
04:47 |
04:36 |
|
5 |
PADDY MICHAEL |
A |
10 |
47:21 |
04:36 |
04:36 |
04:41 |
04:36 |
04:45 |
04:46 |
04:47 |
05:00 |
04:48 |
04:47 |
|
6 |
MARK PAGELL |
A |
10 |
48:18 |
04:42 |
04:50 |
04:53 |
04:52 |
04:47 |
04:52 |
04:51 |
04:53 |
04:55 |
04:45 |
|
7 |
JOHN MCCARTHY |
A |
10 |
49:30 |
04:45 |
04:43 |
04:52 |
04:49 |
04:55 |
05:01 |
05:03 |
05:00 |
05:01 |
05:21 |
|
8 |
DANIEL MORROGH |
A |
10 |
50:02 |
05:01 |
04:48 |
05:06 |
04:50 |
05:00 |
05:06 |
04:54 |
05:07 |
05:05 |
05:06 |
|
9 |
JIM HAIDE |
A |
10 |
50:27 |
04:54 |
05:03 |
04:57 |
04:58 |
05:17 |
04:52 |
05:04 |
05:08 |
05:06 |
05:08 |
|
10 |
RONAN BUGGLE |
A |
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10 |
50:41 |
04:43 |
04:59 |
05:04 |
05:05 |
05:03 |
05:10 |
05:05 |
05:08 |
05:06 |
05:15 |
|
11 |
GERARD ODONNELL |
A |
9 |
46:22 |
04:54 |
05:05 |
05:06 |
05:05 |
05:13 |
05:17 |
05:18 |
05:15 |
05:08 |
|
|
12 |
DAVID CONROY |
A |
8 |
40:36 |
04:48 |
04:52 |
04:52 |
04:53 |
05:00 |
05:06 |
05:20 |
05:45 |
||
|
13 |
DANIEL BRICKENDEN |
A |
6 |
32:27 |
04:56 |
05:27 |
05:33 |
05:24 |
05:26 |
05:41 |
||||
|
1 |
MARK SHANNON |
B |
10 |
48:25 |
04:50 |
04:36 |
04:54 |
04:50 |
04:56 |
04:56 |
04:51 |
04:53 |
04:54 |
04:45 |
|
2 |
GARY MACDONALD |
B |
10 |
48:41 |
04:57 |
04:46 |
04:56 |
04:53 |
04:53 |
05:01 |
04:38 |
04:51 |
04:52 |
04:53 |
|
3 |
KENNY BUCKE |
B |
9 |
48:13 |
04:56 |
05:18 |
05:23 |
05:22 |
05:24 |
05:26 |
05:30 |
05:25 |
05:30 |
|
|
4 |
CATHAL OGORMAN |
B |
9 |
50:01 |
05:10 |
05:25 |
05:33 |
05:46 |
05:32 |
05:35 |
05:31 |
05:33 |
05:56 |
|
|
5 |
JOHN WALKER |
B |
9 |
52:06 |
05:30 |
05:21 |
05:49 |
05:48 |
05:52 |
05:50 |
05:57 |
05:56 |
06:00 |
|
|
6 |
DAVID OBRIEN |
B |
8 |
47:45 |
05:26 |
05:43 |
06:00 |
05:50 |
06:19 |
06:02 |
06:19 |
06:05 |
||
|
7 |
JASON CLOTTY |
B |
7 |
42:50 |
05:37 |
05:45 |
05:50 |
06:11 |
06:28 |
06:19 |
06:40 |
|||
|
1 |
MEAVE OGRADY |
F |
10 |
58:46 |
05:42 |
05:47 |
05:44 |
05:41 |
05:50 |
05:53 |
06:00 |
05:54 |
06:00 |
06:14 |
The unfamiliarity of the course didn't prevent Robin Seymour bashing out his usual relentless pace (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Evan Ryan takes another second place to add to his countless 2nds behind team mate Robin Seymour (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Sean O'Tuathail on his way to 3rd yesterday (Photo: Sean Rowe)
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