The legendary Robin Seymour talks about getting older and the slip in motivation and recovery rates that come to one in their mid 40s (Photo: Toby Watson)
By Brian Canty
Three-time Olympian Robin Seymour has said he feels the end of his career is nigh.
The motivation to train isn’t as high as it was a decade ago - but he still feels he can win national cyclocross title number 19 next month.
The long-serving Wicklow man has enjoyed a glittering off-road career and still wins regularly.
But because the standard is improving all the time he knows his days at the top are numbered.
Last weekend he was beaten by Sean O’Tuathail in the Fixx Supercross Cup but what few realise is just how much work Seymour did to make the event happen in the first place.
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From plotting and marking the course in lashing rain the day before, to organising the minutiae of the day; racing it as well as tidying up afterwards.
It’s almost become a second job for him, albeit an unpaid one.
“It was a tough weekend in the conditions because it doubles the workload when it’s really wet," he said.
"And when I was setting up the course in lashing rain I got the car stuck in the field and that kind of thing isn’t good the day before a race."
Robin Seymour has 18 national cyclocross titles to his name and 20 national mountain-bike crowns, making him the undisputed off-road kingpin of Irish cycling. But is his reign coming to an end after 2 decades of dominance? (Picture courtesy of Sean Rowe)
At 44 years he’s still remarkably fresh and isn’t afraid of the hard work it takes to get into shape, but it’s the powers of recovery he doesn’t have anymore.
“That’s the biggest factor as I’ve gotten older. It’s more so in the last five years I’ve felt it; it does get more difficult and you begin to struggle with it.
“I’m not training full-time anymore either so that’s another big difference.
“I’m still carrying on with the training I was doing 10 years ago and the last Olympic cycle but with a couple of days training a week you can still be okay; you don’t really need to do an awful lot more to maintain your standard of fitness.
“I’d say I’m about two or three minutes slower in a ‘cross race now compared to when I was at my peak 10 years ago.
“That’s not a huge difference, like if you split that up over 8 laps you’re only talking about 20 seconds a lap so it’s not a huge amount.”
Seymour has been a stalwart of the cyclocross scene and has been the driving force behind transforming it from “a group of guys meeting to ride their bikes into an event that has a really good vibe”.
“For the first round of the Fixx Series I was down the back of the course marking it out, everything was getting sorted; the music and PA were getting arranged, there were 60 kids racing and around 200 people milling around,” he recalled.
“It's a small team who make it happen and for sure, without the Worc crew the sport just wouldn't happen here at all.
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“And the day of that Fixx Series race; we just stood there together and thought ‘wow, what a beautiful September day we have’ and that gave us all immense pride.
“The standard has improved too over the last couple of years as well; the riders are pushing on and there’s new guys coming through so the depth of the field is huge.
“Before, you had a few strong riders at the front and there’d be big gaps through the field but now the top 10 is so densely packed with good quality riders and even the top 20 and 30.
“Some guys would have been top 20 in every race for the last few seasons and now they’re riding around in 40th and scratching their heads.
“Guys have worked hard and have got into the gap and that’s brilliant.”
Seymour has been the driving force behind the cyclocross scene in Ireland for many years now (Picture courtesy of Sean Rowe)
The Kilmacanogue man still has a deep love for racing but the drive to go out on the grey days alone is diminishing.
“I don’t think the motivation is as high and what I’m really struggling with is turning myself inside out in training.
“I still have a lot of time to train - relative to people with a bunch of kids. But it’s very hard to dedicate yourself to keep pushing.
“I do cyclocross training sessions and a group ride on the road but I’ve lost the motivation to go out and do four hours in the drizzle like I'd have done day after day on my own. I couldn’t do that now.
“But I still have a love for racing and that drags me into the organising side of it because I want to see the events go ahead.
"And I want to see the standard of racing high. It’s so heartening to see the level now.”
And with that, he can feel his pulse increasing again as talk of racing for yet another national title comes up.
“Last year was a crushing disappointment to miss out because in the week coming up to it I was riding as strongly as I had been for a number of years and I’d actually felt good,” he said.
“I knew the course and the conditions. I’d been tailoring for it specifically and working really hard towards it, sacrificing all the other races. So I was really disappointed not to be able to give it a go.”
So, to the question everyone wants an answer to; will he do battle next month?
“I’ll have to sit down and figure out where I’m going,” he offered diplomatically. “With the Fixx Series wrapped up it gives me time to sit down and recoup my energy.
“There’s not much time to the nationals so it’s quite hard to find form but over Christmas is a good time to straighten myself out, the strength is there...albeit in a latent sense.
“To win the nationals you have to start well, ride hard and really turn yourself inside out.
“I’m strong but I don’t feel that great on the bike and I haven’t really done this year at all so it’s something I’ll have to address.
“I just have to freshen up, recoup my energy and we’ll see after that."
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