Never a failure, always a lesson..

That's it. The season of 2013 has come to an end! Obviously as an athlete, your always going to want more from a season but I am proud of the progress I've made & lessons I've learnt. Looking back at the year I have to take the positives & use them for the future. I still don't feel as if I had a clear run, I hit the deck a few times too many & came down with illness at the worst possible time which was heartbreaking. All in all, I am now twice the rider I was at the beginning of the year & to me that is the most important thing. Never a failure, always a lesson..

Since & before my last blog my condition was on the rise, & Ronde van Oost Vlaanderen was a perfect race for form building. It was a brand new tour for the top u23's in Belgium & was 5 days in length. It wasn't a tour that particularly suited me as pretty much every day stage finished in a bunch sprint & that in itself meant there was a fair bit of carnage! It was by far the most stressful tour I've taken part in. We were constantly riding around at over 50km/h as it was so flat, & over the whole week there was hardly any breakaways & a lot of crashes! Luckily I escaped scathe free, but judging how many times I've crashed this year I'm amazed as to how! The peleton always carried too much momentum & speed so that really discouraged people to attack, so for me it was like a big motor pacing session every stage. A very nice 5 days with the team!

The days following the stage tour we had two more team races. One was a 1.12B very close to home in Balegem & the other was the Interclub Omloop Van de Grensstreek Wervik, a 172km amatuer semi classic in which we did 2 laps which included the Kemmelberg & Monteberg. Hard going after 6 days of racing in the legs, especially racing with fresh guys! Somehow I managed to suffer like never before & made it over all of the climbs to finish in the front group of 70 or so. I was completely dead, so couldn't even attempt a sprint or attack! 

After this 7 day block of racing I had an easy week before I jumped back into the deep end. I came off the week with some great legs which helped me in all of my races in the latter part of the season. 9 times out of 10 I was in the breakaway, & was highly involved in the thick of the action. I was riding the best I've ever been, both physically & tactically. I was reading the races very well & learned a lot of lessons. One being, I am definitely NOT a sprinter! It can be frustrating when you put yourself in the position to win time after time but come up against faster finishers! Something to work on for 2014. Lot's of fast guys in Belgium!

We were also riding in some of the Pro races since my last blog. Izegem, Muelbeke and Viane-Geraardsbergen. Muelbeke was a complete write off. Izegem was enjoyable & Viane was arguably one of my favourite/best days on the bike ever! It wasn't like your normal kermesse course. It had some cobbled sections, punchy climbs and longer rolling ones & with the course being 16km long it suited me a lot more. 50-60km or so into the 161km race a front group of 40 or so came together at the front. I had originally missed it but I attacked & after a 20km chase coming from 1.30mins behind, 6 of us eventually got to the front again. It was like a TTT with pro's, 1 from Vacansoleil another with IAM Pro Cycling, and some Norweigans. I was feeling great! As soon as we got across it split at the front again on the next climb. I was in the front luckily with only 1 other amatuer rider. I went on to finish in this group, I really suffered but still felt great. Something like 150 guys lined up and out of the 38 fnishers I was 35th, not the best result but I was happy to one of the 2 amatuers finishing.

After Viane, I only did one more race, 2 days later. I still hadn't recovered from such a strenuous effort I made in the Pro race so just cruised around in the bunch. After that I decided to wrap up the season. I racked up 65 race days in 2013 & my body was feeling it. I picked up some nice results, in all of which I probably deserved more. It can pay for being an honest rider sometimes. All experiences in which I am learning from however & I am very confident I can use these lessons in 2014.

As I mention 2014, I am pleased to say I have re-signed & will spend the season in Zottegem with my current team Terra Footwear-Bicycle Line, although the team name may be subject to change. After many disappointments this season past I hope to make up for them in 2014 & will be praying for a clear run! My best is still to come and I know it.
I am yet to sit down with my coach and properly discuss my goals & hopes for 2014 but I will be looking again at the UCI u23 Nations Cups (If I'm selected), The Ras & my team provide me with some great opportunities to ride some of the top competition 1.2's - I will hope to make an impact on some of those races. 

I have some thanks to make for the 2013 season. I would like to thank my family who continue to support me through my cycling career, thanks for helping me follow my dreams! My trade team Terra Footwear-Bicycle Line for giving me some great opportunities throughout the year & to my team-mates for looking after me through some difficult times. Everyone at Team DMG VisitNenagh.ie for taking me on your team for the An Post Ras & making me feel right at home - sorry my illness held me back! To Brian Nugent & all involved in the Irish National Team set-up, thanks for everything in 2013. I love wearing the green of my country and hope to do it more justice in the future! To FFWD wheels, thanks for hooking me up with some amazing wheels. Paul at Fermoy Bike Shop, a big thanks for helping me with nutritional products. Hope I didn't leave anyone out!

That's it now. I am near the end of my break. I will start training again slowly next week. Stay tuned over the next few months to see what I am up to. Thank you for reading!

Eoin