Although 2014 officially comes to an end in just over a weeks time, it ended for me back in October. After my well needed break at the end of a hectic race season my focus was fully on 2015, and 2014 was put behind me. Like almost all full time cyclists I know, I tend to go in seasons and not by the actual yearly calendar. When I started prepping my racing season, my new year started. Just another small thing that makes us bike riders stand out from the rest! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my off season this year. I spent most of my time chilling out while catching up with family and friends. I enjoying some down time whilst not thinking about the bike and fully replenished myself both physically and mentally. For my 21st birthday I got the best present imaginable from my mother, who I dearly love! A trip to New York City.  This was probably the highlight of my year, if not one of the highlights of my life to date. I won't go into detail because you'll be here all night reading but to sum it up in one word - Awesome! 

After my week in NYC I was fully motivated and ready to get back into my routine which I love so much. After a week or so of getting back into training I spent the weekend in Leeds to attend The Dave Rayner Fund dinner. It was huge success - plenty of money was raised (close to 50,000 pounds if I remember correctly) for such a worthy cause and I am honoured to have been a recipient this past race season. It was great to catch up with everyone away from the lycra and bikes. Plenty of laughs were had! Here's a quick video from the night:

I've just had an epiphany. I am over halfway through my 2015 season preparations already and if I'm selected for the teams first race I could be racing on Febraury 1st which is only about 6 weeks away. I'll soon find myself packing my bags to head back to my European base in Belgium and starting my third full season on the continent. It may be close, but there's still a lot of work to do. A day at a time, Eoin, a day at a time... 

My winter so far, touch wood, has been great. I just seem to be ticking the boxes and enjoying myself while doing it. This winter I have introduced more strength/core training into my schedule with the help from Dan Clifford at Goal Based Training . As Dan has been a high performance cyclist himself he works the gym/core work into my cycling programme perfectly so I get the best out of my bike sessions, which are still the most important.
 I would highly recommend him as a coach to any cyclist looking for an edge! I can't believe I have neglected this aspect for so long. Don't make the same mistake I did! Get onto it!
I have been getting my gym work done at the fantastic facilities at Rejuvenate Health & Fitness in Fermoy. I'd like to thank Paul for his generous help in allowing me to work in such a professional environment. This is going to make a big difference!

I'm not long back from the first "An Post - ChainReaction" team training camp which was in Calpe, Spain between the 7th-15th December. It was the first meeting of the 2015 team, and all bar our two southern-hemisphere riders were in attendance. I'm sure we'll forgive them! We spent the week getting to know one another and familiarising ourselves with the new set-up. Being Irish, and having friends on the team it was easy to fit into, what felt like, an already familiar set up. I really enjoyed getting the feel for my new Vitus Vitesse Evo bike. I'm delighted with how stiff, light and comfortable it is and can't wait to race it throughout 2015! Big thanks to Vitus Bikes as well as FSA Components , Continental Tyres , PROLOGO and Speedplay Pedals. 

The goal for the camp was to clock up some quality endurance kilometres in the sun before we all headed home to the less-fair weather. As well as training hard everyone got along really well and we had plenty of laughs throughout the week which built great team atmosphere going into the future. I've come away from the camp with extra motivation and I certainly can't wait for our next outing! 

I'm now in Ireland preparing myself for the Christmas/New Year period with my family. I took a few easy days after the team camp to recover and refresh a little and now its just about maintaining and increasing my condition while introducing some more specifics building up to our next team camp on the 11th of January. After our camp some of us will only have a week before we are pinning on our numbers again. Exciting times!

A merry christmas and happy new year to everyone! See you all in 2015!

Twitter: @Eoin_McCarthy

Instagram: @eoin_mccarthy

Press Release: An Post-Chain Reaction Sean Kelly 2015

I am extremely proud and happy to announce I have signed for the UCI continental team “An Post-Chain Reaction” (The Sean Kelly Team) for 2015. This is a fantastic opportunity. I will be based in Belgium for the 2015 season and look forward to making it a very successful year. 

I can't thank my family enough, without their love and support through the last few years I wouldn't be in this position to keep following my dreams! I'm making my way, small steps at a time and this is my biggest step so far.

To everyone who supported me over the past few years, my first club - Fermoy CC, all at ASFRA-Flanders Racing Team, and Terra Footwear-Bicycle Line/Terra Safety Shoes for giving me the opportunity to race on the continent and try reach my full potential. 

To my coach Luc Wante for all his help and guidance over the past few years.  

All at Cycling Ireland for putting the belief in me and giving me the chance to race at international level and represent my country. I’m very appreciative and grateful! 

To Rene van Dam, for putting up with me and looking after me so well in the Ras for 2013 & 2014. It was a huge honour! 

Thanks guys!

Thanks to the Dave Rayner Fund for their generous support in 2014. Things would have been very hard without them! I am honoured to be a part of such a fantastic organisation! 

My 2015 preparation is already in full flight. I am getting back into training steadily. I am very excited to be getting the help of Daniel Clifford at The GBT Studio (Goal Based Training) in Killorglin as my strength and conditioning coach through the winter of 2014 and into 2015. I will still be working primarily with my Belgian coach - Luc Wante for my training on the bike.
 I am very grateful to Paul Howard for his generous help at Rejuvenate Health&Fitness in Fermoy, looking forward to spending some quality hours in the gym this winter! 

Folllow Me on :

Twitter: @Eoin_McCarthy

Facebook: Eoin McCarthy's Facebook

Instagram: @eoin_mccarthy

Follow An Post-Chain Reaction on:

Twitter: @AnPost_CRC

Facebook: AN Post CRC's Facebook

Youtube: AN Post CRC's Youtube Channel

Press Releases:
An Post Website

Sticky Bottle
An Post-Chainreaction signs five Irish riders for 2015

Time flies when you're having fun!

I left off on my previous blog just at the end of July/beginning of August. I had just ridden the European Championships in Switzerland and done some nice 1.12B races building towards Ronde van Namen and Ronde van Oost Vlaanderen. Next I went to Bambrugge which was a two-day 1.12B  classement and I got myself 7th overall after two high placings! I had a string of nice results and performances but still nothing to be screaming and shouting about.

They were all good signs building up to the Ronde van Namen, a 5 day race in Belgium on some hilly terrain. One I was looking forward to all year! 

Namur was a perfect type of race for me! It was very hilly but not mountainous, and it was hard enough that it sorted out the men from the boys. My one complaint for this period of the season was that it never seemed to stop raining! Made me feel right at home! A crash filled first stage in Namur ended my chances of a good result in the race. I hit the deck hard after about 130km on the first stage! I was ok when it came to road rash, that was all normal (still sore) but I had really hurt my calf muscle. It was agonising, even to touch! So when I got up and got riding to the finish I could barely turn the pedals! I got to the finish on more or less 1 leg. When coming back through the cavalcade after just 1km of riding I came to another mass pile where my team mate Liam broke his leg. Conor also his ribs early in the stage so that put everything into perspective. At least I could make it to the finish! 

I was so disappointed to have hurt myself from day one, because now I knew I had to ride for another 11 days on a battered body as I was also entered to ride Ronde van Oost Vlaanderen, another 5 day race, just two days after Namur finished. 

I spent a few days limping around in Namur wondering if I’d be physically capable of continuing.There was no way I was going to give up! Mentally I was at the races and I showed my condition was good despite getting injured by making the front group splits on the final of a few of the hard stages, but I was nowhere near 100%. I was close to a top result on a few occasions but just didn’t have that last percentage that I needed. I was also fighting at the front solo, so I reckon with some better team support I could have scored a really nice result on some of the stages. Top experience in the bank however, it was time to look forward… 

Oost Vlaanderen was not a great race for me on paper, and it turned out to be the same on the road. I just couldn’t do much, there were very few opportunities for a rider of my style. I tried going on the attack but had no luck and had one bad day where I nearly pulled the plug. I helped the team as much as I could but unfortunately we didn’t come out of the race with much. Zeno was our big hitter at Oost Vlaanderen, getting into the early breakaway twice and putting us on the radar! Sterk Jongen!

I had 10 days of great racing in the space of 12 days. So a week easy was definitely on the cards before I raced again. I then jumped back into some kermesse action to hunt for some results, and to try and show myself! My next 2 races didn’t go as I would have liked, and I felt pretty average in both. I hadn’t fully recovered so I didn’t reap the benefits of my heavy block of racing just yet. It was time to be patient. 

A few easy days later I made the race winning move and got my best result of the season in Verrebroek 1.12B. I was 2nd place in a 2 man sprint behind kermesse king Guy Smet. I was gutted not to win! (Interesting fact: 42 year old Smet has 446 wins, and 260 2nd places in his career. He knows how to win a race, that’s for sure!). It all seemed to click from here on in. My next two races saw me make the race winning move again, but didn’t quite manage a top result. 

Next I had planned to go to Tour du Moselle. A 3 day race in France, but I was forced to withdraw as I came down with some sickness. I was gutted but it was the smartest thing to do as I was now a named reserve for the Irish National Team for the UCI u23 Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain. I took some days easy to recover and opted to do some more structured training as well as some races incase I needed to be called up. Turns out I wasn’t needed in Spain, but if I was to get the nod I would have been in great shape. My last 2 races I also made the race winning move, and managed to bag a nice 5th place. This showed my form and tactical decisions were working as I managed to make the race winning move in my last 5 races of the season. It’s a pity none of these races or finishes really suited me! 

I packed up and left Belgium late September. At this time I was still unsure whether or not I would be needed in Ponferrada so I kept training. I trained and enjoyed the bike right up until the 1st of October. I ended my season with a session of lab testing in the Mardyke done by Trevor Woods. Not the easiest of ways to draw the line under my 2014 campaign, but beneficial all the same! 

That’s a wrap - the 2014 season is over! Where the hell did it go!? I had a great season, and ticked off most of my goals. I would have liked some nicer results, but I think every bike racer on the planet thinks the same. To me progression is the most important and I feel I’ve made lot’s of it this year. I represented Ireland at the U23 Nations Cups and rode a hell of a lot better than 2013. I rode my first major championships at the European’s, and almost my second at the World’s. I made my mark at the An Post Ras. I rode my first, and hopefully not last, race in the Alps. I had numerous top 10’s and even a few podiums in Belgium. And above all I am progressing for 2015. All in all I am a happy camper, a stronger and more experienced happy camper!

Although the 2014 season has just come to an end, 2015 is just around the corner. The time will fly! I won’t be staying with Team Terra Safety Shoes for the 2015 season, but I would like to thank them for the last 2 years. They were crucial for my development as a bike rider and I am grateful for your support. It will be a time I will never forget! 

Get your Dave Rayner Fund Cap from Prendas!

I am proud and honoured to have had the support of the Dave Rayner Fund for 2014. Without such a fantastic organisation young riders, like myself, would find it very difficult to chase their dreams of racing abroad and reaching their full potential. It wouldn’t have been possible this year without your generous help. I can’t wait for the dinner! You can get information and buy your tickets for the Dave Rayner Fund Dinner, in Leeds on the 8th of November here - http://www.daveraynerfund.co.uk/dinner/

Now it's time to chill for a few weeks before I have to dig out the winter kit. I'm super excited for what lays ahead! Stay tuned for more news soon... Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more frequent updates on my progress: 

Twitter: @Eoin_McCarthy

Instagram: @eoin_mccarthy

Now it's time for some more of this!  

Thanks for reading! 

Luck of the Irish

After Savoie and Oetingen I travelled home to Ireland to race my National Road Race Championships. I always love riding the Nationals and spending the weekend in Ireland, but the race itself hasn’t ever been too kind to me! This year I was ready to change my luck… 

I flew into Dublin on Friday the 27th of June and from the airport went straight to Mullingar. I was ready to race and contest the u23 national title. I really fancied my chances of getting a top result this year so I was more excited than ever!

I had great legs, and raced strongly but I misjudged my tactics. I wasn't the only one however! 

A move of 10 went on the first lap, but I didn’t panic. I was keeping my cool in the peleton and just following every move that went after that. Playing the waiting game! I was sure another group would bridge across as Dan Martin, Sam Bennett, Matt Brammeier and Martyn Irvine were all still with me. Only trouble was An Post had 3 riders in the breakaway and proved that strength in numbers and co-operation really pays off.

I didn’t miss anything else. Every other dangerous move that went I was present in. I fully committed to try and get across but it just didn’t happen for me. I rode the remainder of the race in the chase group of about 30 riders to get 20th place and 7th u23. Not the result I’d hoped for but I still showed I was in good shape and did enough to be selected to ride the U23 European Road Race Championships in Nyon, Switzerland on the 13th of July.

The day after Nationals I travelled back to Belgium to prepare for the Europeans. I raced again the next Saturday at Omloop Het Niuewsblad UCI 1.2. The elite version of the early spring classic! It was the perfect preparation race before Switzerland. The morning of Niuewsblad I opened the curtains to shit weather. Rain and wind - just lovely, wet cobbles! From then my mind was in the wrong place. I was more worried about staying safe ahead of Euro’s rather than getting a nice result at Niuewsblad - as Euros was a much bigger goal for me! That’s never a good way to race but on this particular day that was the way it was. Before the season started it was a major goal of mine to ride my first major championship race so I wasn’t going to miss it due to a crash - no way! 

I still raced Het Niuewsblad cleverly and stayed out of trouble until I needed to be in the very front. As the race started in Zottegem - my Belgian home town - I knew the roads like the back of my hand so my local knowledge payed dividends for most of the race. Not knowing the exact race route didn’t help though and my plan to move to the front before we hit Eikenberg didn’t work out as I would have liked. After Eikenberg the race was just relentless - just never ending bergs. Bergs, bergs, bergs! Hard, hard racing! I found myself too far back and missed the front split of 50 or so riders. I rode in the next chase group until we got to the local laps and we were pulled out with a lap to go. I love the classic style races so I'd love to give it another go as I feel I am capable of a good result in such races. I just needed a cement milkshake. My fault that day! 

The Europeans was next on the agenda. Like always, I was extremely happy and proud to be selected to represent my country - now at a major championship. My first major championship! I was super excited and motivated to give it all I had!

I flew into Geneva on Thursday the 10th of July. My trip didn't get off to the best start as easyJet left my bike in Belgium, but thankfully it arrived the following day. Phew! Being at a bike race without a bike - that could have been a disaster! It was great to arrive at the Irish camp in the town of Divonne-les-Bains and get settled in before our campaign kicked off!

The race itself was exactly how I'd imagined it would be. Crazy! The course as well as the weather was mixed. It was a lumpy circuit with some pretty technical sections - a real championship course! 

My race didn't go as planned. From the start it was full on racing and with all the crashes on the opening laps I found myself caught in trouble. 

On the 4th lap of the 12 lap race my rear mech got pulled off in a crash, I thought that was it - race over! Until Kurt came bombing around the corner in the car with a spare bike for me. Yes! I rode the spare bike, which was far too big, for the next 4 laps. It was fine in the beginning but after an hour or so it was really starting to hurt me and give me cramp. I needed my bike back! For the second time I thought my race was over until I saw Kurt was on the side of the road fixing my bike! What a legend!

 I got back on my bike for the last 4 laps but I wasn't the same after that. The cramp never left. So when the finale started to heat up I didn't have the legs or energy to make the front split of 50 or so riders! I finished in the second group on the road for 80th place. Not how I would have liked my first major championship race to go, but I did all I could do in the situation I was in. It was disappointing not to do more for myself or for the team, but I did learn a lot and will definitely take something from it.  

I can't thank the staff at Cycling Ireland enough for their flawless and professional support. Thanks Brian Nugent , Kurt Bogaerts, Neil Martin, Neill Delahaye and Stacey Kelly . It was a really enjoyable weekend!

I travelled back to my base in Belgium the day after Europeans to get settled in and start racing in some kermesses again. I had a big break away from the kermesse scene so it was time to tackle some again and try and pick up some nice results. I had a few days off in which I enjoyed watching my little brothers racing. I then raced in Ingelmunster, Lichtervelde and Sinaai where I was 26th, 21st and 11th respectively. Every one of these I feel I deserved a better end result but I am happy with how my condition is, and how I am involved in the action.

I am now building towards Ronde van Namen (Tour du Namur) from the 6th-10th of August. Until then I will be training and racing hard in hope of some top results! I feel some top results are just around the corner for me, just got to keep playing the lottery...

"Man.. I've never suffered like that before!"

My next big race after the An Post Ras was in France at Tour des Pays de Savoie. A beautifully unique and very hard UCI 2.2 ranked race through the Alps. We travelled as a team to Le Chambre a week before the race began to try and acclimatise and adapt ourselves to the efforts required to race up mountains - a whole lot different to what we are used to here in Belgium. We stayed halfway up Col du Glandon in a little ski lodge for the week before we travelled to the race hotel at Valmenier the day before the race began. 

Over the course of the week we did some epic exploring which ticked a lot of the world famous climbs off the bucket list. Col du Madeleine - check. Col du Glandon - check. Col de la Croix de Fer - Check. Col du Telegraph - check. Col du Galibier - check. Col du Chassy - check. It was nice to have a few days to find a climbing rhythm as well as chilling out together with the team. 

I was very nervous as well as excited building up to the start of the race. It was a whole new experience. Almost a whole different discipline within the sport! I was nervous. I didn’t know how to approach it. “Do I race like I normally do?” ; “Or do I conserve some energy and wait?” ; It even came down to wondering how much I should eat and drink beforehand incase I was carrying extra kilo’s up the mountains - because until now it never made a difference before! As it turns out none of this mattered that much. Everyone just went flat out and the race sorted itself out on the road. 

I have to say I was shitting myself the morning of Stage 1. The reality of what I was about to do really hit me! I knew it was going to be an epic race.
Finally it was time to pin the numbers on and get racing. For some reason I was under the impression that the race would be a little tamer on the flat and the real kick off would happen when we hit the mountains. I was wrong. Stage 1 was carnage!

 The first hour was flat out. Actually the whole of stage 1 was more or less flat out! The first hard climb wasn’t until roughly 60km, but down in Savoie every road is hard. To my surprise the whole race was split to bits before we even hit Aussois Category 3. Little groups kept clipping off the front eventually joining creating a big front group. This left me somewhere between the front and the grupetto - in no mans land! I rode with a group of 15 for most of the stage and at the foot of the final climb up Valmeinier we were swept up by the grupetto. We lost a lot of time to the Russian winner Ignatev. Admittedly, it was what I expected so I couldn’t be disappointed. 

Stage 2 started from Chambery and was arguably the hardest stage on paper with 4 Category 2’s to tackle over 150-odd kilometres. Safe to say it was one of the hardest days on the bike I’ve ever had. Just a complete suffer-fest. It was full-on racing to the first ascent of Col du Fort du Mont as guys were trying to form a break. I started the climb in a really good position which helped a lot over the top of the steep 5km ascent - as the race split to pieces. I just managed to stay in contact with the front of the race over the summit before we started the daredevil descent back to the valley. 

I’ve seen some dangerous descending in races before but never saw anything like this! It was a twisty descent through a forrest so the bad lighting wasn’t helping. Going around some of the blind corners there was bikes laying in the road with no riders to be seen. In front of me there was riders overcooking the corners and going over the barriers into the ravine. Scary, scary stuff! 

I got through it safely but when we hit the 14km climb of Cohennoz I had to start making the calculations and leave the front guys go - I was suffering too much! Again I found myself in a small group of 15 or so in between the front groups and grupetto for the remainder of the stage. We finished at Plateau d’Assy where we had 2 laps of a brutal 10km circuit. 5km of that being uphill and extremely steep! I lost almost 30 minutes to the Spanish winner from Team Ecuador. I was never so happy to cross the line after the longest race I've done (time-wise) 4 hours 45 minutes! I can’t even count on one hand the amount of times I’ve suffered like that before. However our race hotel had amazing food and views that night. It was a consolation - safe to say it was demolished! 

Plateau d'Assy. Beautiful backdrop of Mont Blanc

The third day, on paper, looked like it was going to be the easiest day of the race. We had a 90km road stage in the morning and a 10km TT in the evening. Rest day!? Yeah right! 

In the first hour I followed a few moves to try and get into the breakaway. There was only one climb to worry about and it came halfway through the stage. When we hit the climb there wasn’t any breakaway so the racing was still full on. Not ideal! I underestimated how hard this climb was going to be. I didn’t do my homework properly and suffered for it! I got dropped. From then on it was a very hard stage for me. I was now racing the time cut! With such a short stage you could easily miss the time limit. As the race went on the grupetto was no longer a nicely sized group as stage 2 had a sizeable amount of DNF’s - it was a serious clean out! I was happy to have one of my team mates with me, as well as some Belgians. I ended up making the time limit pretty comfortably. Now for the TT, another visit to suffer city! 

On bottle duty!

The time trial was horrible - as time trials always are! It was made especially horrid after the previous days of racing! After doing a recce of the TT course it was going to be a race against the time limit again. Most guys had their time trial bikes for the downhill-headwind section so I knew I had to ride more or less full gas to make the time limit. Scary thing was, the cut off point was only around 3 minutes. With roughly 6km downhill and 4km uphill it was possible that you could miss out. Luckily for me I made it pretty safely. It hurt more than I would have liked it to, but I made it! 

Going into the last stage I was in a 50/50 mindset as to whether I could make the finish or not. Usually I am very positive but I on this day I was being realistic. It all depended on how the big teams (Katusha & Lotto-Belisol) raced. We had 130km with two 20km Category 1 mountains to take on - the first ascent coming after 40km. The second mountain was to the finish line. Summit finish! All this, and only 70-80 riders left in the race. This only meant one thing - not much of a grupetto! My goal was to get to the finish, so I pushed like never before. 

The stage turned out as I’d hoped. Lotto and Katusha controlled the first 40km on the flat and the first 10km of the first mountain. When I made it over the gravel filled summit I knew I had made it, even with 90km to go. I found myself in a rather large group with a lot of strong riders in it - riders who also wanted to make it to the finish. We then rode together to the and lost roughly 25-30 minutes on the Belgian winner - Louis Vervaeke. Vervaeke is now signed with Lotto-Belisol for 2 and a half years. Absolute weapon! 

What a hard race. I reached a lot of new limits, and was happy to have a great experience of my first race in the mountains. It’s rare as an amateur rider to get the experience of a proper mountainous race. It turned out how I’d expected. I got hammered. I finished 61st on GC with only 66 riders making it to the finish. I’ve never done any bike race like that before. Definitely felt like the longest 4 day race I’ve ever done, and definitely the hardest. I took a lot from it. I learned so much about my body that I never knew before.A few easy days were very welcomed after a long journey back to Belgium on Sunday night. 

Pays de Savoie finished on the Sunday, I then had a few days easy before I raced IWT Jong Maar Moedig/Oetingen UCI 1.2 on Wednesday and the National Championships the following Sunday. It was a complete change of scenery at Oetingen. Going from a French race in the mountains to a one-day Belgian classic style race. Whether or not it was a welcomed change though is still a hard question as it was equally as brutal. On the parcour there were famous bergs such as the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg - and with teams such as Topsport-Vlaanderen and Wanty Group-Gobaert the level of racing was high. Perfect preparation for the National Champs.

I recovered quite well between Savoie and Oetingen however, so my legs were pretty good. On all the cobbled sectors, and bergs I found myself in a good position. I always tried my best to follow Sven Nys and when the big splits happened over the Muur I was in the front end of the race. Even coming onto the finishing laps I had good sensations so I thought I was on for a nice result. Then that thought went flat. Literally. I punctured halfway through the longest cobble sector on the finishing circuits. My race was over. By the time my team car reached me and I got a wheel change I found myself minutes behind the front of the race. I was gutted!

At least now I knew that my condition was good leading up to the Nationals Championships. I was ready to go home to contest the u23 title and hope to gain selection for the European Championships... 

Stay tuned for my next blog covering the Nationals, Omloop Het Niuewsblad and the European Championships...

Thanks for reading! E

The An Post Ras 2014

Writing this blog I am now a “Man of the Ras”. Since I started cycling I followed the Ras every year as a kid and I couldn’t wait until I was able to compete in this beautiful event myself. Let me tell you, it certainly didn’t disappoint. In all my years racing a bike, I don’t think I’ve ever done a race in which I enjoyed more than the 2014 edition. It was super 8 days! 

Now I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on my race, I would like to put some words to it. So here’s my recap on the Ras and the weeks around it.

Myself, Robert and David at the depart in Dunboyne.

I can’t even compare this years race with my 2013 campaign, this time I could actually compete. Being able to eat sure does help! Last year I had a gastro bug before, during and after. It really wiped me out! That was a hard blow, but since then I was determined to come back and give it a good crack. So even being in Dunboyne healthy this year I was already improved on my previous edition. The start was made extra special this year and that was due to the fact I had two of my first cousins in the peleton alongside me. Robert-Jon was riding for An Post-CRC and David and I both rode for “Team VisitNenagh.ie-DMG”. 

After staying the night close to Dunboyne, we all met as a team on Sunday morning. This years team consisted of Rene (our legendary manager), John and Liam(Our temporary mammys for the week), David, Denis Dunworth, Mike “Turbo” Storan, Mark Shannon and myself. A fantastic group of lads! I was super excited and well prepared travelling back to Ireland after finishing up in Tour de la Manche the week before, so I was keen to see how my condition was going to be starting Stage 1. I was confident and feeling good - it was time to rock and roll.. 

After an amazing send off from Dunboyne we raced towards Roscommon in horrid weather conditions - full on rain all day. Such conditions made the, already nervous, stage dangerous. And there were lot’s of crashes! The biggest was 25km to go. Just as I thought I was avoiding it I got rear-ended and smashed into the big pile of riders on the deck. Luckily I wasn’t hurt, just opened up some of my wounds from la Manche, however my bike didn't come off too well (See pic below). After waiting a few minutes for a bike change I started my kamikaze chase back to the front. I had great legs so I got back with 4km to go, after that I didn’t get involved in the sprint but just spectated on the finale in which my cousin Robert won. I was so extremely proud, but also a little pissed that my wheel was smashed! Things could have only went better from there… 

Robbie winning Stage 1!

Stage 2 from Roscommon to Lisdoonvarna was special day for the McCarthy family with Robert wearing the yellow jersey of race leader for the stage. It turned out to be a lot harder than expected, and I think it caught many people by surprise. Again it was very dangerous due to the rain. After 70km of racing things started to heat up and the racing turned very aggressive. From there to 100km was full on racing. During this period I was very active and attacked with the eventual stage winner to the front group of 40 or so riders. I thought I had made the final selection as I was in such a strong group but I thought wrong. Everything came back together after about 10km and I then made a silly mistake and took a breather. I unfortunately missed the next groups going away. I finished in the main peleton. This turned out to be my worst day of the race. 

The next morning in Lisdoonvarna at the start of Stage 3 I was a man on a mission - I wanted to get in the breakaway. I knew it was a day where it could succeed and stay until the finish, plus with the stage finishing in Charleville I had extra motivation. I tried, but didn’t succeed. I was one of the very first attacks and found myself in a group of 7-8 riders for the first 10km, but I knew it was doomed as none of the bigger teams were present. We were caught and almost immediately the winning breakaway went clear. Shit! The thing that made it less annoying was the fact Robert was in it. The Kiwis controlled for the rest of the stage so it was a pretty easy day after that. I then tried conserving as much energy as possible as the following days were going to be tough! The race hadn’t even started yet… 

Stage 4 turned out to be the best day of my season thus far. It was the first, and arguably the hardest of the mountain stages. 185km from Charleville to Caherciveen with 10 categorised climbs, the last being the category 1 of Coomanaspic with only 20km to the finish. I was recovering very well so the night beforehand I was confident I could do quite well. My goal was to pick up the county rider prize, and that I did. I had a pretty cruisey race, An Post did me a big favour and let me sit with them so that made my race as stress free as possible. In the finale I was positioned in the top 20 for the start of the higher categorised climbs. I fought hard, and dug deep to get over the last climb with race leader Patrick Bevin of New Zealand and from there we were 30 seconds behind the front with under 20km to go.

The chase was on! (Fun fact: I even reached a new max speed on the descent - 105km/h! Fast!) I sat behind the Bevin train, swinging for the next 10 minutes. I watched in amazement at the strength of his ride. He rode me back to the front of the race without even asking for help. He didn’t flinch, just rode like a motorbike! From the bottom of Coomanaspic to the finish it was full gas racing, just how I like it! Roughly 30 guys contested the sprint for the stage win, Bevin winning! I was 12th and won the first county rider. I was very happy! Over the moon - not because of my result, or even winning the prize - but because I had lived up to my goal. I said to all my team, my family, that today I will be first county rider - and I was. That was the nicest feeling! 

On the podium for 1st County Rider Stage 4

My biggest fan!

The time between the finish and start of every stage seems to disappear in a stage race, especially if your having fun like I was on the Ras. The time between the 4th and 5th stage seemed to go even faster than normal! Another tough day awaited us for stage 5. We were departing Caherciveen and again entering the rebel county with the finish being in Clonakilty. 20km into the stage was the first categorised climb out of Waterville so it was full gas from there until about 50km to go, over the category 2 Caha Pass and through Glengarriff. Real hard racing! I positioned myself pretty well so never came into too much trouble. I didn’t quite have the legs to go with - what turned out to be - the Ras winning move. 10 or 11 guys jumped clear after the descent of Caha pass and were never seen again. The yellow jersey then sat up and we were riding “piano” almost all the way to the finish. I placed 25th in the second group on the road. 

The anxiously awaited Seskin hill stage from Clonakilty to Carrck on Suir was next on the cards. For me I couldn’t wait for this one. When the route was announced I was already itching for this stage, especially as its on roads so close to my home. It was a pretty straightforward apart from one real hard crosswind section which caught a lot of people - including me by surprise. It was a  professionally ridden stage. It was fast at the beginning, breakaway went clear, the Austrians controlled the pace and (almost) brought the break back for the finale. The weather turned with 50km to go, from warm, nice conditions to cold and wet - just shit! I was underdressed and suffered terribly from the cold. I targeted a top 10 on the stage I firmly believe if it had stayed dry I could have done it but by the time we hit Seskin I was like a statue, my body wouldn’t respond the way I wanted it to. I shut down. I started the climb on Mark Dowling’s wheel but once I tried to follow him I couldn’t. He was 7th, I was in the 30’s. I was disappointed. And bloody cold! I quickly forgot and focused on the hard stage 7 that was in front of me! 

Second wheel near Mahon Point, Cork

I must admit I surprised myself with my climbing form in this years Ras. I wasn’t so sure how I’d compare with the top guys, and I wasn’t too far behind! Stage 7 was going into the Wicklow mountains. With a category 2 and two category 1’s in the space of 30km - it was set to be another epic stage! It didn’t start very well for us with our team car breaking down within minutes of the start in Carrick. Thankfully we found a quick replacement. Massive thanks to Martin O’Loughlin, I guess it’s good to have friends! 

It was good day for me, I put myself in a good position and went over the last climbs of Corrabutt Gap and Mount Leinster with the front group. 

It's not easy! Summit of Mount Leinster

After the descent it regrouped as some groups came from behind, but it left me in a group of 30 guys to ride to the finish in Baltinglass. The breakaway was still away and there were no county riders present in it, just a handful (if even) with me in the select yellow jersey group. The breakaway never came back, so the stage results were gone. I knew then the county prize was available so that was my goal. It was a bit of a lottery as everyone was sprinting in our group. A race within a race! I was 2nd. By one placing. By one bike length. Ouch! That one was a kick in the balls. Congrats to Dowling however, a classy rider… 

Waking up the morning of the final stage was a bitter-sweet feeling. In a way I was looking forward to crossing the finish line in Skerries, but in another thought I didn’t want the race to end. Give me a stage 9! The morning started well for me - before the start of the stage I was informed I had won the C-Factor jersey. A new category for a wild card rider who the Ras organisers thought was one for the future and put the best effort in, both on and off the bike. So I was already guaranteed to be on the final podium in Skerries. A nice bonus! 

The morning after the night before! 

The last stage turned out to be one of the fastest. It all kicked off once we got to Skerries. The crowds there were amazing! Like nothing I’ve witnessed before. Passing through the finish line I could no longer hear the sound of wheels in the peleton, but just the screams from people lining the barriers. It made the hair on my arms stand up! The last time over the Black Hills I was just a little too far back to make the front split of roughly 20 guys. I finished just seconds behind them in the second group of around 15 guys. That was it, all done. My 2014 Ras was a wrap, and to be honest I was quite content with how my week went. I know I didn’t get any amazing results, but I showed I was well able to contend - and most importantly I achieved my goals for the week. I proved to myself that I can one back here in the future and contest. 

Rene and I on the podium to collect my C-Factor jersey

A massive thank you goes to Rene van Dam for sticking by my side throughout the whole year and giving me another chance to ride with his team. To all the lads on Team “VisitNenagh.ie” thanks for your support and laughs throughout the week, would have been nothing without you guys. I can honestly say it was one of the most enjoyable weeks I’ve ever had. You can’t beat that Irish banter! Already looking forward to next year… 

My results from the An Post Ras UCI 2.2:

1st - Chapeau Classification

9th - U23 General Classification 

4th - County Rider GC

34th - General Classification

46th - Stage 8

2nd - County Rider Stage 7

27th - Stage 7

37th - Stage 6

25th - Stage 5

1st - County Rider Stage 4

12th - Stage 4

54th - Stage 3

78th - Stage 2

120th - Stage 1

Love racing at home. Most beautiful place on earth!

After the Ras I spent a week at home visiting family and friends. I rode my bike but nothing hard. It was bliss! I took it as an opportunity to recover and refresh for the busy months ahead. Since returning to Belgium I have been training well and ridden some kermess races but haven’t got anything special from them result-wise yet. My best was a 15th place in Horebeke 1.12B. For now I am going to keep riding hard and hope to pick up some nicer results in the near future. 

I am currently in the Rhone-Alpes/Savoie region of France for 10 days. I am here with my team - Terra Safety Shoes - for “Tour des pays de Savoie” a UCI 2.2 ranked race which is a 4 day (5 stage) race in the French Alps. We have come down a week beforehand to ride some of the route, and try to adapt a little to the mountains. We are staying near Le Chambre roughly half way up Col du Glandon. This is an amazing part of the world, just wow! 

Having a blast with the Terra gang in the Alps... 

The next big goal for me after Savoie is the National Championships road race at the end of the month. I am hoping I can contest the u23 title, so I am looking to do a strong ride! Stay tuned in the near future for further updates on how my season is progressing. Thanks for reading!

Eoin

Never before have I written a blog from an Airport, but I guess there’s a first time for everything! I’m sitting here in Brussels about to board a plane home to Ireland for the An Post Ras, which starts this Sunday. I have to admit, I have been long awaiting this day. Since the 4th stage last year where I was forced to pulled the pin due to illness - I’ve been itching to come back and give this special race a proper go. I feel I have some unfinished business at the Ras - in my own head more than anything else! 

Anyway, since I last rambled on about Belgian life, a lot has happened. I've clocked up 12 further race days, been training quite hard and even had my first(and hopefully last) crash of the season - so plenty to write about! I regret to say it, but so far I don’t have much to show results wise. However, I am happy with my progress and how I have been feeling but that little bit of luck is still evading me. Time to make that change! 

April was an important month in my 2014 season. The reason being - the U23 Nations Cups ran from the 12th-19th. I am privileged that I had the opportunity to represent Ireland again this year at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, La Cote Picarde and ZLM Tour. These races were a big part of my motivation throughout the winter of 2013/2014, so I went there to perform at my best with the team while wearing the colours of my nation. The period around the events went particularly well for me. My coach and I decided that I wouldn't race for 2 weeks before the events but instead we opted to specifically train and it seemed to work. My condition was definitely the best it’s been so far this season.

Ronde van Vlaanderen was the race I was most prepared for, both mentally and physically. The weeks building into it I spent most of my time training on the roads of the race, so on race day I knew the roads like the back of my hand. I had a really smooth race, everything seemed to just flow. I had little to zero stress and I never rode the cobble sections so strong. Apart from the crash-filled first 20km I never had to worry. I had the legs to be where I wanted to be when I needed to be there and that was a great feeling! As predicted the race didn't kick off until the finishing circuits, and when it did - it exploded!

After Molenberg and Holleweg, which are the first real tests of the day I found myself at the sharp end of the race with some very good legs. After the first of the brutal finishing circuits I was in the front group of 50-60 odd riders going onto the last lap. A silly mistake then ended my race.

Riding up the Taaienberg (second last climb of the race), I was forced to unclip and stop twice. Not once, but twice! I ran into the back of two separate riders. My nerves, and anxiousness definitely got the better of me. It was over after that, I lost some precious time and couldn't close the gap back to the front! I finished on my own just over 2 minutes down on the winner and only 1 minute behind the second bigger group on the road to finish in 48th place. It’s safe to say I was in two minds about my race, in one hand I was happy with my condition in such a hard race - but on the other hand I was upset, as I know deep down I could have had a much better result. Next year, keep looking to next year! 

Here is a video of us on the very last cobble section of the race. See me @ 1.23 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Rpej0OspM

I came out of Flanders with a lot of confidence - La Cote Picarde in France was next on the cards. Another race suited pretty well to me and one I'd been looking forward to due to my disaster there last year. To recap on last years event, I crashed after 5km and had mild concussion! Picarde turned out to be a bit of a crazy race. There was lots of nervousness in the peloton throughout, mostly due to the anticipation of a big crosswind section which was set to split the race. The nervousness was all for a reason! Once we got there the race literally split in two. I was in the front half thankfully but due to the edginess of the race I didn't drink or eat enough during and ended up suffering from cramp on the final lap of the finishing circuits. Another silly mistake on my part. I finished in 78th place. 

After a tough day out in France we next set off in our travels to Holland for the ZLM Tour. This race is the definition of gutter racing. This region of The Netherlands is known for it’s exposed roads and strong winds - a recipe for a crazy bike race! From the start of the race I was on the back foot. In the first few kilometres I was caught behind a crash and spent the first 30mins chasing. Gutter racing from the beginning over bridges kilometres in length. Not my cup of tea! I burnt too many matches in the first hour and after 110km I found myself in a big grupetto which got pulled out of the race by the commissaries. Ryan Mullen, my roomie for most of the week went on to do a fantastic ride to pick up 6th place which was a big result to round up the April events for the team. A big thanks to Kurt Bogaerts, Stacey Kelly and Freddy, for looking after us so well over the week - much appreciated! Also a big thanks to my team mates for the week. Top lads, I always enjoy your company!

Following the Nations Cups I was lucky enough to get home to catch up and spend quality time with family for a few days. Next on the race programme was GP Affligem, a special and important one day race on the Belgian calendar, with past winners such as Eddy Merckx. Apart from picking up a nice result - which I was motivated to do - the race went pretty well for me. I tried to go on the attack but it wasn't to be. Even inside the last 10km when things started to heat up I was still in the thick of the action, but unfortunately it just wasn't hard enough to split. We came to the finish with a bunch of around 100 guys. I let the sprinters do their thing and just rolled in mid-peloton. 

After GP Affligem I had roughly 10 days to prepare myself for our first stage race of the season - Tour de la Manche, from 7-11th May in France. As part of preparation I did a 1.12B Kermese race in Meigem-Deinze on the 1st. It didn’t go to plan. I went to the race planning on picking up a nice result, but after 5 minutes of racing my gear cable snapped in my lever. So I spent the remainder of the race in the 11-sprocket. Far from ideal, but an interesting experience!

We travelled to France for Tour de la Manche on the morning of the prologue stage in Granville. The prologue itself wasn’t for me! A 6km course with two daredevil descents and two climbs of a about 1km each. The TT bike turned out to be a bad option for me. My DS reckons I lost 20 seconds alone on the corners and descents. In hindsight, them precious seconds would have put me close to the top 10! Doh!

La Manche was over before it started for me. A crash after 80km on the rain filled first stage ended any chances I had for a decent GC result, which was bitterly disappointing. Up to that moment I was feeling great, I was going on the attack and following some moves. But I just wasn’t myself after that.

The following stages - 3,4,5 and 6 were all much better - the weather was still shocking! On stage 3 I was agonisingly close to making the front split of about 25 riders, just 10 metres from making it across until I was greeted by a 90degree turn into a block headwind. I was feeling very average on stage 4, it was the only start without neutral which meant it was full gas right from the beginning. Both stages 4 and 5 started on a climb, so it wasn’t long before we got warmed up! 

Stage 5 was rumoured as the hardest stage. It was described to us on the start-line as a “Rodriguez”-styled finish, which we had to tackle 5 times. It didn’t disappoint! My legs certainly came around but my team mate Jelle was feeling up for a top result so I helped him in the finale. I dropped him to 3rd wheel with 1km to go but unfortunately he could only come home for 11th place. The final stage was very mixed, sometimes very fast, then very slow. The weather was also mixed - we must have had all 4 seasons in one day. I wasn’t feeling it on stage 6. I got dropped on the finishing circuits and rolled to the finish in a small group. 

It was a disappointing week as I would have liked to come out of the race with a few nicer results, but I am pleased that I got the race in the bank before one of my main season goals - the An Post Ras. When I crashed on stage 2 the first thought that crossed my mind was the Ras. I was praying that nothing was going to be damaged, and luckily for me - it wasn’t. 

So here I am, awaiting the start of - what feels like - my “first” An Post Ras. Again I will be riding as part of Team DMG-VisitNenagh.ie ; A big thanks to Rene van Dam for taking me on board again this year. This is such a special race - made even more special lining up alongside my two cousins Robert-Jon and David. Here’s to a great week… 

Eoin

The 2014 Season Has Begun!

It's crazy to think the winter has passed & I am back in Belgium again! Where did the time go?! It seems like only yesterday I was finishing up my 2013 campaign & packing my bags to spend the winter at home. Now here I am in Zottegem again! I had a solid winter this year. Everything went as planned & I've worked harder than ever before so I am hoping I can show it this year. 

This year I am confident. When I look rationally at the season ahead & the winter I've had - all I need now is some luck. 

I left home on the 3rd of March to move back to Zottegem & get the 2014 racing season started with my team Terra Safety Shoes & the support of The Dave Rayner Fund.

Cousins in Belgium! 

Since being back I've clocked up 3 race days & have got some quality training done. I've (almost) adapted to my Belgian home again & being back with the boys is great fun! 

The last few weeks before I left home I was itching to race. On March 8th it was finally time to pin on the numbers again! This season I started off in France at the 151km Paris-Evreux Classic. A very welcomed change! First race day of the season is always exciting as well as a little nervy. Although your confident of the training you've put in, you never quite know how you will fair out. There was certainly some cobwebs that needed blowing out! I was pretty happy with my race. After roughly 6 months without such sensations it came as quite a shock to the system, to say the least! 

Lucky 13!

I was really in the hurt box for the first hour, my legs were nowhere to be found. However, after the first hour I started to come around & my body got back to normal. Although it was too late. The damage had been done. After a pretty fast but straightforward descent, we came to small village where a series of technical corners & roundabouts forced a split in the peloton. This split contained roughly 30 riders of which 2 of my team mates were present. My positioning was pretty poor at this particular point & I just missed out unfortunately. 

The parcour was very rolling, a little like home - so it suited me well. On some of the climbs we came pretty close to bringing back the gap but as the French Army had every member of their team in the split, they set a high pace which was impossible match. After 100km I unintentionally got a gap on - what was left of - the peloton. I pushed on & joined 4 riders ahead, one being my fellow Dave Rayner Funded rider & team mate Adam Lewis. For the next 40km or so we rode in no man's land between the front group & peloton to test the legs & try to salvage something from the day. Unfortunately we got caught 6km from the finish, & at this time there was only 30 guys left in the "peloton". With no result left to grab I just rolled in for 50th place. 

Paris-Evreux

After a solid weeks training Niuewrode 1.12B on the 16th March was next up. As it was the only 1.12B on that day, a big field was expected to take to the start line. 306 riders signed on as it turned out & 6 from the Dave Rayner Fund. I can only use one word to describe it - chaos! Luckily for me I snuck my way to the front row at the start, so I missed out on the carnage of the first few laps. 15 crashes in the first 15km apparently! I heard & saw a lot of them, even felt one & suffered some tyre burn on my leg. Ouch! 

There was a lot of "heart in mouth" moments. Especially at the finish! I tried a late attack at about 3km to go but got nowhere. When I got swallowed up I slotted back into the line & tried to get involved in the sprint! In doing so, I very nearly ended up crashing. I got sandwiched in the gutter after a squeeze in the peloton & ended up balancing on my front wheel in the gutter while me & my bike were at a 45degree angle. Somehow I managed to keep it upright. Guys crashed all around me but I survived the damage. I was blessed for once! This all happened at about 60km/h mind, so I lost all positioning. I was relieved to roll in for 73rd safe & sound. All in all, not a race that suited me but I was never in any trouble & got around with relative ease.

 Check out this video of Niuewrode - this just shows the craziness that is Belgian bike racing:

The following Sunday the 23rd I took to the start line in Mol for the 52nd edition of the 1.12IC Zuidkempense Pijl/GP Wilfried Peeters. I had a nice week building up to this race & although it wasn't a parcour that's suited to me I was still quite optimistic & excited. The race itself was 163km in length. We started in De Kaasboerin-Postel & raced roughly 20km before we reached the circuits in Mol where we would do 10 laps of 14km.

The weather was not on our side unfortunately. It certainly wasn't warm - 5 degrees or so & not long before the start we started to get a little rain, which later turned to a lot of rain as well as some hail stone showers. We were treated to all 4 seasons in one day! Being from Ireland, you would have thought I'd be accustomed to such foul conditions but as it turns out - I suffered with it like never before. 

The race was fast from the word go as expected. Some nerves in the first 10km caused a high speed crash in which I got caught behind. After making it back to the front of the race things seemed to settle down. 

However as the rain & spray of the peleton kept getting worse I started to really feel the conditions taking their toll. My legs were fine, but I couldn't stop shivering. I didn't have enough clothes on & I couldn't feel my hands or feet. At one point my jaw was getting cramp jittering with the cold. It was so grim. I felt like pulling the plug many many times & grabbing a nice hot shower but something kept me going - the sense of satisfaction I would have afterwards. Every time we went over 55km/h I struggled. I was statue-like & my legs felt like they were seizing up. So the few times I got myself to the front & tried to do something I realised it wasn't happening. Not today! Most of the time the race was too fast to even attack. For such harsh conditions we still had an average speed on 43.5km/h.  

That pretty much sums up my day. There was 15 guys ahead who contested the win. I didn't contest the sprint so I finished mid-way in the second group for 71st. My race number was also 71 for that day! Karma! 

Link to the Zuidkempense Pijl/GP Wilfried Peeters website: http://www.zuidkempensepijl.be/zkp/

My Strava file from the race: http://www.strava.com/activities/123549057/overview

Luck hasn't been on my side so far & a nice result has evaded me, but I'm not worried. I've only raced 3 times & it's a long season! I'm now training hard again to finish off the spring/classics part of the season with some strong performances. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!