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
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