RVV U23

   
The Ronde van Vlaanderen voor Beloften. I've started three times, had a DNF in my first attempt, finished my second and came crashing down and ending up in hospital in my third.

It's given me a roller-coaster of emotions, and admittedly it's leaving a hole in my heart walking away from this race without reaching my full potential in it. However that's cycling, sport and life. For most riders - 99% of the time racing won't go the way you wanted it to, but we all chase that 1% chance of something special happening. It's what we all dream about and gives us motivation and inspiration to work hard every day. The thought of it all paying off, for one day, one result and one moment. It would all be worth it...

This year RVV ended up in a bad way - for both myself and the team. Three of us were forced to abandon the race due to our injuries. I ended up in Oudenaarde hospital getting my body sewn back together for the second time in a month. 5 stitches in my hip, 2 in my elbow, plenty of more road rash and another course of antibiotics - my third course in a month! This time it hit extra hard as I had just about recovered from my previous crash at Omloop het Waasland (links*),  which gave me lots of complication. I started Flanders with cuts and scars from then, still some work and not in the best shape, but optimistic I could be an influential part of the team and everything had been going to plan until 120km. 

It was on the Kattenberg just outside Oudenaarde, a downhill sector of cobblestones that comes just after the Holleweg sector. About five minutes before we hit Holleweg it started to piss down with rain, you could see most guys race was immediately over, and I knew that shit was going to hit the fan - and that it did! 
When cobbles get wet they are like ice, super slippery - so when the peleton of young exuberant U23's hit the off camber downhill Kattenberg at 65km/h+ in was the recipe for disaster. I was quite close to the front, just behind my two team mates Jack Wilson and Ryan Mullen who I was to try and protect and help in the final. 
It started with a few guys going down in front, just next to Jack losing their bikes from under them and before I knew it mine was gone and Ryan and I were amongst it. It was carnage, must have been at least 20-30 riders involved as well as motorbike marshals and camera crew. I stood up so fast I can't even remember pulling myself off the ground, I was in denial - trying to convince myself that this wasn't happening again! The first thing I did was check my ankle before I limped around in discomfort and pain trying to believe this wasn't happening...again! The race was over for us at that point. I was asked to ride on, but there was no hope of ever reaching the front again. I got back on the bike and rode to the finish with Ryan, a grim and painful 5 kilometres. 

It's not easy, but I am shining a positive light over the current situation and considering myself lucky. These have been the two worst accidents of my career and I came out of them with no broken bones. A mere few days on and one of my best friends and team mates, Jack Wilson, was involved in another accident at La Cote Picarde in France whilst in the sprint for the win. He broke his collarbone and wrist. "Luck of the Irish" certainly hasn't been on our side this last month or so. 

Big thanks to Kurt Bogaerts, Cycling Ireland and Brian Nugent for all your help over the Nations Cup period. It's a shame how things turned out for us all. There will be better days! 

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Now I am in the rebuild stage of my recovery. I have started training again, just. The wound in my hip was so deep that two stitches need to stay in extra long - just to be sure!  My plan is to take some weeks to train and regain some condition which was lost in this last month. I am motivated to turn my season around, this first few months has been rough for me and I haven't got any reward for the hard work I put in this winter which is the most frustrating thing, but I am remaining calm. It's a long season ahead! Comeback 2.0 is on! Wish me better luck this time... 

To wrap this blog up, check out this awesome picture Ryan Mullen posted on his Twitter last week. Never truer words...

   

I am back in business! It’s been around 3 weeks since I crashed at Omloop het Waasland, and I have been back in Belgium for a week or so already. It has been an eventful week as we had our team/press launch in Gent, and I have been back training on the road again. I was getting quite fond of the turbo however…. not! 

After my accident I flew home on St. Patrick’s day to firstly recover and then restart training. I spoke with the management and my coach and we decided it was better to be at home and get looked after properly so I could return to action as soon as possible. It turned out I needed just over a week completely off the bike - it really killed me inside! I guess not having so much time without exercise in the past 2-3 years made me crazy. However it’s what I needed to do in order for me to come back to full condition as fast as possible - in hindsight, it only made me more motivated! I was lucky I went home and got further medical attention though, as I started to get the first symptoms of a skin infection in my ankle which could have caused a lot of further complications. It was a deep wound right to the bone so it would have been very easily susceptible to getting infection. I knocked it on the head with a strong course of antibiotics and once the stitches got taken out I was immediately on the turbo again.

I spent around a week training indoors and I was and still am feeling better every day. I didn't lose too much condition thankfully, as I had a good winter backing me up. I was knocking out 2-3 hours a day on the turbo, and once I got back to Belgium I continued the same until the An Post-Chain Reaction team/press launch where I got back on the road for the first time and with success! Up until that point I was being extra careful not to reopen the wound but it’s been lasting even through some intense and longer sessions on the rough roads here. All positive signs! I can’t wait to start racing again. Through the past few weeks my motivation has remained high as when I touched down at OHW I was starting to feel really strong, so I was motivated and confident I can get back to that level. Just need some luck now I will be back in no time!

The An Post-Chain Reaction team/press launch for 2015 took place in Gent on the 2nd of April. It was the perfect opportunity for the team to meet the sponsors and press before we tackle our 2015 season. We arrived in Gent on the 1st of April to do some photos and meet the sponsors and press who came over from Ireland, then on the morning of the 2nd we rode the Ronde van Vlaanderen finale with the king, Sean Kelly. It was awesome for us to get to know the people who make it happen for An Post-Chain Reaction. Without the sponsors the team wouldn’t be able to function at a professional level. For me, I got on the road again for the first time since I crashed. I am happy to say I am back in full training and on the road to a good level again. The finale of the ride was made extra special with a feed stop 10km to go, where we rehydrated with Kwaremont 6.6% Belgian Beers - the perfect end to an awesome ride! 

After the ride and some lunch we then had to scrub up for some interviews before we changed into our team kit for the team presentation. I really enjoyed speaking to the Irish press about the upcoming season, it really made it sink in that I am now a part of this team - something, as an Irishman I am extremely proud of. The following morning some our technical sponsors gave the riders a briefing on their line of products. We had HIGH5 Nutrition, KASK Helmets and Continental Tyres talk us through the best way in which to use their equipment. Big thanks for the informative morning and I look forward to using some of your advice in upcoming races. 

Big respect to Kurt Bogaerts and the An Post-Chain Reaction staff for organising such a professional event. It was a great few days and I’m sure everybody had a lot of fun!

Now my plan is to ride the U23 UCI Coupe des Nations - Ronde van Vlaanderen, La Cote Picarde and ZLM Tour as part of the Irish U23 National team. I’m proud to have been selected again this year, I’ve ridden these events in the past few seasons and they have been the highlight of my season. Unfortunately this year I am entering them under different circumstances so wont have the condition I would have liked. Regardless I am going to give 100%, as I always do when I pull on the national jersey. 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more news over the next few weeks. Follow the team and I on twitter to keep up to date on our upcoming events: 

My Twitter: @Eoin_McCarthy

An Post-Chain Reaction Twitter: @AnPost_CRC