Gran Canaria Camp Pt. 1

I have been here in Puerto Mogan, Gran Canaria for almost 5 weeks now & return home to Ireland Friday for the Christmas & New Year period to see family. I can’t wait! Apart from the weather of course - that could wait...

The past few weeks have been great, mixed, but great. This meaning that almost half of my time was spent nursing an injury while the last 3 weeks have been of more quality. I am still to get a proper diagnosis to what happened my knee. I was told it was tendon inflammation (mild tendinitis.. again!) by both a physiotherapist & a GP, but these were mere educated guesses as they didn’t or should I say couldn’t source the problem. Therefore I rested it, iced it, did exercises for it, took anti-inflammatory tablets & rubbed in the gel, the works. I did everything a man can do & everything the doc told me to do! Fortunately for me it worked! It started to feel stronger after a few days of care & before I knew it I was able to swim & get back on my bike again. It felt like it took forever to get into a “normal” routine again but I was so relieved when I did.

Morning Swim!

Gran Canaria is a fantastic place for training, although I’ve learnt that it takes a bit of getting used to. This little story has to do with my love/hate relationship with climbing.

S, S, S, S....

Growing up in Ireland where it’s pretty lumpy I never had a problem with my climbing ability - I’d always consider myself a decent enough climber, though when I go to Belgium for a big period of time then come home to my normal training roads I can’t seem to climb out of bed! At least it feels that way. Then comes the big anti-climax. Here in Gran Canaria it is impossible to go in any direction & get a flat bit of road. On my first spin here after a few k’s I thought - “Oh this is hilly, maybe it will flatten out in a minute” - then 30 mins later I recall thinking - “fuck, this is getting annoying..” - climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing. My HR & speeds were all over the place at first but to my surprise that “annoyed” feeling faded. I am enjoying it now! It all depends on how your legs are feeling!

I feel I am now living life here without the full on distractions of my “normal” life - things have been brought back to basics. For example when I am racing & having constant access social media sites such as facebook and twitter. I now realise - theses websites are not important. I’d spend hours on my computer when at home just flicking through the web, almost an addiction but I never wanted to admit it. Shhh! 

Sometimes I would spend hours on end just refreshing my news feed on facebook or scrolling through my twitter feed when that time could have been spent doing something a lot more productive. In saying this, I have only been here just over a month - but it seems like a long time! Very relaxing though... 

Don’t get me wrong I can get internet access here, only in restaurants & cafe’s so therefore I wait until I really need to check my emails or similarly skype my family or coach. I am passing the hours by reading. Yes, reading. Before I came here its safe to say I hadn’t read a book, cover to cover, in roughly 10 years! Of course my reading is still cycling related. Tyler Hamilton’s book “The Secret Race” being the real stand out!

My mind is clear, my training is benefiting from this, almost, “loneliness”. I have no distractions. I train, do everything that I have to do in that respect, then I eat what I need to  & just relax. I have the time now to think. 

At times when at home & in Belgium you lose sight of what you need to do to get to where you want to be and what direction you need to go to get there. You can’t always get everything right due to the demands of life and racing your bicycle - it’s very easy to lose sight & track of things. Don’t get me wrong I still have to do all of these things while I am here, shopping, cleaning, & so on. The big difference is - I am in my own company. Something I enjoy! My mind is now set in my own mode. 

I will be Gran Canaria bound again in the New Year for another month or so before my racing season in Belgium kicks off - I can’t wait! 

Lastly, merry christmas and a happy new year. Thanks for reading!

Eoin

Check Out My Guest Blog!

Please have a look at my guest blog on Fermoy Swimmer - Owen O' Keefe's website. In it I write about my journey so far, my goals, what helps keep me motivated and more...

Here's the link: http://fermoyfish.com/2012/11/28/guest-eoin-mccarthy/

Thanks,

Eoin

My Views, My Opinions.

As I sit here in Belgium writing this blog, I am saddened. I am typing on a subject which I never wanted to even touch on, let alone write a blog on. The reason I sit here and the reason I am living here for the majority of the cycling season is to chase my childhood dream of being a professional cyclist. I am chasing a dream lifestyle in which for such a long time, I thought was a fairytale. These are my views, my opinions...

For the 9 years I have been involved in competitive cycling I have had this problem of "doping" arise very frequently and right now with all the news in the media etc. I've as of late realised how present doping was in cycling throughout the years. It certainly is shocking and heart breaking for me as these guys, such as Lance, were childhood heroes of mine and inspired me to be where I am today. It was that period where I really fell in love with the sport hence why I took so long to finally accept the truth.

It really gets to me when people label cycling as this "corrupt" sport which is "full of cheats". Well NO, no it's not! I for one do not cheat, and everyone I know on a personal level who is involved is the same. I am not going to mention any names but in the past I have been told by people who I thought were "friends" of mine, that the sport I do, is "corrupt" and "all cyclist are doped". This really does upset me and I have lost respect for such people - respect they will find very hard to gain again (you know who you are). The reason it gets to me so much is because I do have a great love for the sport and continuously try to protect it and looking more importantly to protect my dream - but it's very hard. The good guys suffer from the bad guys actions. I don't want to be painted with the same brush...

I am here in Belgium (arguably the hardest place to race your bike on the planet) trying my best, working extremely hard, training and suffering in the gutter for maybe 10 euros prize money at the end of a 3 hour kermesse race and most importantly I am doing it all CLEAN. Yet these "uneducated" individuals make rude insulting comments and label something which they have no idea about.. When push comes to shove - If I ever got approached to start taking performance enhancing drugs, that is the day I will give up, I'll walk away from the sport. Fact!

Spent plenty of time suffering this year...

Fact of the matter is, there is always going to be someone who is willing to cheat.  Anywhere there's money to be gained people are going to cheat. Not just in cycling but in every aspect of life - and I think this is what Nicolas Roche tried so hard to express on RTE's Prime Time a few weeks back and he had a lot of abuse for it. It's the world, it's life. People cheat in business, in entertainment, in the classroom, in every other sport, in games, video games etc etc.. In making this statement I am not saying that every single person cheats but unfortunately its always going to be part of life. It happens! Are people so naive that they think cycling is the only sport with a hidden past of cheating? Maybe it's the only sport where a hidden past's come out?

I can't say I know for fact, but as far as my common knowledge goes regardless of everything that has happened, I believe that cycling - right now - is one of the cleanest if not the cleanest sport there is. WHY? Because we are the only sport really doing something about it. You got to open your mind to the fact that we as a unity are not afraid to tarnish the sports name by introducing all the doping test's and giving ban's. This shows that we are constantly trying to have a clean fair sport. By making an example of these people is doing something a lot of sports could learn from. It's because of what happened in the past - cycling doesn't want that to happen again.

The UCI are actively trying to catch the cheats by introducing systems such as "whereabouts". This is a scheme which allows them to know where every athlete on the system is once every week. E.g. I'll be at home from 7.30am-10am Tuesday. Do the public hear this? Do RTE ever have a piece on the news where this is mentioned? No!

I believe that every cyclist should give some bit of blame to the media for tarnishing the name of our sport. Notice that all they do is talk about the bad news and never the good? I don't think these people believe that some of the stuff we can do and pro's can do is possible without the use of performance enhancing drugs!? That's bullsh*t, of course it is!
That's the way the world is unfortunately, and people will always try and tell you that you can't do something if they can't do it themselves...
To all the cynics and people who dont believe in cycling, I feel sorry for you because it's a beautiful sport which requires sacrifice, dedication, commitment and a lot of hard work. To think that the top pro's can ride their bikes in a 3 week stage races, riding 5-6hours a day for 21 days is mind blowing. It exceeds physical capabilities of a "normal" human being. We are not "normal"! Then for people who know very little about how hard cycling actually is, on the body and mind, to make such comments is just sickening.

How about all the other sports? No doping in other sports? Of course there is, I am 100% sure of it. Other sports just don't get this same treatment through such mediums. Perhaps other athlete's around the globe are cheating? Perhaps they are getting away with it too? And why? Because their sport isn't doing anything to get them caught, or they certainly aren't doing enough. They are more worried about the franchise of the sport. Money.

Mark Cavendish, the fastest sprinter (possibly) of all time - was tested over 60 times every year in the past 4 years. In 2011 he was tested 3 times in one day at the Tour de France and in 2009-2010 he was the most tested athlete on the planet, ATHLETE on the planet! If that doesn't show a now-cleaner sport I don't know what will...

Cavendish

Now, to the Lance Armstrong scenario...

I am not standing up for Lance and I certainly do not look at him in the same light as I used to, and I do not believe what him and his team did was right at all, but all in all, this coming out is a good step forward for the sport.

At that time, unfortunately, doping was in the culture of the sport. It was the thing they had to do to be competitive so I don't believe it's right to leave Lance take 100% of the abuse and to be seen as the scapegoat. That generation are to blame as a unit! The rest of his team, competitors, management and staff were all involved too. Lance is now being made out to be the big villain, but what we really have to ask ourselves is - Was Lance just the best at doing it? If you think about it, at that time was it a level playing field? Were they all taking EPO? Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso (Lance's acquaintances on the podium in 2005) were also banned for doping!?

What people are forgetting is that Lance still rode and won them "7" Tour de France's - he didn't just sit on his couch at home drinking coffee and push a button and the results came. There was still a lot of work involved. Are you telling me if everyone in that generation was clean that Lance wouldn't have still won? I think he would have. He's an incredible athlete. A pro triathlete at the age of 15? You cant tell me he doped then. At 15? With his charity - LIVESTRONG, he inspired millions and saved lives. Drugs or no drugs, the work he has and continues to do for cancer is more important than any bike race.

In saying all of this don't get me wrong - I don't agree with what he has done. I don't look up to the fact that he has continuously and continues to lie and denies ever taking performance enhancing drugs. Is his legacy getting destroyed over word of mouth evidence though? Who knows the truth? I'll tell you who knows. Lance.

This is going to change cycling... Onwards and upwards as one might say! I am however going to keep battling on, keep suffering in the gutter and keep riding my bike CLEAN - because I truly love cycling.

Thanks for reading! I hope I've made some sense. I've certainly voiced my opinion.

Regards,

Eoin.

2012 Over and Out!

My 2012 campaign is now over! 

Kermesse in Moorsele!

All in all I have had a fantastic year of racing - both in Ireland and here in Belgium. I have learnt a lot and I'm very grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. I loved every minute of racing and by all accounts exceeded my own and (hopefully) everyone else's expectation's with performances and results. 

Tackling the cobbled berg in Wambeek-Ternat!

I would firstly like to say a massive thanks to my family who have supported me in every way possible all season, through my high points and even more so in my low points. Thanks for your belief in me!

To my friends here in Belgium and at home, who have given me some lifetime memories which kept me sane while here in Belgium, thank you. Ye know who ye are!

To Luc, Ronny & all the staff at ASFRA Racing Team, thanks for a great 2012 and again for giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do, which is race my bike in Belgium.

Finally to my sponsors. Thank for playing a part in my season and I hope to keep working with ye! 

I now have a nice break to look forward to before starting my 2013 preparations with my new coach Luc Wante. I certainly have a lot to look forward to for 2013. All I can currently confirm is that I will definitely be based in Belgium again. Details will follow on a later date! Watch this space...

Now for some pictures of my 2012 season. Enjoy and thanks for reading! 

My new home.. The GUTTER!

Katusha sandwich

After Dan's win in Danbeek... or I mean, *WAMBEEK

In the breakaway in Hulst!

Thanks for reading! To 2013 and beyond...

Eoin

w̶a̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶f̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶m̶o̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ , take the moment and make it perfect...

Belgium. The place where bike racing was born, the history, the cobblestones, the bergs, the legends, and the infamous "Kermesse" scene. It really is "the" country for a serious bike racer and I have certainly learnt that this season. I have learnt all the pro's and con's of being a cyclist in Europe and learnt lessons that will take me through the rest of my years as a competitive bike rider. Although another thing Belgie is famous for is being incredibly hard. And in a lot of ways! Not only is it hard on the bike (and trust me, it is!), but for most its worse on the head! It can be hard to stay sane over here sometimes, when, at this time of year, a lot of people are beginning to show cracks in their armor.
The end of the season is now in sight and many riders are beginning to lose the motivation to train, race and in some cases even look at their bikes...

Not me though - I am living it up and loving every minute of my experience! I am still here and as motivated as ever to finish my season on a high..

Since my last post I have been racing a lot! I have ridden mostly kermesse races and I am consistently climbing that ladder and improving my result in each race. I am starting to really get involved in the racing and feeling stronger and stronger with every race I do. I feel now I am now getting fully accustomed and adapted to the style that belgian kermesse racing requires.

I learn something new every race and take it into the next race, which is the way it should be. You never stop learning over here and thats why I think its fantastic to be based here. The u23 kermesse in Kruishoutem was a prime example. Cross wind section splits bunch of 100+ riders into 2 groups, 30-40 riders are now at the lead of the race. I attacked out of the bunch and after almost a whole lap of chasing I get to the back of the split just before we reach the crosswind section of the course. Lucky! Lesson learned, make the original split! Easier said than done I know - but just shows what even doing your homework can do. Unfortunately the front spilt into a few groups again, but I had no legs to respond to any attacks after my efforts to get across. I was 34th that day, but really showed myself that I was getting stronger - progression...

Conor Dunne (fellow Irishman) and I in Kruishoutem u23 Kermesse

I hit 2 birds with one stone in Wambeek - experience wise! Firstly it was extremely hot, I mean 45 degrees celcius before the start. Secondly there was a nice cobbled berg roughly 1.5km in length. For me these were two factors I have never had to deal with in a race situation before. Luckily I had good legs on the day - my positioning for the berg every lap made it a lot easier and I drank more than enough to keep me going for the 120km over 13 ronde's (taking roughly a bottle a lap). I was 18th in Wambeek that day and its safe to say it was one of my favorite days EVER on my bike! Such an epic race, in epic conditions, with a decent result and ride and to put the cherry on the cake Dan won, in an epic way!

Tackling the cobbled-berg in Wambeek

Hulst was another day where I learnt a lot. A "Soenens-Construkt Glas" sponsors race meant a colour domination of red, black and white in the peleton - that along with the presence on kermesse kings Guy Smet, Jo Maes and Co. and "EFC-Omega-Pharma-Quickstep" meant I did feel a bit out of my league on the start line. All the experienced older riders who have hundreds on kermesse wins between them rolling up beside this young Irish kid who has only been racing in Belgium a few weeks certainly was certainly exciting. I convinced myself I was just as strong as anyone that day on the start line and turns out I was!

Breakaway day in Hulst

First lap the breakaway formed. I was in it! Mixing it with the big boys and thats where I remained until the end - not just hanging on though, making the moves, doing my shared work and attacking! The breakaway swelled to roughly 25 riders after a few laps and spilt again but I was 15th that day but more than happy with my performance, I really proved to myself that I have no problems racing with the best guys n Belgium. A big confidence booster! 

Another day I spent in the breakaway was in the u23 race in Kluisbergen-Ruien. This kermesse was very different one in which I would out in the "epic" category. We had to do 10 laps of 5.8km around the village with primies every lap.  Then after 10 laps we moved onto a bigger circuit of 9km for 4 laps with the steep berg the "Kluisbos" every lap.

Again, the breakaway formed quite early on and was pretty big. I think we started out with 18 guys in front! All the hitters were there so a good race was in the pipeline. I had really great legs for the local ronde's and as soon as we hit the climb after 65-70km my legs went to jelly. Each lap I got distanced over the top of the climb as the better climbers sprinted for the Bergprijs and every time I was to get back on through the corners on the decent taking crazy risks! The last time up the Kluisbos I had all the noise of the crowds and attention on me. Being distanced from my breakaway companions in the crosswind sections on the last lap I rode over the Kluisbos to the finish on my own. It was a great feeling (not physically but certainly mentally). Without the supporters that day it would have been a very difficult last 4 laps! 14th at the finish. Happy camper!

In other kermesses I have been doing I have been getting more and more involved. Sint-Gillas-Waas, Massemen-Wetteren, Sleidinge and Maldegem are examples of races where I have been really involved but unfortunately have gotten no result that can do me any justice. A 30th place for example certainly doesn't reflect what kind of race I've had. But all in all my 2012 season in Belgium has thought me a lot of valuable lessons.

I am now coming to the end of my racing season here in Belgium, my last race is either the 8th or 13th or October and the winter is fast approaching. I have had a fantastic 2012 and will now enjoy my last races and will enjoy my few weeks off even more!

I want to say a big thank you to my family, housemates, friends and everyone who was a part of my 2012 cycling season and for everyone who supported me through the ups and downs. I am very grateful for all your support!

Thanks for reading!

Eoin

Back in Belgium!

I’ve now been here in Oudenaarde, Belgium, for the best part of a month and I‘ve settled in pretty well at the Hof ter Kammen. The lads here at the house are great company and we all encourage each other so morale is generally good.

The first few weeks I had to be very patient and wait for my knee to mend. Some really good news though – my injury is now under control.

I went to see a really great guy called Luc Wante – Luc is the coach of Garmin-Sharps’s Sep Vanmarcke, winner of this year’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He cracked me back into place, straightened me up and told me he thought that I had an ongoing problem probably caused by the accident I had in September with a jeep.

So it was good to finally nail down my problem and I had full confidence in Luc when he told me I could race again in a week or two. However, I’m not 100% fixed as I’m still aware my left leg feels a bit different to my right. But finally I’m able to ride my bike again – that’s the main thing.

After I went to see Luc I did a good solid weeks training and another few days of intensity before I tackled my first “kermesse” in Moorsele.

I was sceptical about how my race would go with such little training in the past month or so, but I surprised myself. As soon as the race started I was almost instantly re-accustomed to the different, crazy, style of racing that Belgium offers.

Bodies everywhere, rain, wind, cobbles, the sound of brakes screeching as we flew through the corners. I thought to myself: “I’m home again”. However crazy Belgium is though – I love it and I’ve missed it very much.

With storm-like conditions we took to the start line to tackle 120km of pain, I rode a good race to be fair and got in a few moves to be chased by some of my Belgian “team-mates”. So team orders are obviously not so strict here! I even had legs enough to try a solo effort from the peloton with 2km or so to go, for roughly 18th place as there was a breakaway. But I was to be caught within the last 300m by a peloton screaming behind me. I was swamped and ended up 36th from 72 starters. So a pretty OK debut into Belgian elite kermesse racing.

Two days later we went to the beach! Not for sun-bathing and relaxing like any normal person would do though. Instead we took to the beach for the exact opposite – another kermesse of death! With only two races on that day the number of starters was up to over 150 riders, the race had two long 2km straights every lap (on the same road) with crosswinds. So the only way to describe the race was “gutter-death”.

Again I felt good. I got into an early breakaway but it was just a little bit too big so half of us decided to take advantage of the group size and leave the same few guys to do all the pulling. We got caught pretty soon afterwards. It was worth a shot though. I finished a solid enough 67th in what was the main peloton, going for a placing in the mid 30s. The average speed for the race was 43.7km/h for roughly 110km. So yeah, it was pretty hard considering it was lined out nearly all the way.

After a few days easy I got called up to ride a Belgian Cup “Zillebeke-Westouter-Zillebeke”; nearly 100 miles, nine bergs, wind, rain, muck…. Another fun day in the saddle! Around 160 riders took to the start-line to brave the elements. The race was rapid as always; line-outs, small lanes, big roads – Belgium continues to surprise me.

A breakaway formed of roughly 20 riders near the town of Kemmel (home of the infamous Kemmelberg) but unfortunately I was to miss it. I got to the finishing circuits with the next group of riders which contained 60-odd guys. Covered in dirt, wet to the bone and to top it off – grit in the mouth (the worst) it was only here I realised I literally had no brake pads left; “Oh sh*t” I yelled coming down one of the descents into a sharp right hander, bumped and bashing everyone around me! “Phew” a sigh of relief… But then I realised I had to do four more laps of these circuits! “Uh oh; This is gonna be fun” I thought.

Somehow I made it to the finish rolling in for 56th place – happy considering it was only my third race as an elite and the fact it was a Belgian Cup with some of Belgium’s biggest amateur teams in the field. I did have to fight a lot stay as close to the front as I could all day so I was more mentally drained at the finish than anything.

I’m still wondering how I didn’t come off but all in all, a great experience and another successful day and some more racing km’s in the legs.

Signs of progression have been showing and that is the most important thing for me; I want to be constantly climbing that ladder. Next up for me is some more classes in the school of hard knocks; Belgian kermesse races before some more Belgian Cups and Interclubs in Flanders! I’m now also working towards a stage race in Spain at the end of September, so hopefully everything will go to plan with that.

Sticky Bottle - Link

Until next time,

Eoin

Article on Sticky Bottle; Irelands Premier Cycling Website!

“I’m in the Mecca of cycling; just landed into the kermesse school of hard knocks”

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/im-in-the-mecca-of-cycling-just-landed-into-the-kermesse-school-of-hard-knocks/

McCarthy is part of the Ireland development set-up and has gone to Belgium to further his trade

With the Leaving Cert out of the way, Fermoy’s Irish international Eoin McCarthy is back in Belgium with the ASFRA-Flanders Racing Team. He’s looking to race hard and learn fast as he throws himself into the life of a full-time bike rider. In this dispatch he gives us a flavour of life in the famous Flanders region as he gears up to get going.

I’ve finally arrived in Belgium – Hof ter Kammen, Leupegem, Oost-Vlaanderen to be exact. Where I live is a mere 1km from the infamous Koppenberg and roughly 2km from Oudenaarde; the new finish of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen and the Ronde’s museum. So I am in the epicentre of what some people might call “The Mecca” of bike racing!

Although all is well here I’m not in perfect condition myself. A week before the Nationals I finished my exams and went straight into a hard training block to try and limit my losses in Clonmel and to help set me up for a bashing here. But after a few days I picked up an injury. I could feel a little niggle on my left knee and ignored it for another few days but, after a terrible Nationals TT where the pain was excruciating, I went to a specialist and turns out I had tendonitis.

I have been resting for a week and a half now and am making progress but I’m guessing I won’t be racing for another three weeks or so – just to be safe. Looking at some of my friends and people I know, and listening to my coach, if an injury isn’t treated with respect you can turn a fortnight’s disruption into a year-long problem. I have looked at all of the things which could have caused it and have them all nailed down so hopefully I will be up and running again in no time!

After this injury is sorted I plan to get racing on the local kermesse scene – known as the school of hard knocks, where being “in the red” is a common thing! I will go into battle with the many Belgians and riders from all over the world who are all after one thing – a pro contract! So the racing never fails to disappoint, unless you have a bad day, then it’s not so nice.

As the season goes on I hope to ride some Interclubs and stage races with the team and start looking towards 2013 already. The first year senior is always a transition year but with the Leaving Cert and this injury it looks as though this year will be a learning year more than anything.

I’m here until October at Hof ter Kammen with five housemates; four Brits and Paddy Clarke from west of the Shannon. The set-up here is perfect; it’s home from home really. Having been here last year I really feel better this time because I know where everything is; I know if I have a problem where I can get it sorted. And I get on with all of the lads – so it couldn’t be much better!

I’ve just got to start racing and get some results, then maybe things will become better. It’s hard being off the bike though, I wasn’t even off the bike this much during my exams. But when not riding my bike I like to sit in the Markt (Square) in Oudenaarde with the lads, drinking coffee and relaxing while watching the women walk past.

I’m not lying; I had to ask the lads today “Are there any bad looking girls in Belgium?” So that dampens the disappointment a bit – it’s the best past time I’ve ever had…..

Until next time.

Eoin

@Eoin_McCarthy

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/im-in-the-mecca-of-cycling-just-landed-into-the-kermesse-school-of-hard-knocks/