David McCarthy knows better than anyone about the transition he faces going from the domestic ranks in Ireland to Continental racing with UK-based JLT Condor.
But the young Corkman isn’t afraid of the hard work required to make that jump - as last week’s training week will attest to.
He is currently on an extended training and racing trip to Australia and has spent recent winters there, staying with family in Adelaide.
- Name: David McCarthy
- Team: JLT Condor presented by Mavic pro cycling team
- Date of birth: 15/3/95 (19)
- Weight: 63kg, 179 cm
General goals for the year
I want to keep progressing and pick up as many results as I can.
I’d like to do something at the An Post Rás and National Championships and to generally have a consistent season.
McCarthy is coached by former Irish international Stephen Barrett. His training combines long steady - 55 per cent max heart rate - spins with short, sharp bursts.
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Training Goals at the moment
I want to keep ticking the boxes and complete each training session given to me by my coach Stephen Barrett.
And most importantly, I want to keep on enjoying the sport.
Normally Stephen and I work with three days on, one day recovery, two days on, one day recovery.
Every session is different and every week is different so it keeps things interesting.
Monday
Today was a recovery day. Normally I just do 40-60 minutes. On a recovery day I always like to just spin the legs.
After training I give it an hour or two before I start doing a bit of stretching which lasts 15-30 minutes.
I always try and make the most of my recovery days.
Tuesday
Today was four hours with some short efforts every 30 minutes.
I normally do these efforts in the hills which are perfect.
Wednesday
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Today is a double day. I normally do these once or twice a week as I find them really beneficial.
In the morning I did 2 hours steady (55 per cent max heart rate) on the flat with a short 60-second effort every 15 minutes.
In the evening I did 90 minutes with a set of 5 x 3 Zone 4 (75 per cent max heart rate) efforts with 4 minutes recovery in between.
These days are tough physically and mentally.
Thursday
Today is a recovery day so it’s the same as Monday.
All my recovery days are pretty much the same.
I try and keep the same routine and I use it as a day to upload my files to TrainingPeaks and look over my recent sessions.
Friday
Today is another 4 hours mid/upper Zone 2 (55-60 per cent max heart rate).
I did 2½ in the hills first then I finished up along the beaches.
I normally do all my training solo so I can focus on riding in my own zones.
Saturday
Today is a 3½ hour ‘build’ session. This is probably one of my favourite sessions.
It’s 3½ hours of all the different zones in the first two hours, finished off with some all-out sprints in the third hour and 30 minutes of easy riding at the end to roll the efforts out of the legs.
I normally do this session on a flat route so that I can keep the power consistent.
Sunday
I normally head out with a bunch of guys here and aim for 5-6 hours Zone 2 in the Adelaide hills.
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