Kevin McCambridge, who won the final stage of Rás Tailteann with Trinity Racing in 2022, is assembling a new 'U23 performance squad' for riders who believe they have the potential to turn pro despite missing some pathway routes.
Part of the offering for this year is the chance to get exposure to racing in Austria against UCI-ranked teams, with a two-week training camp, also in Austria where Irishman McCambridge is now based.
He told stickybottle with pro teams now tending towards signing younger talent, riders who don't catch the eye immediately can miss out on key development opportunities.
And he wants to create a pathway for some of those riders. Though he will select some of the riders himself, there is an application process for the other slots in the set-up.
Advertisement
"When I look at Ireland and the UK, I know there are riders who should at least have been given an opportunity at UCI level," he said.
"During my last year with Trinity, I raced a number of British cat 1 races and events like the Rás and I saw first-hand riders who were more than capable of stepping up but never quite got that chance."
McCambridge, who has established his own coaching business in recent years, has slimmed down the number of riders he is working with. This is because he will be working with the Austrian federation and needed to change his workload.
Related News
He has made those changes while making room for the new U23 performance squad, which will involve him working with five or six riders. But the emphasis will not simply be coaching them, though that will be an important feature.
He will also guide the riders in the areas of nutrition, race tactics, recovery and "how to conduct yourself on race days".
"I’ve been doing a lot of work with ServoLab, who have been a huge support in helping me gather accurate lab-based data across many of my athletes," he said.
“I’ve also successfully helped riders connect with trusted agents within professional cycling, and this is a key reason why racing abroad is included — to build stronger CVs and give riders genuine opportunities."
There is a cost of €150 per month. This will go towards accommodation and the majority of expenses for the Austrian training camps. Flights will be the only cost riders are expected to cover themselves.
The U23 Performance Squad includes:
- Fully individualised 1-to-1 coaching with priority access
- Racing opportunities in Austria, including key season openers alongside Continental teams
- Discounted high-performance training camps in Austria (flights and food only)
- Accommodation covered
- Full physiological lab testing (lactate, haemoglobin, performance profiling) with quarterly reviews
- Applied performance nutrition workshops with qualified sports nutrition professionals
- Cyclist-specific strength & conditioning workshops focused on U23 development
- Race planning, pacing strategy, tactical education, and post-race performance debriefs
- Career guidance and athlete positioning, including trusted introductions within professional cycling
- End-of-season rider dossier (testing data, performance metrics, race analysis)
- Exclusive custom KMC U23 Performance Squad kit
For more details you can sent McCambridge a DM via his Instagram account by clicking on this link.
