A small group of top Irish riders have coaches are teaming up to offer Irish cyclists two training camp opportunities in Spain early next year, with the chance to go to the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm also on offer.
While the two camps, in Calpe in January and February, can each cater for 30 riders, the latter date is almost booked up, though there are some places remaining for the January dates.
The are being run by former international riders Matt Teggart ([email protected]), who rode in Europe and the pro peloton for much of his career, and Barry Monaghan, a former international rider turned coach who also manages Irish teams. And they will be joined by two of our current top riders.
John Buller, the former national criterium champion, and Gareth O'Neill, who enjoyed another very strong season on the domestic scene this year, will both be on hand to guide the riders.
Advertisement
Buller is a sports therapy specialist while O'Neill is a nutritionist, meaning the knowledge and experience the four camp leaders have will be very attractive to riders.
"Myself and Barry collaborate frequently in all things coaching related," Teggart told stickybottle. "We've built a great relationship and for a week in February this year we hosted a training camp in Calpe, Spain.
Related News
It was a huge success and everyone who attended absolutely loved it. We had 30 cyclists as part of our group. It gave them all a taste of what it was like to be a professional cyclist for the week.
"We wanted go the extra mile and make it more of a training camp than cycling holiday. It was such a success that most of the cyclists we had with us in February booked on again for the following year so we have decided to run 2 camps in 2025."
The first camp is from January 18th to 25th while the second is from February 22nd to March 1st; the February camp very close to sold out but about 10 places left for January.
What's involved
- 7 nights half board in a 4* Hotel in Calpe Spain
- Transfers to and from the airport and hotel
- Same hotel as many of the professional teams use in Calpe
- Rides every day, in two or three groups
- Following car on the rides with mechanical support, refreshments
- Groups and routes planned in a manner to maximise opportunity for everyone
- Evening massage available
- The camp is £695 per rider, based on two people sharing
Morning activation sessions will also be in place before riding everyday, with evening talks about training, race preparation, nutrition, strength and conditioning and recovery techniques.
In February the group rode with Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel and many other pros. Irish riders on the camp will get to share the road and hotel with many of the worlds best cyclists while escaping the Irish winter for a really big training block in.
There are also coffee stops and riders can have a few drinks some evenings, so it's also a social week for those who are looking to take a break as well as train.
