Irish rider Jack Wilson is looking forward to better luck and strong progress after a season of misfortune last year (Photo: An Post-ChainReaction.com)
By Shane Stokes
He had a year to forget in 2015 but, having been at the point where he couldn’t face looking at his bike any more, Jack Wilson is back, is healthy and is motivated to give it everything in the months ahead.
The An Post Chainreaction rider proved the old adage that bad luck comes in threes; last March he hit the deck in the Ronde Van Zeeland Seaports race, coming down when a rider in front of him hit the deck. The impact dislocated his shoulder.
He recovered, returned to racing and found himself in a very good position in the finale of the La Cote Picardie Nation’s Cup race on April 15. However a Dutch rider brought him down inside the final kilometre, resulting in a broken collarbone and fractured wrist.
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He received quick treatment for the former, which healed well, but encountered delays in receiving surgery on the latter after initially getting misleading advice.
Wilson returned in the Boucles de la Mayenne in June and while he was a non-finisher there, he continued building form and was in good shape in the inaugural European Games in Baku in June.
Unfortunately, more misfortune was in store.
“I think it was a mix of nerves and not paying attention fully,” Wilson told stickybottle at his team's training camp in Calpe, southern Spain.
“It was the silliest crash I ever had in my life. It was the crowd control barriers, they were on the footpath but then all of a sudden they came onto the road. I was following [Lotto-Soudal rider] Tiesj Benoot. He missed the first foot of the barrier but I had no time to react and hit it.”
Wilson clattered to the ground and broke some ribs. That was the final straw.
“After breaking my ribs, my head exploded. It was setback after setback,” he says. “I just mentally couldn’t deal with it any more. I hadn’t been dealing with the setbacks very well up to that point. I would tend to lose focus and just throw the head, and say, ‘ah, sure, I am just not good enough.’
“But when you don’t keep the focus and when the setbacks get bigger and bigger…the broken bones would take longer, it was very, very hard for me.
"After the ribs I didn't look at my bike, didn’t ride it for five weeks. I phoned Kurt [Bogaerts, team manager] and said, ‘look, it’s over. I can’t do this any more. It is destroying me mentally.’ He said don’t rush, don’t panic, just take your time.
“I think after three or four weeks he gave me a call again and he talked me around. He said it would be silly to take the decision after the season.”
In Calpe in recent days at the An Post-Chainreaction training camp (Photo: An Post-ChainReaction.com)
Bogaerts’ pep talk helped Wilson get back his focus. So too something which happened after the passing of a friend, Gordon Scott. “I had cycled with him since I was 11 years of age,” he explains.
“His wife came up to me at the funeral and said that he always regretted stopping cycling when he was so young.
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“She said, ‘don’t make the same wrong decision where in ten, fifteen years you look back and say, ah, I wish I had kept doing it.’
“That got my head thinking again. I got back on my bike in the first time and went out on the club run.
"That brought all the good memories back and made me forget all the bad memories of what happened. Just going out with the guys, stopping for a coffee, having a bit of craic, sprinting for the 30s and stuff.
“That just brought all the good endorphins back. I said to myself that I have to give it another go.”
“Sam’s always been there supporting me”
Still just 22 years of age, Wilson has shown real flashes of talent over the years. In 2013 he finished 14th in the 1.1-ranked Druivenkoers – Overijse, a fine performance for a 20 year old. The following year he was fifth in the Irish national championships, took second on a stage and fourth overall in the Kreiz Breizh Elites and was a fine 17th against some big names in the 1.HC Ride London Classic.
Those set him up for a strong season in 2015, but unfortunately luck wasn’t with him.
Looking back at the year, though, he knows that he went close to a big result. “We were sprinting for the win in Picardie,” he said. “I am not saying I would have won it, but I am saying I definitely could have been top five.
“The spin off from that is we would have had more places in the worlds. It wouldn’t just have been Eddie [Dunbar] in the worlds. We would have had three places.
“I would have had a few UCI points. Not that they mean much, but it is nice to have. But it is just like that, the luck of the draw, really. Everybody wants to get to that line first and when you are in that heated moment where the line is 200 metres away from you, you would nearly go through any gap to get there first.
“Unfortunately the gap the Dutch guy tried to go through was definitely not there. He just took my handlebars out, and we both hit the deck.”
He’s got to put all that behind him now, looking forward rather than back. He’s been able to put in some very good training in the build-up to 2016 and feels he is in a good place.
“I had a really good winter so far. In November I spent a bit of time training with Sam Bennett in Monaco. I went back home, then went to the first team camp in Calpe in December. After that I went back up to Sam again, and had a good winter with him.”
Bennett had his own share of troubles in the past, also going close to quitting the bike. He’s since gone on to a fine pro career with Bora-Argon 18, taking five wins in 2015, and has been both a good example and also strong encouragement.
“He was always there supporting me as well,” says Wilson. “He was telling me to get my head out of my ass. When I was being negative and stuff, he would say, ‘for feck’s sake Jack, would you just cop on? Just ride your bike.’ He is a good lad to have on your side.’
“Hopefully 2016 is a turning point in my career.”
Wilson is not sure of his schedule as yet, but is hoping to start with the GP Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessèges, then ride the semi-Clasiscs in March and April en route to the An Post Rás.
“I haven’t really poinpointed anything as of yet, in terms of specific results, but I just want to get to a level where I can be consistent again,” he explains. “Once I get a few months of consistency, maybe I will think, ‘that race looks good for me, or this race suits me.’
“There is one race later in the year that I really enjoy, Overijse. I always seem to go pretty well in it. It suits me perfectly.
“It is all the short, punchy climbs. The first year I was on the team I got a top 15 in it. The second year, I was in the break after four kilometres and just rode myself into the ground. I think I just scraped the top 20. If I used the head a bit better, I think I can be up there. We will see how that goes anyway.”
Whatever about riding well in set events, he has a clear over-riding objective in mind. He’s been with the An Post Chainreaction team since 2013 and wants to step up a level, racing for a Pro Continental or a WorldTour team.
“That’s the main goal,” he states. “As much as I am only 22, I am getting old compared to the young guys coming through. They are signing at 20, 21 now.
“Once you are out of the under 23 ranks, I think you need to be consistent. Maybe being on the podium or a couple of wins is what is needed before a big team will really look at you. Fingers crossed it goes that way for me this year; hopefully I can get a contract.”
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