Chris
McGlinchey has secured a new contract for next season with Vitus Pro Cycling Team, the squad he rode for in 2019.
McGlinchey says he banked a lot of experience this year and is looking to step forward again next season.
"I'm going into
2020 with a different approach to last year,” he said, adding he was very
excited for the campaign ahead.
“Having done a full
season I know where my weaknesses are and I'm working hard with my coach Bryan
McKinney to address those.
"The main goals
will be to gain selection for (Tour de) Yorkshire and then Tour of Britain.
“But I'd also love to try and win a round in the British National Road Series that suits me. And I want to help the team win on the other rounds.”
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McGlinchey
has followed an interesting path in cycling and despite having turned
25-years-old this year he is not a rider with huge miles on the clock.
He switched from a successful downhill career to road in 2015, when he went from A4 to A1 in a matter of weeks before gaining selection onto the U23 national team.
Since then he’s won a string of races;
Kerry Group Rás Mumhan among them. Furthermore, he rode Rás Tailteann on the
national team three years ago.
In 2017 he also claimed silver, behind
Ryan Mullen (Trek-Segafredo), in the elite event at the National Road Race
Championships.
He decided to take a break from racing
and working in 2018 in favour of going travelling but came back late in the
season and won a number of races.
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He then secured a contract with Vitus
Pro Cycling Team for this year and will be back in its colours next season.
With teams closing in Britain and elsewhere in Europe he has done well to hold his place and few would bet against him taking it up a notch next season.
His stand-out ride this year was making the breakaway on stage 2 at the Tour of Yorkshire. But his ride on stage 4 of that race was arguably better.
He remained in the ever-reducing peloton
as the stage took in testing climb through the 175km race into Leeds.
And when the likes of Chris Froome and
Eddie Dunbar were to the fore in animating the race on a very lumpy finale,
McGlinchey wasn’t too far away.
In the end he was 34th, two minutes down
on stage winner Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team). While the placing doesn’t jump
off the page, the race was strung out over 16 minutes.
It was a result that suggests McGlinchey may surprise a few people next year as he looks to take his results up a notch.
“Getting the
opportunity to race against World Tour teams in Yorkshire was amazing,” he
said.
“Our team goal was to
get in the breakaways and gain exposure for our sponsors. So to be able to do
that on Stage 2 was amazing.
“The crowds lining the
streets certainly made it one to remember. I also think stage 4 was a big personal
performance. I was right at the pointy end of the race until the final climb.
“For me it was a year
to gain as much experience as possible on the UK scene to learn what I needed
to improve on.
“I felt as the season
went on I was getting more and more confident in my own ability."
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