Dogged by injury but still in love with the bike, Daniel Clifford has tried to remain positive and his hoping to become pain free soon; seen here riding on the Irish national team at Kerry Group Rás Mumhan in 2010 (This photo and homepage photo with thanks to Kerry Group Rás Mumhan and Pat Doherty)
By Brian Canty
Having been off the bike injured for well over a year, Daniel Clifford is set to go under the surgeon’s knife as part of his bid to get back into the thick of it in the peloton.
The Killorglin man has had a nightmare year as he continues his recuperation from a crash three years ago. He has constant pain at the top of his femur, even when not riding the bike.
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He’s due to be operated on later this month and hopes surgery can end what has been a very challenging period for him.
“I really miss the bike and the mental clarity you get from training,” he said.
“I also miss the competitive side of it, but I can’t even look at cycling; it’s so frustrating not being able to train pain free.
"When the day comes that I can ride the bike without pain and actually enjoy it again, then I could possibly be quite keen to come back and tick off a few boxes.
“But until then, it’s not worth it for me,” he said in reference to training aggravating the pain he must manage daily.
In the thick of it; Clifford on the far left sprinting to 4th place on the opening day of the An Post Rás 2009 into Wexford. The stage was won by former Belgian professional champion Niko Eekhout, in the green of An Post. Top British rider Russ Downing was 2nd, second rider from right here. The man in the blue jersey in the centre is Jaan Kirsipuu, winner of five Tour de France stages among 130 career wins; Clifford got past him on the day, with the Estonian finishing in 5th place.
Clifford has a good palmares and because of his fearlessness and lightning speed is viewed by many as one of the very few Irish riders who could win a stage of the An Post Rás.
He nearly did that back in 2009 on the race’s opening stage but had to settle for fourth. And he believes he can get back to that kind of form.
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“If my injury gets solved and I actually want to achieve success on the bike then I believe there would be no problem getting up to a good level again,” he said.
“Being a couple of years older and wiser is a massive advantage. I’ve never lost belief in myself and what I can do if I really want to.
“It won’t come overnight but if you work hard then it can be achieved.”
While sidelined he has pursued other interests and has recently set up his own business in his home town.
A determined rider, Clifford is an athlete who could put together some great results if he could just stay injury free.
“I’m running a personal training business called Goal Based Training.
"I work with people who want to achieve goals; be it general health, fitness or in competition.
"I do things like personal training, cycling specific core stability and strength training programs.
"I’m very happy with the way it’s going so far and it’s vey satisfying to see people reach goals and transform themselves.
"I’ve also recently just started an athlete sponsorship program with Irish U23 Irish international Eoin McCarthy and that’s going well.
“It’s good to have other things away from the bike and for me work has been that.”
On the podium during Rás 2009; injury has frustrated much of Daniel Clifford's career since then even though he has competed at different times in recent years.
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