Irish U23 international Conor McIlwaine (centre) already has some experience riding on the Continent and he will greatly add to that next year having secured a place with Terra Footwear in Belgium for 2012.
By Brian Canty
Promising U23 Irish international, Conor McIlwaine will ride for the Terra Footwear Bicycle Line amateur team in Belgium for the 2014 season it has emerged.
The 19-year-old Letterkenny native and Errigal CC rider has been in talks with the team since the end of the domestic season here in Ireland and agreed in the past few days to join their 18-man roster for next year.
He will stay at home in coming weeks, taking three weeks rest before ramping up his preparations for what he hopes will be fruitful year.
McIlwaine will next year link up with Corkman Eoin McCarthy, who already had one season with the Terra Footwear team under his belt.
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“It’ll be good experience racing out there full time and hopefully it will bring me on as well and maybe I can get a few results,” he told stickybottle today.
Having spent 11 weeks racing in Belgium during the summer and early autumn, McIlwaine is under no illusions.
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“I really enjoyed my time out there this year, I managed to get a few results and I enjoyed the racing. It was different to Irish racing though, it was a nice change. I’ve only been full time for a few months because I was in University in Dublin but I’ve deferred for a year now so I’m going to give it everything I can.”
“And if it turns belly up I can always go back to university and resume my studies. I know it won’t be easy and that’s why I took the decision to defer for a year to give myself the best chance of being competitive.”
“Everyone knows Belgium is where you need to be, the standard in Ireland is improving and it’s good but the standard over there is really, really high. And to be racing in the big races over there will definitely bring me on.”
McIlwaine rode on the Irish U23 team in the Nations Cup events this year, an experience he said he thoroughly enjoyed. And he’s keen to get back to that level again.
“It was a really, really good experience in the Nations Cup because it was a higher standard so hopefully I can make the selection for this year’s team again. I’m going to have to be competitive, it will be hard but I’m looking forward to it.”
“I just want to improve, and give my focus to the Rás and the Nationals next year — they are big goals for me. I crashed out of the Nationals this year in Carlingford, it was terrible. I just didn’t enjoy it because I was sick and I crashed out with two laps to go but hopefully I can do a better next year.”
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