Top Irish rider Dylan Foley missed all of 2015 because of a problem with his iron levels. The 20-year old Corkman is in danger of seeing this season slip away too unless he can get to the bottom of a separate medical issue (Photo: Pat Doherty)
By Brian Canty
Irish road and track international Dylan Foley is still trying to get to the bottom of an illness that is threatening to derail his promising career.
The Corkman didn’t race in 2015 because of a persistent illness.
And just when it seemed he was rounding the corner and resuming full training last winter, he was knocked for six by a separate issue that prevents the 20 year-old from doing any more than an hour-long easy spin.
“I missed nearly all of last season with a problem with my ferritin and haemoglobin levels,” he explained.
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“I went to a doctor in Dublin and was instructed to build back up the blood reserves because iron tablets weren't working for me.
“I was eating 3,500 calories a day plus whatever I burnt on the bike, so a 3-hour training day could be a 6,000 calorie day.
“It wasn't easy but it helped bring back up the reserves. Things were going well until the New Year.
“Nothing has shown up in the blood tests and doctors aren't sure what it is but I know I am not right.
Foley is a top rider with huge potential but unless he can get healthy - and fast - he will miss what is a very important year for him in his development.
“At first they thought it was an overactive thyroid or glandular fever but they both came back negative.
“It all started around the first week of January; training was going very well but out of nowhere I started getting very tired.
"It got to the point where doing an hour at zone one doesn't feel comfortable.
“It's made training impossible and there hasn't been any improvement in the last nine weeks.”
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Foley gets extremely tired, shakes in his hands, arms and legs as well as a lot of headaches, but is at a loss to explain why.
“I could be sleeping 10 or 11 hours a night and still feeling tired the next morning and my blood pressure is higher than normal but it all means nothing to me because I cannot find an answer.”
In his debut Rás Mumhan in 2014, Foley (in Irish kit) performed very well, taking a stage win, the KOH jersey and spending much of the weekend up the road (Photo: Pat Doherty)
He’s being referred to another doctor in Manchester and is due to see him in the next two weeks.
“At the moment, all my eggs are in that basket. I don't really know where I'm at, there's been no in improvement so I can't train at all.
“I've been out for a very few easy spins just to see is there any improvement and if I can learn a bit more about the problem to pass onto the doctors.
“The last time I did a solid week of training was the first week of January and it was going well but obviously that's out the window now.”
Having being set to race in France, he also had to abandon that plan.
“If I'd to say when I was last healthy and racing, it was the end of 2014," he said of his very unfortunate state.
“I've this year and next year U23 left, though I still feel like a first year senior with the way the last two years have gone.
“It’s been very trying at times and I've nearly lost the plot with it being so frustrating to identify the problem this year.
“Having got the chance to live a bit more of a normal life recently, it's definitely made me realise how much the racing means to me.
“At the moment, I just want to get back racing and I haven't thought past that point.
“Once you're out of the racing scene, people seem to forget about you but thankfully, between my parents and a few other people, I hope to back soon.
“I know I’m not the only person whose had this so I really hope someone can reach out and point me in the right direction and get me back racing asap.”
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