Finn O'Sullivan in a promo photo for the Sit & Sit Maestro pro team in 1996; he's now a finalist on Operation Transformation as he tries to get his weight and fitness back on track
Former Irish international and one-time pro cyclist, Fionán O’Sullivan is one of the finalists for RTE’s hit TV series Operation Transformation.
The 45-year-old based in Banagher, Co Offaly, was one of 20 finalists who featured on the John Murray Show on RTE Radio 1 this morning, Wednesday, where they were introduced and assessed.
O’Sullivan, one of the best riders in the country in the 1990s, was one of the finalists put through his paces on air as the producers of the upcoming TV series began the process of finding five leaders.
Those five will go forward to appear on the twice weekly weight loss and lifestyle series which begins in early January.
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The cameras will follow them as they try to reach their target weight and get to the bottom of the often emotional issues that have led to their becoming overweight.
Speaking to broadcaster Murray, O’Sullivan said he harboured hopes of racing again but needed to get much fitter. He rode for the pro Sit & Sit FS Maestro Team in 1996. One of his best wins came on the opening stage of the Girvan Three Day in Scotland in 1992 when riding for the Irish team.
“I’m here to lose three stone and try to get back competing again,” he said this morning.
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“I’m a sales rep on the road and basically prior to that I was an athlete, I was a cyclist. I cycled all over the world. I gave that up when I was 27.”
“I kept eating even though I finished the cycling,” he joked.
“I do a little bit of mountain biking now. I’ve just started getting back into it, finding a bit more of a buzz with it.”
Asked why the cycling he was doing had not helped him contain his weight and shed the pounds, he was brutally honest and joked: “Eating, I just love eating. I’ll always go for seconds and more. You never know when you’ll get your next meal.”
He said he was now just over 17 stone, a weight that even his 5-year-old son Cameron had made comments about.
“He says I have a big belly like Homer Simpson,” O’Sullivan told listeners.
We’ll keep you posted on whether he’s selected for the TV series.
Winning the Jack Woodcock Memorial season-opening classic in the Phoenix Park for Dublin Wheelers CC back in 1990
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