After a period away from the sport, former Irish international and Rapha Condor rider, Aaron Buggle has taken on a new cycling post (Photo: www.blackumbrellaphotography.com)
By Brian Canty
One of the country’s top domestic riders, Anthony Walsh has added a big name to his coaching business in the shape of former international Aaron Buggle.
Buggle, a two-time national time-trial champion and former professional with the UK-based Rapha Condor JLT, will join Walsh in providing training programmes to clients of all ages and abilities at A1 Coaching.
They go back a number of years and raced together in France, with Walsh saying he was delighted to see Buggle staying involved in cycling and joining his business. “Buggle has always been a guy who analyses and questions everything he does,” said Walsh.
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“He’s obsessive; not just about training, but about all aspects of his preparation. He has an amazing knowledge-base and experience to draw on.
“It’s no surprise he had the level of success he had on the road. He’ll offer an insight into how pros train and that will be invaluable to our clients.”
Buggle raced last year with Rapha Condor JLT and represented Ireland over a period of years at U23 level before hanging up his racing wheels almost a year ago.
Since then he has enjoyed a very successful spell modelling and in coming months is due to start a sports science degree in Dublin City University.
Walsh said he was always keen to get Buggle involved in the company and coming on board at this time was a perfect fit with his starting his college course.
From Clontarf in Dublin and having trained as a barrister, Walsh started coaching athletes while racing in Canada last year.
“I’m really enjoying working with the athletes. I’m getting a real buzz out of helping lads reach their goals. We’ve some really exciting stuff planned for expansion.
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“We’ve just invested in a WattBike and an altitude simulator so we are going to start offering altitude training plans to help bring clients to the next level.”
Walsh, like so many others in the recent An Post Rás, did not get to finish as a result of injury, though he bowed out sooner than most.
“I came down pretty heavy on the first stage,” he said.
“It was a nasty spill which was just bad luck. There was a touch of wheels at the front of the bunch and a lad crashed in front of me at about 60kmph.
“I was into him and down before I had time to react. I broke my collarbone in the crash and got a nasty bang on the head.
“Thankfully the CAT scans have been clear on my head but the concussion is something I’ll have to monitor carefully over the coming weeks.”
While he plans to race again as soon as he can, he is unsure when that might happen. “I’ve never had to deal with a head injury in the past. I’ve meet with the Irish Boxing Association doctor and I’m on a strict monitoring protocol at the moment.
“I love racing the bike and forced rest is never pleasant but I’m looking at the silver lining and relishing the chance to expand the coaching business more while I have some extra time on my hands.”
UCD CC's Anthony Walsh is expanding his A1 Coaching business with more equipment and staff, including Buggle (Photo: George Doyle)
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