Ahead of his World Cup track debut in London this weekend, emerging Irish sprinter Eoin Mullen speaks to Graham Healy about making track racing his life and the challenges that lay ahead as he tries to break into world class sprinting.
When you ask Eoin Mullen how he rates his prospects as he prepares to go head to head with sprint legends such as Sir Chris Hoy at this weekend’s World Cup in London, his response is filled with enthusiasm and not even a hint of fear.
“London will definitely be the most competitive of the World Cups this season coming so close to the Olympics; last chance for points for many and one where riders with be trying to establish their own position within their own nation too. All this just adds to the excitement though.”
Advertisement
“The three events I’ll be doing are sprint events; the sprint, kilo and keirin. And I think it is a bit early in my career to start specializing in one. I'll continue to train hard for each one but I have been working hard and would hope my times will reflect that.”
The 18-year-old is from Kilronan on the Aran Islands but went to school at Kings Hospital, Dublin. His old brother is on a rugby scholarship in the US while his younger sister and two younger brothers are track cyclists who currently hold a number of underage titles.
Mullen started grass track racing in the Community Games when he was aged 10 years but he really only came to prominence when he tried out for an U16 track squad at Sundrive Rd track in Dublin and found he wasn’t far off the standard of the other riders.
The following year he joined Sundrive Track Club and won the junior sprint championship in his first year against a top class junior David Neill.
Mullen says the people around him in Ireland have really facilitated his progression in the past few seasons.
“Terry Cromer is my coach in Ireland and is always there if I need advice on anything. The club and Terry have always shown great belief in my ability and potential. They approached the high performance director of Cycling Ireland with my CV, with a view to getting me a trial for further development at the UCI’s world cycling centre (WCC) in Aigle in Switzerland.”
“He then forwarded it on to Fred Magne in the WCC in Aigle and thankfully Fred offered me a one month trial last May. Two weeks into the trial they offered to hold onto me until the European Junior Championships last July in Portugal. This was then extended to the Junior World Championships in Moscow after I placed 5th in the 1km time trail and 7th in the sprint. I also broke both the Irish junior record and senior flying 200 sprint record.”
Related News
“I had come such a long way in such a relatively short time thanks to my training at the WCC and just before heading to Moscow I was offered a year’s scholarship with them which was something way beyond anything I could have wished for.”
His move to the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland has involved an increase in training. Mullen outlines what a typical day involves: “We’re up bright and early at about 7am”, he says.
“Our morning sessions are usually a couple of hours on a road ride or a gym session which consists of core work, squats, power cleans, leg press, leg curls, bench press, back rowing, shoulder elevations and pull ups. We have gym two to three times a week as it plays a very big part in our training as sprinters.”
“We then have our lunch and rest for an hour or two before we have our training on the track in the afternoon. That could be standing starts, sprints and sometimes 30 minutes behind a motorbike at 50 to 60 kmph. We then have dinner at 6pm and return back to our accommodation where our lights must be out at 10pm.”
Mullen is working with two coaches in Aigle; Jacky Mourioux on the track, and strength and conditioning coach Thomas Allier.
“Both of them have worked with many of the greats in the world of track and I am so lucky to have these two coaches in my corner,” says Mullen.
“Their knowledge and experience is immense and they’ve really contributed to my progress and development as a track sprinter.”
For this year, his main aim is to gain as much experience in his first year as a senior. He will be racing in the U23 European Championships in the summer and some other continental races.
As for his long-term plans, Mullen realises that it’s going to involve a lot of hard work.
“I know my initial improvement were quite good and understand that it was based on this that I was offered the extension to my stay. But I realise every tenth of a second from now comes from months of intense training and from sticking with the program and lifestyle. I have committed to going all the way with this but also am very aware that it is going to take time and a long term belief that I can do this.”
Topics
