Aged almost 50 years, Des Woods turned from endurance running to cycling very late in life but says he is hungry for much more, including the Rás (Photo with thanks to Brendan Monaghan)
By Brian Canty
Des Woods might be close to his 50th birthday but the Newry Wheelers man still feels like a teenager having discovered cycling just three years ago.
He had been an ultra-marathon and endurance runner but when a serious ankle injury ended his career there he opted for the bike as a means of keeping fit and satisfying his appetite for competition.
This year he rode the An Post Rás for the first time, and has every intention of doing it again next year.
And he believes a long road season will put him in the mix for a medal at the National Cyclocross Championships next month.
Advertisement
“I’m not in bad shape after the long road season," he said.
"With the Rás and then the vets’ champs being so late, I came into the cyclocross season in November and I’ve been feeling my way into it."
A very strong cyclocross rider, the next assignment for Des Woods will be the National Cyclocross Championships in Swords, north Dublin, in two weeks (Photo: Sean Rowe)
He took sixth in the cyclocross championships last year but a silver in the Ulster Championships recently, suggests he is in very good condition.
And he is “hoping to be in contention” against what should be a very strong field in Swords, north Dublin, on January 11th.
“John Bogues (Phoenix CC) is the reigning champion but he goes into the masters category this year,” said Woods of the vets national title.
Related News
“There should also be strong challenges from the likes of Pete McConville (Newry Wheelers), Aiden McDonald (Cuchulainn CC) and Jason Henry.
"There’ll be plenty there who feel they can do well; the challenge will come from a lot of people.
“I started my season late but that was the plan.
"So far I’ve done five races in the Ulster series and then I did the Ulster Championships and got silver to Glenn Kinning so I’m okay.”
Woods battles the climbs during the An Post Rás this year and all going well he will be back for more punishment again (Photo: Gary McIlroy)
Woods has a ferocious desire for competition and rarely takes any down-time, having converted to the sport so late.
“I can’t help myself racing all these events. I’d love to be better at them though.
"The Rás was a real eye-opener but it was an amazing experience.
"It was a big learning experience for me riding in a peloton that size at that speed and with a lot of crashes.
“But it’s the big challenge in the calendar and as long as they can allow county riders into it I think it’s worth aiming for.
"It’s a brilliant event; people had told me about it before. I’ve done many running endurance events but the Rás is something apart.
“And hopefully the cyclocross will help me with bunch handling and get my season on the road off to a good start.”
Topics
