A very popular winner on Saturday, Gary Donaldson outlines the training he has been doing as he seeks to balance final exams with his racing (Photo: Toby Watson)
Gary Donaldson outlines training in recent weeks
By Graham Gillespie
Gary Donaldson was quick to praise his team mates after his victory in the Wallace Caldwell Memorial on Saturday.
The Caldwell Cycles rider won the 74-mile-long race hosted by Ballymena Road Club in a sprint finish from a breakaway after three hours of a racing.
Donaldson said the work of his fellow Caldwell men was vital in ensuring that the race concluded in a sprint.
“I said to them ‘look, I could probably do a good sprint today if you would want to cover the moves’,” he said.
“And Darnell (Moore) and Craig (McAuley) covered most of the moves. It meant in the last ten kilometres I felt pretty fresh.
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“Then with five kilometres to go, I took off with James Curry, Mark McClure and Ronan McLaughlin. Then it was basically a sprint out of four to the line and I got the sprint”.
The Omagh man suggested that having a squad consisting of members that all come from the same town has been beneficial for Team Caldwell.
“I think one of the main things is that we are a proper team. We actually are all from Omagh, and that’s really helpful.
“We get on really good as a team. And if one of us is feeling good on the day, it just seems to work out that we will all work for that person. Hopefully, it will pay off a few more times (this season)”.
He also believes that his team is full of talent and he is hopeful they can build on this victory and have more successes throughout the season.
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“There’s Darnell, Craig and Angus (Fyffe); they are three of the top riders in the country.
“At the minute, we haven’t really gotten as many wins as we would have hoped.
“So, I would really love to see the squad get more wins, and just really show that we are one of the top teams in the country”
Donaldson’s triumph today is made look even more impressive by the fact he's a final year sports science student at the University of Ulster.
And with his 'finals' workload to contend with, he has had to cut down his training. It's something that has done him no harm.
“For the last three or four weeks, I have actually cut my training back massively,” he said.
“I’m probably only doing max ten hours a week. And during the week it’s 45 minutes to an hour hard sessions.
“I’m obviously just focusing on trying to get through Uni and trying to come out with a decent grade”.
The 22-year-old added cycling had proven a great outlet while studying. And he took a relaxed attitude to the sport.
“I’m not going to make myself sick of (cycling) or anything. I’ll do what I feel like and not put too much pressure on myself”.
Donaldson takes a similar attitude when asked whether he would consider riding in Belgium, as he has done in the past.
“Again, that’s all a bit of craic. I have a couple of really good friends over there,” he said. “I would love to go out and go see them again.
“And if I could squeeze in a few races then, yes. But it’s just a bit of craic. I’d ride in my club colours for Caldwell and just enjoy it.”
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