National road race champion Damien Shaw is hoping to get picked up by a UCI-ranked team but is running out of patience - and time for 2016. “For three or four years now I've been improving steadily and not one team has tried me out or made any acceptable offer,” he said.
By Brian Canty
Damien Shaw have voiced his frustration at not getting picked up by a UCI-ranked team for the forthcoming season.
The reigning national road race champion has been one of the very best riders on the domestic scene for the last few years but his many wins appear to not hold much sway with team managers in the continental ranks.
The Mullingar man had been approached by a continental team but unable to agree terms he declined the offer.
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“I don’t know what I have to do to get picked up, maybe get an agent?!,” he pondered.
“I'm not one to blow my own trumpet but I've won a lot of races the last number of years.
“It makes me wonder what I actually need to do. It's true I'm getting on but I've less mileage on the clock than some of the juniors.”
And following the announcement at the weekend that Dynamo Cover would be taking on five Irish riders for an Irish-registered continental team for next year, Shaw said he was disappointed to not be considered by them or anybody else.
“For three or four years now I've been improving steadily and not one team has tried me out or made any acceptable offer.
“I'm not asking for much, just a bigger stage to test myself.
“If you look at my domestic record the last few years I don’t think anyone can match it.
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“I can step up, I have stepped up in the past and I know I can in the future as well.”
Shaw suffered a number of setbacks this year but each time he responded.
His crash on the track in Majorca at the start of the year followed by a fractured shoulder in April at the VisitNenagh Classic and a broken collarbone in late June.
He came down heavily at the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster too, a day after winning the opening stage.
“I was well below my best there and I was lucky to start the An Post Rás.
“Despite my injuries I finished on the podium three days in a row and went desperately close to three stage wins.”
The way he blitzed the opposition at the National Championships had many feeling he was worthy of a bigger stage but nothing has materialised for him.
He's hardly raced since the nationals, the broken bone in his neck he sustained a few days after it seeing to that.
But he's back training with the national track squad now with a view to doing a few rounds of the UCI World Cup.
“The year is pushing on and teams are getting filled.
“I want a shot in a big team and I think I deserve it.”
