Big Guns: Clancy during down time at his new pro team’s recent training camp in Spain
By Brian Canty
New Irish professional rider Stephen Clancy has just completed his first serious warm-weather block of training in advance of the new season.
The Team Novo Nordisk rider was in Alicante, Spain, for a series of long training spins while also getting used to his new equipment and bonding with his new team mates.
The Limerick man said he's enjoying the life of a professional with the US-based Pro Continental team so far.
"They’re all great guys," he said of his new team mates.
"Every one of them has their own personality and their own inspiring story. It's great being on a team of 17 guys with 10 different nationalities represented, the humour is priceless at times."
Advertisement
Settling into a professional team is a daunting prospect for a rider used to racing on the domestic scene, but the structure is something he feels he's benefitting from already.
Related News
"I've been working with the team on training since the start of October so it’s been nice to be able to follow a very specific plan. They’ve really gone to huge lengths to put everything in place for us so we can perform at our best. It's a perfect set-up and I really couldn't be in a better place.”
“Training varies from week to week, but all the time you’re thinking about training, recovering and nutrition. At this time of year it’s been a lot about clocking up plenty of miles; 20 hours a week or more on the bike and maybe three days in the gym.”
The founder of the all-diabetic rider team, Phil Southerland might not be a very familiar name to many in Ireland but for Clancy the American is something of a legend.
Having been told from a very young age that diabetes could kill him, Southerland has taken the fight to the condition and his book 'Not Dead Yet' is one Clancy has taken a lot of inspiration from.
"His story is truly inspirational, and reading his book 'Not Dead Yet' after being diagnosed really kept me going.”
"Blindness, kidney failure and death were all predicted for him by the age of twenty-five when he was diagnosed as a child. He has surpassed that age without any of those predictions and look what he has achieved. So yes I look up to Phil, and that makes it even more special to be on this team."
Asked what he hopes to achieve in 2013, Clancy was quick to play down any expectations given the jump in levels he is taking, to Pro Continental.
"I don't expect to start winning races straight away. It's going to take time and effort to reach what my body is capable of. With the setup Novo Nordisk has, I’m confident I’ll achieve that. I’d see that I have what it takes, but that there are improvements to be made. It's not going to be as glamorous a lifestyle as many people might think but in ready for the challenge, bring on 2013.”
Topics
