Eventual overall winner, UCD CC's Sean McKenna leads Aquablue's Robin Kelly on Sunday's final stage of the A1 race at the Stafford Wholesale Wexford Two Day (Photo: www.blackumbrellaphotography.com)
By Brian Canty
UCD rider Sean McKenna is an example to any aspiring cyclist. From being unable to hang onto A3 bunches to winning A1 stage races less than a year later, the Dubliner has proven that with hard work and the correct attitude, anything is possible.
The 19-year-old took the biggest win of his fledgling career to date last Sunday when he won the Stafford Wholesale Wexford Two-Day A1 race in Camross, Co Wexford.
While it was a small field, he beat off strong competition from the likes of Eddie Barry (Planet Tri), Robin Kelly (Aquablue) and Dermot Radford (Tipperary Wheelers).
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McKenna got in the breakaway on both days and did an “okay hill climb”. But those rides were enough to see him wrestle the yellow jersey from Radford on the final day.
“I knew something would go the first day inside the first 10k and it’d just split the bunch in two because it was so small. So I followed everything for the first while,” he explained.
“I knew Radford was as strong as a horse and as soon as he put the hammer down we got a decent gap."
"I knew once I got in the main break I’d be okay. I didn’t really mind about the stage win. I knew I wouldn’t have a hope sprinting against the likes of Robin Kelly or Radford because they’re twice the size of me."
“So I was well placed going into stage two and I did an okay hill-climb to be still in contention. And the last day, my dad was telling me I had to be in the break.”
Sean's father, Mick McKenna is a former international who rode in the colours of Kalkoff. His uncle is Ciaran McKenna, a veteran rider who is still racing and who, like his elder brother, was one of the best riders in the country on his day. He rode for Emerald CC and earlier in his career for Kalkoff.
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“So Robin Kelly got up the road,” continued Kelly jnr of Sunday's concluding stage in Wexford.
"My teammate Eoin Morton was in between in no man’s land, so I jumped across to him and told him to just floor it. We got a decent gap, it was 40 seconds for a while, and we got across to Robin. We hit the main road then and he (Kelly) was like a motorbike."
“Our gap to the group behind then was 1:05 but I told Eoin to floor it because I knew if we got the gap up the chasers would get demoralized. And by the time we got the bell the car told us we had doubled our gap, and it was all thanks to Eoin.”
McKenna only had eight seconds to spare on Kelly on the final overall standings, but it was enough. And he puts the win down to the training he did with UCD since joining less than 12 months ago, having previously ridden with Orwell Wheelers.
“We did some really good miles over the winter. They’d go out Saturday and Sunday and usually do 110 or 120 kilometres. But they’d be going around the north side of Dublin and it’d be an extra 30 kilometres for me."
"But literally, if you wanted to see how much I developed in the last 12 months.... I was an average size, skinny and around 5’ 8” but I grew a lot. I’m 6' 3" now. By the end of last season I was 5' 10" but now I've had to go from a 52cm frame to a 58cm, with the seat post as high as I can put it. I got much stronger and took after my father I’d say!”
“I started A3 because I was junior last year. I couldn’t even hang onto an A3 bunch though – I was rubbish. Ciaran Campbell and Danny Bruton used give me a hiding. But I had a handy enough college year and I was able to do a bit of cycling and the McKenna gene kicked in!"
“So this year then I got results in Newbridge and a few others, but won the Lucan GP in April. I was up to A2 then and my first race was the Des Hanlon and I got absolutely hammered there. I didn’t even do 100k."
"I knew then what standard I had to be at and I started to get some unplaced A2 prizes not long after that. Then I got points in Donegal, second in the Meath GP and then I got upgraded to A1. Since then it’s been going pretty well."
“The club have been brilliant too, there’s a really good vibe there with the standard of riders we have. We’ve some really, really good riders. There are lads coming back to race next year and we’ll have five A1s I think, so that augers well for next year.”
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