Winning the national championships in Omagh in June, now Damien Shaw will wear the champion's jersey with pride and a lot of ambition judging by these comments.
By Brian Canty
Damien Shaw has said he’s more motivated than ever to race and despite being 30 years of age feels he still has plenty of boxes yet to tick in cycling.
The Mullingar man has been officially named as an An Post Chainreaction rider and will join the team on their winter training camp in southern Spain early next week.
Alongside fellow Irishmen Jack Wilson, Daniel Stewart, David Montgomery and Connor McConvey, Shaw will join one of the best Continental teams on the European scene.
Having been approached by manager Kurt Bogaerts recently, Shaw weighed up his options in the interim before eventually putting pen to paper on a one-year deal this week.
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“I was always tempted since the initial offer was made but it was about opening up the door fully and seeing exactly what was on offer,” he said.
“I wasn’t going to do it half-arsed; I needed something big to motivate me to do it properly or not at all,” he added in reference to how he will take a leave of absence from his job in the fire service in his home town.
“It’s an opportunity to get into bigger races and that’s what I’ve been looking for the last few years.
Where it all began; riding for Mullingar Lakeside Wheelers in 2010. It's fantastic to see a man who cut his teeth in races like the Mullingar Two Day, above, will now be wearing the Irish champion's jersey competing against the pros (Photo: Joe Duffy)
“I’m going to the training camp in Calpe in a few days. I’m only a week after surgery so it’s all a bit new.
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“I don’t really know what races I’ll be doing yet but I’ll find out down there in Calpe.
“But we’ve talked already and Kurt has given me good indications I’ll be in races that suit me; he knows what type of rider I am.”
Though he had other offers, the race programme at An Post Chainreaction was what sold the idea to Shaw.
“I talked to Ryan Mullen and a few others and it’s the programme that’s the big attraction,” he explained.
“I’m not going to make a fortune but as long as I get a good programme I’m happy enough.
“For the most part I’ll base myself at home. I've proved I can get myself to a high level here but what I want are some good opportunities race-wise.
“I’ve been back training properly the last three or four days and I’m just so motivated now.
“The last winter I was fully committed was when I was going from a small club team to a bigger team (Aquablue) and this is the same.
“Coming up to my operation last week I was training away and watching what I was doing.
“I just can’t wait to get back training because I need to step it up a notch again and that’s a great motivation.”
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