Mark Dowling is trying to put himself right after health issues and believes should he get back on track in time, a stage win in the An Posr Rás is possible on a day with a late late climb.
By Brian Canty
Mark Dowling is firm in his conviction that he can win a stage of the An Post Rás – but not in his current state of health.
Following the Des Hanlon Memorial Classic last month, the former Polygon Sweet Nice rider, now back with DID Dunboyne, complained of an unexplained loss of power that subsequently turned out to be an iron deficiency.
And now he’s in a race against time to be 100 per cent for next month’s race.
Dowling said it’s a race he has put all his eggs into this year as he continues his quest to get back racing at Continental level. The Rás, he believes, is about the only place where he can showcase his talent to a wider audience.
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“All my bloods and iron are all over the place, I’m pretty disappointed,” he told stickybottle.
“Everything for me this year has been based around the Rás and I had only planned to start going well after Rás Mumhan.
“But after the Des Hanlon I had a massive loss of power and after getting my bloods done I found out my iron was rock bottom.
“It’s a shame because now was when I had planned to really start hitting the training hard and use Rás Mumhan as a big training block but everything has kind of just blown up in my face a bit.
“I’m expecting a hard time down there now. The Hanlon was okay, I knew I was behind on form I was happy to be able to still do okay given the form I had but after that it just went downhill.
“It will probably only be around the Tour of Ulster when I begin to go well. I’m already thinking it could be one of those ‘what might have been’ situations.
“This is the really important time for Rás training; I know why I’m going bad, I’m not over-trained or anything. It just means that with the way my health is at the moment I don’t recover from hard efforts.
“I’ve plenty miles in the bank, I just can’t access it now but if I get myself right I’ll be able to make use of all that training and I’ll be flying again.”
Dowling, who rode for the Polygon Sweet Nice Continental ranked team last year, was speaking to stickybottle before winning the Brendan Carroll Memorial race in Stamullen, Co Meath on Friday.
However, despite his winning solo attack from a breakaway there, he said his iron values remained a concern and that the win had come despite his health problems rather than any resolution of them.
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Of the Rás and his goals he said: “The king of the mountains is too hard for anyone to predict; it’s more about who ends up up the road and that involves getting in breaks every single day.
“I don’t think I have the experience to pick the right moves every single day in the Rás, I’m not strong enough to go for the overall, even a top 10, there’d be mistakes I’d make along the way.
“But I do think I’d be capable of a stage win and my aim was to go for one, like up Seskin Hill. I fully believe I can win the stage if I was in a group that got to the bottom of the climb.
“But now those plans are up in smoke a bit and I’ll only think about them again if I get my health back in store, then I can start dreaming again about that stage win.”
Dowling winning the queen stage of Kerry Group Rás Mumhan the year before last up Connor Pass. He's hoping to pull off a similar victory in the An Post Rás and pounce from a group up a late ascent if possible (Photo: Pat Doherty)
Of being back working in the family business and racing in Ireland this year he said: “I’m happy away racing here, I love it.
“But if the Polygon Sweet Nice team was going ahead again I’d have loved to be there with them because even if I only got five or six stage races abroad, that’d be more than what I’d be doing here.
“I still want to do all the races here but (with a Continental team) I would be getting to travel to a few UCI races around the world. That chance is gone for this year but I will try to get something for next year again.
“I was hoping with the Rás... the only place I can show myself and get a result is there. So that is why I put all my eggs in that basket.
“I’d have loved the Hanlon and a few more but I decided to just sacrifice those races and focus on the Rás. Besides, history has shown that guys who are trucking at Easter might be a bit flatter at the Rás.
“I’ve spent the winter doing savage training but holding back a bit and that’s been frustrating but I’m hoping to come around in the next few weeks.”
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