Mel Spath in her National Champion's jersey riding for her US-based Team TIBCO this season; she's ready to defend her road title in Carlingford on Saturday but says there are others in the field who can also win.
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By Brian Canty
All eyes will be on reigning national champion Mel Spath when she goes to the line on Saturday afternoon for the women’s title race in Carlingford, Co Louth.
The defending champion won a thrilling race in Clonmel last year from Siobhan Horgan (GSD Gestion), Olivia Dillon (Now and Novartis for MS) and Lydia Boylan (Look Mum No Hands) after they broke away from the peloton early in the race and had almost two minutes by the finish.
This year Spath says she is in better shape but also points to the quality elsewhere in the field.
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“There’s not much climbing in it so there will be more people hanging on,” she said.
“It will be a more bunchy race and it won’t break up as easily as it did in Clonmel. Olivia Dillon is there as well this year and there are a few people who can do well. I shouldn’t be the only one to watch. I wasn’t watched last year and that’s why I won but I won’t be the only rider in Saturday’s race.”
“I had a look at the course and it is a lot more suited to me as a rider now than it would have been last year. Now, I don’t need to be that light for this course, and I have more power so I think it will help me.”
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Now racing with the US-based Team TIBCO, Spath has had an exhausting few months.
“I’ve done some racing in California, done a training camp there, then off to the East Coast for the crit racing. Every two days we were changing locations,” she explains.
“Then we were over to the west and off to China for a week. We’d arrive the night before and the next morning we’re starting a stage race and then back to California for a few days, then to Canada, California again, Chicago, Washington and then home, so it has been a lot.”
“You underestimate how much it takes out of you and the biggest thing is sleep deprivation. I’ve slept very little with the time difference and the jetlag, it’s exhausting.”
“People always tell me I have a good background with a PhD and that I could get a good, and a well-paid, job. But you couldn’t buy this experience, not for all the money in the world.”.
The rigours of recent months have improved her as a rider though, and that’s why she feels she can win the road race crown this year again.
“My strength hasn’t changed much but I’ve become a much smarter rider,” she reasons.
“I used to be more of a diesel engine but because of the crit racing I’ve become a lot better at doing short, sharp attacks and then recovering in between. Before, I was only able to do 5-10 attacks an hour, now I can do more and recover faster.”
She was second last year in the time trial title race to Dillon, and is unsure about her form this time round, having not ridden very many tests this year.
“I’ve had a bit of trouble trying to get comfortable with (my TT position). Because of my travelling I haven’t spent as much time on the TT bike as I’d have liked to and also the type of racing I’ve done is the complete opposite to time-trialling. But since last week I’ve been on the TT bike every day, tweaking my position and my numbers are good so hopefully it all comes together now for tomorrow.”
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