Matthew Doyle riding the junior race at the World Road Championships last year; he didn't make the Irish team for it this year but feels he had a good season. And with a new team in place in Belgium for his first season at U23 level next year, he sounds ready to go.
By Brian Canty
Ireland’s Matt Doyle will ride for the Gaverzicht team in Belgium for the 2014 season after they were sufficiently impressed with the former Foyle CC man during a month’s trial in August.
The mainly U23 squad based in the West Flanders region is promising a packed racing agenda, as well as team get-togethers and training camps before the racing gets underway.
Doyle, who will be entering the U23 ranks next year, rode for the Jonge Renners team in 2013; taking a number of top 10s and even a win. He said he’s excited about what’s in store.
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“I was with them last year, and won a race with them and then I got an offer to go back for next year,” he told stickybottle.
“It will be nice to get into the U23 category, we’re starting off at a training camp in Benidorm for a week in January, and a team bonding trip next month. So that will be good to get to know the team better.”
Doyle said 2013 was a year of learning for him, in what was his first full season racing on the Continent.
“This year was more about getting used to the higher standard. The inter-club races are top racing; 200 riders most of the time. And it took this year to get used to that, riding as a team.”
“It was a good year all round I think, I think I got 10 top 10s and three podiums and I rode the Tour of Flanders and the Track Worlds with the Irish team. It was a good season and I learnt a lot. Because I was still a junior, I wanted to learn and get bunch riding skills, try not to take it too seriously.”
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He also rode the Junior Tour with the Irish team but had to pull out on stage 3 after falling ill.
“I got sick, I got a bug. I think it was food poisoning. The night before the stage 1 time trial I wasn’t feeling good at all and I had no legs the day of it.”
“Then the second day I had no legs and lost 20 minutes. The third day I was dropped in the neutralized zone and just jacked it. I could barely get out of bed that morning, let alone ride the bike.”
“I was on antibiotics for a week, the doctors reckon it was food poisoning and my immune system was low and then I got a bug on top of that. I was very down because I had been looking forward to racing in Ireland after being away all year.”
He did get a chance to prove himself at the World Track Championships with the team pursuit squad, something he said was a highlight. But that was tempered by a disappointing performance at the national championships, especially when he was a fabulous second in 2012 as a first year junior.
“We had the Track Worlds a week before the nationals and I peaked for the former so I didn’t expect to be up there, having been on the track for the previous month.”
“It was a different experience. I’m more of a roadie but I enjoyed the team pursuit, it was good. It would have been nice to do better though. They’re a great bunch of lads on the team and we all got on well.”
After those championships on the Glasgow velodrome, he had hoped to make the three-man Irish team for the World Road Championships in Florence last month. But he was once again left wondering what might have been as he had to settle for the reserve slot.
“That was the biggest disappointment for me because coming towards the end of the season I was flying. I got third in Belgium before I came home. So to lose out when it was a climber’s course; it ended the season for me to be honest."
"I just lost all interest. I lost all motivation. It was pretty bad now. Ah well, these things happen. I thought I had the experience, but these things happen.”
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