Ken Farrar, third from the right, with some of the MTN-Qhubeka staff during a training session at the Yas Marina Formula One circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi last week. The Dubliner has just returned home after spending the entire season with the squad.
By Brian Canty
Ken Farrar has had a year he’s unlikely to forget, the Rathfarnham man having spent the whole season working as a mechanic with top pro cycling team MTN-Qhubeka.
The father of two has just returned from the Abu Dhabi Tour and will spend the next couple of months at home before linking up with the team again in the New Year.
It’s an amazing story how he got to where he is now – and he makes no secret of the fact luck definitely played its part.
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“I started cycling in Dublin as a 16 year-old with a couple of mates and I always had a passion for it from day one,” he said.
“There was a gang of kids and we’d race around the block before we designed this six-mile course for ourselves.
“After that it was a natural progression into joining clubs and racing.”
A fresh-faced Farrar, third left, during his time as mechanic with the Irish track team. Also included are from left, Martyn Irvine, Caroline Ryan, Andy Sparks (coach), Phil Leigh (former performance director), Brian Nugent (coach) and Karen Doyle on the far right.
Farrar was into mountain bike and cyclo-cross as well as the road and always had a keen interest in mechanics.
After a number of voluntary positions served with teams and clubs he was recruited by Cycling Ireland during the early days of the elite track squad when Davy O’Loughlin and the late Paul Healion, amongst others, were in their prime.
But he wanted more and in 2010 he paid his own way to go to Paris-Nice and with him he brought a bunch of CVs which he distributed to the various team managers of the pro teams who were in the race.
“I got talking to Jonathen Vaughters (Garmin-SHARP) and David Brailsford (Team Sky) and I ended up sitting down with Vaughters for half an hour,” he explained.
“Then in September that year I was working in Appledoorn in the Netherlands (with the national track team) and an Irishwoman Sandra Ní Hodnae was working with Garmin.
Ní Hodnae (Hodnett) has a pretty unique story of her own here which we wrote earlier this year.
“I was telling Sandra my story so she went to Vaughters and he remembered me; he needed a man for logistics in Girona and I got a job driving for them because I had a bus licence.”
The following season Farrar worked the whole season with Garmin but the year after that, 2012, he was on the move again.
Hendrik Redant, a former Belgian pro and friend of Farrar ever since he raced in Ireland in the 80s, had taken over as Directeur Sportif at American professional team UnitedHealthcare.
Farrar got in touch and the rest is history.
Farrar and MTN-Qhubeka rider Daniel Teklehaimanot take a break to enjoy some of the sights in the United Arab Emirates recently. The team were in the country racing the Abu Dhabi Tour, which was Farrar's last of the season.
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“I was at the start of the Tour (de France) in London and we were just chatting.
“Then I heard he was taking over UnitedHealthcare so I started with them in Belgium and worked for 2 years (2011 and 2012).
“But I came back to Ireland in 2013 and ‘14 because I had 2 kids in school, but I was working with local teams like the Nicolas Roche team and Timmy Barry’s teams for the Rás.
“Then I got itchy feet again this year so I sent one CV to Brian Smith at MTN-Qhubeka.
“I knew who he was, but never really talked to him and he invited me on board.
“I had my bus licence so I knew I could only do two things; drive the bus or be team mechanic, but he only wanted a mechanic.
“Prior to that, when I was at Garmin the head mechanic there was Jeff Brown who worked for Motorola and Brian rang him for a reference; he gave me the thumbs up so I started this year for the Spring Classics.”
It has been a dream year for Farrar and the team; a debut in the Tour was followed by a stage win through Steve Cummings and another stage win at the Vuelta (through Kristian Sbaragli) capped a remarkable Grand Tour campaign.
“I started in January in the freezing cold in Belgium; my first races were Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.
“There were 12 hour days getting ready for the classics and it was pretty much like that the whole season.
“But it’s been good. I’ve seen some amazing countries, probably every country in Europe - though Norway stands out as being the best, despite the cold.
“lt can be stressful from time to time but it’s very enjoyable; MTN are by far the nicest bunch I’ve ever worked with.
“That positive atmosphere is great to be in and that was apparent in the Tour when we won the stage.
“You saw what it meant to the riders and the staff and our followers.”
Hopes are high they’ll make a similar impact in the Giro next year and with a host of new signings and sponsors the immediate future looks very good.
“We’ve a lot of new faces in for next year so the pressure will be on again to deliver,” continued Farrar.
“But we’re hopeful of making a bigger impact with the likes of Cavendish on board.
“It’s great being a part of something you love and the passion the riders’ have makes our jobs so much easier.
“It’s tough, and especially in the early season it’s very tough; the weather is so bad, the bikes demand high maintenance.
“People think the bikes just need to be washed before races but they’re washed almost every day after the training spins. Nothing is left to chance!”
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