Gavin Noble leads the bunch on stage 3 in Rás Dhún na nGall when his yellow jersey was under threat, only for Mark Downey - second in line here - to pounce in the final 5km when Noble was spent. Downey pulled back the time that ultimately won him the race overall. (Photo: Eymard Brennan)
After a successful 2012 Olympics as the first Irish male triathlete ever to represent Ireland at a Games, Gavin Noble has been trying his hand at bike racing, taking 2nd overall in Rás Dhún na nGall at the weekend.
Noble endured a lengthy road to make it to the London Olympics, having narrowly missed a place last time around in Beijing. He qualified for last year’s Games despite being plagued with a leg injury for much of the build up, and while he stayed well in contention during the swim and bike in London, he fell back on the run to finish in 23rd place.
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He has since had an operation on his leg and while recovered enough to bike and swim, running is still problematic. So it was in search of some competition that he went to Donegal at the weekend, where he spoke to Hazel Scorer after four tough stages.
Q. Why did you choose this race?
I’ve been racing on the bike in the past few months to get ready for my triathlon season and in my training programme I am using 'blocks' of work and then having a lighter day or few days to absorb the training. So the three-day in Donegal was a perfect fit; three hard days of overload to boost my fitness.
Q. Has this been your toughest bike race yet?
It was toughest in terms of having to 'defend' (the yellow jersey he took after the stage 2 TT) and riding on the front but it was also very enjoyable. I liked the fact that I 'wasn't supposed to be challenging' as I am not a cyclist!
Q. What was the best and worst aspect of the race?
I felt pretty strong each day and as a triathlete I am used to the fatigue levels, so I can recover quickly enough. It was my first time in Ardara and the scenery was incredible. Sometimes I head to St Moritz for training in the summer but maybe now I’ll just go to Donegal!
The worst bit was my mistake on stage 3 coming in the bunch but there being a 1.3 second split which cost me the race overall. I actually was confused as to who the riders were. On stage 4 when the yellow jersey was being presented I asked 'who is that!?' Some of the guys were riding for Ulster but had Nicolas Roche Performance Team shorts on some days, black some days, green some days! I had actually thought Craig McAuley was Mark Downey, as he had been shadowing me for most days; would ride the hills in the top three and I thought out of our bunch on stage 1 was a stronger rider.
Anyway, the less I talk of what I was thinking, why I thought I needed to ride and in terms of tactics the better! Most of the time I was just thinking 'feck it, I am here to ride, I am riding hard every day otherwise it has been a waste of my time in terms of my triathlon season build up'. Of course I didn't come to do badly but at the same time my goals were a little different from maybe the other teams and junior teams in particular who race these races with more focus and need more of a showing in terms of the overall result. My sponsors etc are looking for triathlon results and while they might congratulate me they would still rather see me post a triathlon result.
Q. Are you enjoying cycling races? Is cycling becoming your favourite?
I’m enjoying the cycling racing – it’s very different to triathlons in Ireland. In triathlon we have a little bit more 'razzamatazz' and better prize money which is obviously great. But then there is a little bit more hassle involved, more kit to pack, more recovery to take post event. In cycling you rock up, pay on the day, stand on the line and go. And because it's non-impact it doesn't take as long to get back into training. I’m enjoying the bike racing but I’m also missing triathlons and that is always my goal.
Q. How did you come to form a team with Lakeland CC?
I am from Enniskillen and I was with Lakeland CC when I lived at home; I did the club races. And so they still hold my licence I think. I’d been riding unattached this year but the organisers made a point of telling me I had to ride for a team or in team colours, so (I rode) in Lakeland colours, which was great.
Q. I heard that you may have fared even better if you had employed team riding tactics/working with the other riders rather than spending so much time in the front. Was this the case and if so why?
I was in Lakeland B and the guys helped as much as possible, especially Raymond Dunlop. He did a great ride on the last day; lining it out, keeping the pace high, not letting Ulster dictate. But we found more often than not that I got isolated and having to chase things. Sometimes I guess when people know you are strong they look to you to chase, especially in yellow. And as I said, I was there to ride hard and to push my own limits. I guess everyone was talking about 'tactics' but when you find yourself alone against two or three teams when what do you do?
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I don’t do much 'sprints or jumps' in training at the moment so I was more comfortable riding tempo. I was more comfortable towards the front. We would be riding a long very slowly and if anyone jumped they would get 30-40 seconds straight away so I had to limit that because GC was very tight.
On the final stage I sat in for the first 15km but got a little bit bored; it was more exciting to be pushing it. We kept the pace high and I attacked when I had a cross wind and Mark was the only rider able to hold on. And even then when we got up to the breakaway group I still wanted to ride. 'Feck the group' and the games I thought. I only had a chance on the final stage if I was able to whittle it down. It was going to come down to cat and mouse and that wasn’t going to be easy if the 3rd, 4th and 5th GC rider were still there. I thought tactically I did well on Sunday but I just hadn’t enough, I am a big boy too and Glengesh wasn’t made for me! When we got to 100m to go and I knew it was over and that was that . . . I wasn't really interested in the stage, nor was Mark so we were going very slowly at times up Glengesh - almost to a track stand on the final hairpin.
Overall I really enjoyed it. I hope Mark and the rest of the juniors go to bigger and better things so I can tell the story when it was me against them.
Q. Have you ever cycled as part of a team similar to the French cycling teams who have on occasion recruited Irish triathletes like Aileen Morrison and Conor Murphy?
Not cycling teams - they are triathlon teams in a 'grand prix format, I raced those for years - racing for Cesson, US Vendome and currently I’m signed to St Jean De Monts.
Q. Are you going to come back to do Rás Dhún na nGall next year and are you approachable if cyclists want to team up with you?
I’m not sure about what I’m doing next week never mind next year! Of course I would love to ride there again. I would also maybe like to ride the An Post Rás one day; you always have to look for new challenges.
Q. How does riding in a bike race differ to riding in the bike leg in triathlon?
Triathlon is obviously shorter - 40km. And the first 5km are a lot tougher as you are maxing out after swim. And the 'selection' is made a lot sooner. Tactics differ of course as we have a run to think about but I would say the pace is very similar - similar to stage one of this year’s race, there are a lot of similarities and that’s why bike racing is good for me .
Q. You did well in Rás Dhún na nGall. How have you prepared for this race?
I didn’t prepare for it specifically. I’m riding in the Wicklow Mountains quite a lot and I guess that prepared me for the hilly routes in Donegal.
Q. I have a few girlfriends, mainly rogue triathletes who plan to take on this challenge as a team next year. Any advice? What would be important to do in training to nail this race? I have heard that swim and run won’t help the bike. Is this true?
You get better on the bike by riding your bike - swimming and running is a little bit more difficult - ride hills, ride hard, ride races, ride hard, ride hills!
Q. What’s the career plan at the moment?
The plan today is to swim and bike, eat and travel back to Dublin. Anything else is a bonus. I will probably have a similar day tomorrow and the next day.....
Q. I wonder how you stayed motivated to keep going for the Olympics after you missed it the first time. There must have been some fairly rough days out biking in the cold on your own and you didn’t even know if you were going to get anywhere, or did you?
I always knew. If you don’t have confidence in yourself or intrinsic motivation then that's when you don’t go out cycling alone or in the cold. I’m an Irish triathlete so if training alone or the cold got to me I wouldn't still be here.
Q. Have you any kind of solid belief about yourself or life in general that you hang on to when the going gets tough?
Eventually the pace will let up......
