Javan Nulty has made a winning start to 2013 and is looking to race abroad in the future
By Brian Canty
With three wins to his name already this season, Javan Nulty is one rider who has certainly made his mark since the 2013 campaign began.
The 20-year-old DID Dunboyne man spent the winter training in Lanzarote with Mark Dowling. And after winning the CicliSport GP and Rás Maigheo in one weekend and following it up with victory in the Harry Reynolds Memorial last Saturday, he’s one rider with a big future.
“Saturday was a nice win but then on Sunday I crashed and broke my derailleur and had to pull out of the race,” he explained of the Ben McKenna Memorial in north Co Dublin last Sunday.
“I was surprised I won on Saturday, not to sound cocky but it was actually quite an easy race. It was fairly handy compared to other years, maybe it was to do with the change of circuit or something but the break just seemed to happen and suddenly the bell came for the final lap.”
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“I thought we had another few to go at that point and then sprinting up the hill I opted to go in the big ring, that worked out well and I was happy to have beaten someone like Craig Sweetman,” he added.
When not training, Nulty helps out in the family business installing fireplaces and stoves and will now turn his attention to the An Post Rás next month, a race he made his debut in last year Having come through last week’s Kerry Group Rás Mumhan he has every right to be confident.
“I was happy enough (with Rás Mumhan). The weather didn’t suit me after losing the weight I lost. The first day I seemed a bit dead-legged, so I learnt you must loosen out better before the race. The Saturday stage was a bit better - I was in the break coming over the Healy Pass. That’s probably down to the weight loss and the extra miles.”
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“Then on the rainy day (Sunday) the weather was unbelievable, it was so cold. There was no massive attacks, there was literally a split just after the start and we got into a group and rode over all the climbs. I remember the Dutch lads put us in the gutter for the last 40km and any of the lads there were just hanging on.”
“It wasn’t crazy hard but it would have been a lot easier if we’d all rolled through. I was regretting it after that I didn’t form another echelon. I was just happy to get in out of that day because it was so cold. The last stage then was alright, I was feeling pretty good but that small group slipped away. I knew it would be hard to bring back a group but I didn’t expect the Aquablue lads to leave it down to such a minimal amount of seconds. I thought they’d bring it back. I think they were even a bit shocked it was that close.”
With such consistent form, you’d wonder why he isn’t riding the Nations Cup this week. But that, he believes, was more down to timing.
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t considered. But I got word that my name wasn’t on the list at the start of the year and that it wasn’t for any reason that I wasn’t there but it was that they had to select a team weeks in advance and I wasn’t on the early list. But when I turned up and started winning races, suddenly I was up there with the top U23s, but the team was in and it was too late.”
“I think everyone believes you have to go abroad and race these races abroad to be in the reckoning for Irish teams. I do have experience abroad but people are very cynical about Ireland and how low the level is. I don’t think it’s as low as people are saying. There’s brilliant racing here, and I do plan to go abroad eventually but it’s important that lads know how to win races.”
“You see a lot of guys going from A2, having never won a senior race, going over to Belgium and everyone thinks they’re flying because they’re racing over there but they’ve never won a senior race. They don’t have it. They’ve never won. They don’t know how to win.”
It’s a valid point from a rider who represented Ireland at the Youth Olympics alongside Ryan Mullen just four years ago. And with such talent and motivation for the sport, Nulty says he’d love to be given a chance on the track, a discipline he says he loves.
“I raced a lot here on tracks in Ireland as a young fella but one thing I wanted to do was go away; I wanted to go and ride and train abroad because we’ve no real track here. I’ve a good love for the track and I’m hoping now that Brian Nugent can help out the U23’s with it.”
“It’s hard to get recognition here though, I was fourth in the pursuit and fifth in the scratch at the Nationals last year. I’ve been racing since I was a youth and I just love that sort of racing, on the edge of the saddle the whole time, you’re always pushing hard on the track and I love that. Maybe that’s why I love the smaller circuit races as well. It’s that sort of atmosphere. It’s shorter, harder racing and I love that sort of racing.”
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