Stephen Shanahan is hoping to make it into the very top tier of Irish juniors in the coming season and get a place in the national team for the World Road Race Championships in Spain in September; seen here riding last year's Junior Tour of Ireland.
By Brian Canty
One of the most underrated junior riders in the country in 2013, Limerick CC’s Stephen Shanahan has set his sights on being in contention for a place on the start-line of the World Junior Championships in northern Spain in September.
Though he says gaining selection will take a huge effort given the wealth of under18 talent in the country right now, he pulled off some results last year that suggest he will be in the mix.
Beaten in the national junior championships road race by the width of Fintan Ryan’s tyre, Shanahan said there are times when he regrets not throwing the bike at the line a second faster up in Omagh. But he knows he’ll have a chance again this year.
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“Initially I was delighted with my result, and I still am,” he said.
“But it’s hard to not imagine what might have been if I pushed my bike that extra bit or if I didn’t ride as hard in the break, things may have panned out differently.
“But at the end of the day, I was as close to third as I was to first so I have to be happy. I think it’s possible to win it in 2014 but it’s hard to see past Eddie Dunbar, especially with the nationals in his home county in Cork.”
Though Dunbar lit up the junior scene in 2013, Shanahan was one of a clutch of riders just below him and the 17-year-old Crescent College student says he’s eager to get racing again. He has set himself some big targets for the new campaign starting in three weeks.
“I'd like to pick up a good overall result at the Gorey (Three Day) and be consistent in the A1-A2 races this year,” he explains.
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“I’d also hope to medal at the national championships again. But my main goals this year are to improve on last year’s Junior Tour with possibly a top three or four overall if all goes well with training.
“And just as important if not more so, is to represent Ireland at the world championships in Spain this year. I have one year left before the Leaving Cert so I want to do my absolute best this year.”
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The fifth-year student decided to pass up on applying to ride with the Nicolas Roche Performance Team, simply because he wants his own opportunities.
“It definitely would open a lot of doors and opportunities if I was on it. But I could be restricted to domestique role in the bigger races which is good for being a team player. But I think it’s also important to have personal aspirations for the big races.”
He says reaching his goals will be difficult given the opposition in the junior bunch.
“Obviously you have the big guns; Eddie Dunbar, Mark Downey and Dylan O'Brien and all of the other juniors on the national squad.
“But there’s a lot of first year juniors in 2014 to look out for including the likes of Michael O'Loughlin, Aaron Swan and my own team mate Sean Yelverton and the other guys who have just come up from the talent team.
“You can make this list a lot longer when you name the likes of Ronan Tuomey, Declan Mulholland, Caimin Muldoon and Cathal Clarke and a good few others. It’s going to be some battle.”
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