Aaron Swan (in green) in action during last year's Youth Tour of Scotland, where he rode for the FBD Talent Team 2020 youth squad. He is now stepping into the junior ranks and has been named on the Irish junior squad for a training camp in Majorca next week.
By Brian Canty
An Irish junior squad of 11 riders will head to Majorca next Monday, February 17th, for a six-day camp led by Cycling Ireland development coach Neill Delahaye.
It’s the second camp Cycling Ireland will have hosted in 2014, with an eight-man team having already partaken in a two-day trip three weeks ago in Co Limerick.
Among the riders who will head to Majorca are Eddie Dunbar, Dylan O’Brien (both O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk), Mark Downey, Fintan Ryan, Michael O’Loughlin, Aaron Swan, (all NRPT-Standard Life), Declan Mulholland (Clann Eireann), Stephen Shanahan (Limerick CC), Josie Knight (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk), Carla Padden (Castlebar CC), and Rachel Kaye Mellor (Orwell CC).
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Cycling Ireland coaches Martin O’Loughlin and Orla Hendron will also travel.
Selected on the basis of recent trials and previous performances, the squad will take advantage of the school midterm break to train on the local indoor velodrome as well as the tough mountain roads of the area.
With the selection criteria for national teams in 2014 due imminently, the trip will be seen as an important step in the riders’ progression towards fitting into a team environment.
While the 2014 squad is made up of the best juniors in the country, others not included but who perform well enough will be eligible for inclusion in the set-up in the months ahead.
Some of those selected for next week’s trip have effectively stepped up from Cycling Ireland’s Talent Team 2020 squad, while others are older and are now second year juniors.
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The squad is underpinned by a strong development ethos rather than over burdening the riders with pressure to gain results.
Last month, Delahaye took the eight boys to Ballyhoura mountain bike trails in Limerick to help hone their bike handling skills as well as getting in some good miles.
“These are riders that have proven themselves with previous results or recent tests,” he said of the Majorca-bound group.
“This time of year it is about building form. This is a good block of training for the riders, while they have a window of opportunity in their studies.
“The mixture of track and road means that they will get to brush up on and improve their technical skills on the track, and also get to train on good roads, with renowned climbs, in better weather conditions than at home.”
Girls coach Orla Hendron said she believed her three charges for next week have big futures ahead of them.
“The riders selected for this camp have world class potential,” she said.
“There is also so much talent coming up, that these riders will constantly be pushed to keep their position on the team.”
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