Thomas Fallon, seen here winning in Carlow last March, has bagged a deal with Vacansoleil juniors
By Brian Canty
One of the country’s most promising young junior riders has landed a superb deal with one of the top teams in the world.
Thomas Fallon, a Leaving Cert student from Co Galway, has been signed up by the Dutch-based Vacansoleil junior squad for 2013. It will see him link up with some of the top riders in the world following his State exams in June.
Speaking to stickybottle from the team's launch this morning in Holland, a delighted Fallon explained how it all came about.
“I was supposed to be guest riding with a club team out here in Holland and I came out after Christmas for a week,” he said.
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“We went out training with a few of them and we ended up having a bit of craic on a club spin that turned into a bit of racing. And at the end of it all they offered me the opportunity to ride with them until the end of this season and I took them up on that.”
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It sounds all so simple, but for a rider of Fallon’s talent it was anything but as those riders he ended up racing against had all been to the Junior Worlds last year in Holland. Indeed, some were already even signed up to the Rabobank U23 team. But the 18-year-old is taking it all in his stride.
“I’m staying out here with two of the guys in the team. I’m ideally situated where I am because all around here it’s a fierce cycling hub and they can offer me a huge programme to get into the UCI races which was what I was looking for.”
And though he will be based in Ireland for the next few months while he focuses on his exams, he said it will be manageable to balance both training and studying, particularly with such a golden opportunity awaiting him in June.
“I can manage the training and study;100 per cent. You’d be a bit tired but look, you can study up until 10 o’clock at night so if you train when you come home from school you can do it. I’ll be coming back out after the Leaving Cert. I want to ride the Worlds this year so my programme all depends on what Cycling Ireland decide to do; maybe I’ll get picked on the team, maybe I won’t. But I want to give myself every chance.”
“Vacansoleil have agreed that they’ll work around Irish events too so it’s all falling into place for me at the moment. They can offer me the biggest races for my age group which is unbelievable for me.”
We wish him all the best for 2013.
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