David McCarthy will ride in the colours of the An Post-Chainreaction team for the next couple of months on a trial basis (Photo: Sean Rowe)
By Brian Canty
First year U23 Irish rider David McCarthy has secured a stagiaire, or trial, ride with the An Post-Chainreaction team until the end of the season.
The Cork man, who has been on the Nicolas Roche Performance Team for the last two seasons, has been racing and training in Belgium in recent weeks. He has been in touch with team manager Kurt Bogaerts, who has agreed to take McCarthy on board.
“I got the news after I did my first two amateur kermesses in Belgium,” explained the 19-year-old.
“I was just planning on going over and doing some amateur kermesse races and trying to make a name for myself in that scene. So when I got the call I was surprised but I’m delighted to be a part of the team for the rest of the year; it’s a great team.
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“I’m going into every race in the best condition I can, thanks to my coach Stephen Barrett. But it’s a big step up. I’m nervous but I feel I’m ready.”
So far McCarthy has done two pro kermesses; one in Gerardsbergen which was 15 laps of a 12-kilometre circuit that went halfway up the famous Muur. His second race was a pro kermesse in Meulebeke which was 17 laps of a 9.5 kilometre loop.
Of the latter he said: “It was flat with a lot of corners. It was really fast and tough; the average speed was crazy; 46 kph for 165 kilometres.”
McCarthy is one of a group of riders to have benefited hugely under the guidance of Philip Finegan at Nicolas Roche Performance Team-Standard Life over the last two seasons. Seen here third in line behind team mates Aaron Swan and Darragh Long (Photo: Dave Coleman - Dc Images)
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McCarthy, a cousin of Robert Jon McCarthy who is in his debut season with An Post-Chainreaction, will race tomorrow, Thursday. On Sunday he will travel to Holland for a UCI 1.2 event with the team, followed by several pro kermesses.
He said there was no pressure on him from the team because he would be racing against top professionals, including WorldTour riders.
"The Omega Pharma-Quickstep riders were riding in one race I've already done," he said.
"So really it's about getting through the pro kermesses; they’re so tough and there's not a lot of finishers."
He added when given jobs to do by the team in the UCI 1.2 and 1.1 races he will ride, he was fully committed to helping the team in any way he could.
“It's my first time racing in Belgium and it's been a massive experience so far. I'm very grateful to Kurt Bogaerts for the opportunity and I’m loving every minute of it.
“I’m sharing a room with Robert and my cousin Eoin isn’t too far away either so we all train together and race together and it’s great to have them watching my back in races.”
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