Caimin Muldoon (in red overshoes) has progressed very significantly in recent years and is hopeful of nicking a few results in his first year as a junior.
By Brian Canty
After getting lost in one of his first races to such an extent that a rescue car had to be deployed to find him, Galway teenager Caimin Muldoon has progress hugely in recent years and in 2014 will ride in the colours of the Standard Life-backed Nicolas Roche Performance Team.
From Loughrea, the 16-year-old is one of four new recruits drafted into the squad, alongside fellow newcomers and first year juniors Michael O’Loughlin, Aaron Swan and Craig McCauley before Christmas.
And Muldoon has gotten right down to business, logging big miles in the west ahead of the new season.
“My dad has been coaching me and I think I have laid a good base over the winter,” he said.
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“We have been spending a lot of time on some very technical cross-country trails - I find it great for bike handling and for core stability and strength.
“I'm just starting to up the intensity a little from now on, and will probably do some of the local races next month. I think the challenge for me this year is to get used to racing for longer periods of time than what I would have done at youth races.”
Last year was a very good one for Muldoon, the highlight of which was arguably the Errigal International Youth Tour where he finished fourth overall.
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“Yeah it was quite a year; from what I expected of myself and how I actually performed,” he said.
“I picked up some nice wins with solo breaks and those wins felt great and to be going so well at the youth tour was brilliant. We had targeted that race and I think I rode very well there, taking a few podium finishes.
“It was a real battle because I had no team support and had to read what was going on with the teams fighting for yellow and try and use that to my advantage. I had also raced a nine-stage race in Holland a few weeks beforehand to improve my criterium racing and it really paid off.
“I always wanted to get onto the Nicolas Roche team so you could say that was the biggest result for me from last year. I worked hard, rode honestly, raised my profile and gave myself the best chance for selection.”
Having given a good account of himself as a youth rider and secured a good platform to get stronger as a junior, Muldoon knows the coming season will be much harder than last year.
“This year is really just about learning for me,” he said.
“I would love to get some good results of course but I really just want to experience racing with a team because that's something I have never done before.
“I think on any given day anyone can be a threat and this year there’s a very strong field of junior riders. But some of us first years might slip under the radar and pull a fast one.
“So who knows, I would love to win a stage of the Junior Tour as it's a pretty big deal in my mind; with strong international teams and the publicity it gets. I got to see some stages last year and the atmosphere was great and I’d love to be a part of that.”
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