On the cusp of a great opportunity: Eoin McCarthy on the front in Belgium this year. He will ride in bigger races in new colours next year (Photo: Martine Verfaillie)
By Brian Canty
Cork man Eoin McCarthy has said he is under no illusions about the enormity of what’s ahead of him after signing for the An Post-Chainreaction team during the week.
The 21-year-old Irish international, who has been a full-time amateur in Belgium for the last two years, added the most important thing for him was to develop as a rider and serve the team as best as he can.
“Every year I have made progress,” said the former Terra Safety Shoes man.
“I've always come up a level and made improvements, so I hope to continue with that. That's the most important thing for me.
Advertisement
“I want to bank as much experience as possible and prove I deserve to be a part of this team.”
He said the strength in depth of the squad – which includes fellow Irish internationals Conor Dunne, Sean Downey, Jack Wilson and Ryan Mullen – would push him on.
On international duty last summer; McCarthy last season began to finish very tough international races and believes the national team can move on and make a bigger impact next season.
"I’m still pretty young so I’m trying to define myself as a rider and hopefully next year will give me some more clarity for my future.
“Kurt (Bogaerts, manager) expects me to give 100 per cent throughout the year whether it be training or racing,” continued McCarthy.
He was looking forward to applying himself to the task, whether riding for himself or team mates.
“I had some interest from other Belgian Continental teams but I wanted this a lot more,” he said.
“It was my main goal for this year; to be signed by An Post-Chainreaction. So to finally get that call and reach that goal was great.
"It was a fantastic feeling. I felt this was the next step for my development after two hard years with Terra.
"I have big respect for Kurt and I worked with him for the first time this year at the Nations Cups as well as the Europeans,” he said, referring to Bogaerts managing the Irish U23 teams that McCarthy has ridden on in recent seasons.
“Those experiences made me want to join his team even more.
Related News
McCarthy in Rás action last year; he took a county rider prize and moving on a level would see him make a bigger impact on races like this.
"When he fixed my bike for me during the Europeans road race, while also driving the team car - it was incredible.
“I’ve never seen anything like it; my mech hanger snapped, he found one and sheared it down so it would fit my bike while Neil Martin took over the car for a few laps.
"That showed his passion and love for the sport and really showed me how much he cares about his riders.”
McCarthy, who took a county rider prize on the hardest day of the An Post Rás this year on stage 4 into Caherciveen, is unsure about what races he’ll be doing.
But he’s clear in his mind that Ireland’s showpiece stage race is again a target while making the Irish team again for the Nations Cup is another main goal.
But he said with the quality of the calendar his new trade team has put in place means there will be no shortage of opportunities to prove himself.
“Being Irish, the Rás would be a special one for me. I've shown I can ride well there so hopefully I'll be in good enough shape for May to get on the team.
McCarthy is developing as a hardy and reliable rider; both attributes he'll need in spades when he takes a step up next year.
“And in terms of being on the Irish teams for the Nations Cups; I think Flanders and Picardie in particular, are two races I feel I can do well in. They’ve been the fuel to my fire over the last few years.”
He said he felt very good in both races this year but made mistakes with positioning and getting caught behind crashes.
“But as a team we are getting better, you saw that with Ryan Mullen’s sixth place in the ZLM Tour last year.
"They are very hard races; full of us young, hungry U23 riders looking to get our 15 minutes of fame.
"A big result at the Nations Cups could change everything but I’d love to have a stage race in the legs before then this year.
"The last few years I went into them with very little racing so I think an extra year of experience and some higher level races before April will make a big difference.
“I think we can really make a big impact in 2015.”
Topics
