Dylan Foley may be just weeks out of the junior ranks but he has already imposed himself on the early elite action this season. Seen here beating Anthony Walsh (UCD CC) for 3rd place in the Lacey Cup the weekend before last. The duo would sprint it out again at the weekend in the Cycleways Cup, where Walsh got the verdict for 2nd ahead of Foley after Damien Shaw had taken a solo win.
By Brian Canty
Within five minutes of the flag being dropped at the Cycleways Cup in Co Meath on Sunday, teenager Dylan Foley was at the head of affairs and in the thick of the jumping around with some of the best riders in the country.
In just his second race out of the juniors, the 18-year-old got into the eight-man breakaway of the day. And with Aquablue team mates Damien Shaw and Sean Lacey there, they enjoyed a numerical advantage mixed with power that was going to be hard to beat.
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Indeed when the gap between the escape and the rest of the field began to open, it was game over for anyone who missed the boat.
“I was at the front going up the first couple of bumps,” said Foley.
“I jumped on Greg Swinand’s wheel and as soon as there was a stall I attacked and Paddy Clarke (Liquidworx-Fitscience) and Anthony Walsh (UCD CC) came across with me just after the turn before the climb.
“The legs were surprisingly good. I was a bit wary of going too hard too soon and I made sure I stayed fed and watered. I knew the distance would probably catch me towards the end because that was one of my longer races.”
However, despite his slight trepidation Foley said he felt very strong apart from suffering a little in the last 10km. With team principal Tim Barry warning pre race that a move would go early and stick, Foley approached the first portion of the race with the kind of intensity normally reserved for the closing stages.
He said once he saw team mate Lacey and last year’s winner Conor Murphy, now riding for Caldwell Cycles-Omagh, making the move he strongly suspected he was onto a winner and made sure he was with them.
Foley pulled hard with the breakaway men and when the race entered the crucial final lap he was the one forcing the pace.
“Going onto the last lap Sean and Damien were talking constantly; giving me advice on what to look out for. Coming off the main road, Sean had said to me he'd make a move. But when he was marked, I decided to have a go then and got away.”
Foley took a very good overall win in the Gorey Three Day last year and seems to have made a very smooth transition from the junior ranks after two podium places from his first two outings of the new season (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie)
With UCD CC’s Walsh riding across to him, the duo held a slender lead of between just 10 and 15 seconds for a while.
“Once we got onto the climb we pulled it out a bit. Going up the last hill I was sore but once we got down off it and onto the main road I managed to get my second wind.
“I thought we’d be caught going into the headwind but Anthony was riding very strongly as well and we shared the work well together; brought the gap to 50 seconds.”
Having finished 3rd in the Lacey Cup in Tralee the previous weekend, Foley conceded that thoughts of winning in Navan started to impose themselves once that final climb was out of the way and he and Walsh still had a good lead on the chasers.
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However, with two strong team mates not far behind, he suspected there were a few twists and turns to come before the finish. Behind, it was Shaw who did the damage; jumping after the leaders not long after overcoming a puncture.
“When I saw Damien come across I knew things were good then,” Foley said.
“I thought it’d get easier with him there but it actually got a bit harder. He told me with 5km to go he was going to jump so I kept doing as many turns as I could just to make sure the gap would stay out to the boys behind. And once Damien went, then that was that.
“Anthony knew he didn’t have the legs to go with it because he was after riding hard with me up the road. I don’t think anyone would have stayed with Damien.”
Foley said despite having one Aquablue for company and now chasing one up the road, Walsh continued to ride through with him; perhaps aware the win was gone but both keen to secure the podium spots.
“I think after beating him in the sprint last week (in Tralee) he was wary so he kicked with a kilometre to go. I could feel it in the legs. I just about got onto his wheel and counter-attacked on the descent. I thought I had him but I probably went too early and he came around me.
“When you’re up there, it’s always good. But you’d like to win; that’s competitiveness.”
However, he insisted he did not expect to be among the last three standing in a war of attrition like Sunday’s so was content afterwards.
Having enjoyed a very good season last year as a second year junior with the Nicolas Roche Performance Team, which included selection for the road race at the World Championships, he has clearly started this year where he left off in 2013. Only this time he is doing the business with the elites.
“People were saying the Leaving Cert would hold me back it’s actually helped me in some ways; it’s taught me discipline and how to use my time effectively and when to train,” he said.
“I just need to be a lot more structured and use the hours wisely. It’s hard some days; you’d be coming home tired but I get over it. There’s the racing at the weekends to be looking forward to, so that keeps me going.
“I’d say I haven’t missed a training day. This year I’m minding myself a lot better and I’ve changed my diet around as well.”
He said his new team mate Bryan McCrystal, a former international triathlete, had helped him with his diet, while Tim Barry was also a constant presence overseeing his preparation and upping his training this year.
Foley felt he had also been brought on by simply being in a team environment that included riders like Shaw, Lacey, McCrystal, Robin Kelly and others.
“I’m just going weekend to weekend, but the main goal is Rás Mumhan at Easter,” he said of the early season.
“There’s a good block of races there with the Des Hanlon in March, the Shay Elliott and Nenagh Classic as well as Rás Mumhan in April. So I’d like to have a bit of form for those.
“Then maybe the Tour of Ulster in May as well, before I back it off for the Leaving Cert and get focused on the bike again after that. I haven’t really said what results I want, but form-wise that’s kind of the main block I want to be ready for.”
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