Having started the season as an A4 rider, Christopher McGlinchey has taken several wins including a stage and the yellow jersey at the Tour of the North, above (Photo: Marian Lamb - Cycling Ulster)
One of the biggest surprises of the 2015 season so far has been 21-year-old downhill rider Christopher McGlinchey; the Belfast man having moved effortlessly from the A4 to the A2 ranks in a matter of weeks.
He started riding downhill aged 12 years and in recent seasons has competed in World Cups, his best result being 42nd against the best in the business as a junior.
After four years at the discipline he opted for a change and decided to put his focus into Enduro MTB racing, which requires a bit more road-like endurance.
And this year he’s continued that trend of pursuing more fitness with a move to the road scene.
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“I had always done some road riding as a part of my training but had never put as much time into it as I did this off season,” he explains.
The Belfast boy has long been a shark off road, but he has made an amazing transition to skinnier wheels in recent months.
“It was my coach Bryan McKinney from MellowVelo who said I should race the road and I thought it would only help my training so I decided to give it a go.”
He’s won several races already including the Annaclone GP and then the Phoenix GP before the Danny Boy Race in Derry.
He nipped out of the road scene back to MTB just before the Tour of the North to win the opening round of the Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup at Castlewellan before taking the TT stage and the yellow jersey in the Tour of the North.
He will now take a break for a couple of months as he’s committed to some enduro events, but after that it’s all systems go for the summer on the road.
“I’ll be back to compete in the National Championships and try and place well in the U23 category," he said of his immediate ambitions.
“The road racing has been a bit of an eye opener but I can see myself doing more in the future.
Already having worn the green of Ireland in big time downhill racing, McGlinchey said he'd love to emulate another off road specialist David Montgomery in riding for the Irish U23 road team.
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“I put in a lot of work during the winter but as far as experience goes I had zero.
“This year has just been a huge learning curve for me but I’ve been picking up bits and pieces of information at every race.
“I think after winning the the first two races I had a little more confidence but still felt I had so much to learn about the sport and the tactics.”
Indeed, McGlinchey admitted the biggest difference between his other disciplines has been the tactics involved.
“At the first few races I just wanted to chase every break so I sat at the front and ended up doing much more work than I needed to.
The ChainReactionCycles man makes it two wins in two days in the A3 race at the Phoenix GP in February (Photo: Marian Lamb – Cycling Ulster)
“I think the Wallace Caldwell was a big eye-opener as I was trying to ride against a full team of ASEA riders and it was next to impossible to do anything.”
But with every race comes experience and with experience comes a belief he can compete against the best in his category.
”I’ve been taking every race as it comes but I do want to place well in the U23 category at the Nationals.
”I'm hoping for a strong ride in the TT and beyond that I'd love to ride for Ireland.
“It’s been great to see the likes of David Montgomery race at a high level for Ireland at the recent Nations Cup and I’d like to do the same.”
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