Stacey Kelly recalls the highs and lows with her father Sean Kelly at An Post-ChainReaction and says she is looking forward to new experiences with a new team.
By Brian Canty
Recently departed from An Post-ChainReaction, soigneur Stacey Kelly says she has opted to join JLT-Condor Cycles so she could do “new races, see new faces and have new experiences”.
The daughter of An Post-ChainReaction principal Sean Kelly has been with the squad for five years and travelled all over Europe with them during that time.
However, she felt it was time for a change and she will link up with her new team this month.
“I had lots of fun times with An Post,” she reflected.
“I have so much praise for all the management because they work so selflessly to provide such a good team and programme for guys.
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“I think some don't even realise the opportunity they’re getting.
“With a Continental team of our size we were always struggling to meet the budget.
“And believe me; I heard the conversations on the phone all the time. I'll miss them for sure,” she added.
Kelly is looking forward to her new environment and with JLT-Condor Cycles she’ll have a packed early season that includes races in New Zealand, Croatia, France and Taiwan.
She’ll still work for Cycling Ireland and is hopeful of getting to the Olympics in Rio, while major championships throughout the year are still part of her agenda.
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“It's going to be a big change for me and on a personal note as much as anything," she said.
“Obviously leaving my Dad and Kurt (Bogaerts) will be tough because I know them both so well.
“You go through the highs and lows together and become a bit of a family so I'll miss that aspect of it.
“But JLT-Condor Cycles will be a great experience and I'm looking forward to new races, new faces and new experiences with them.”
Kelly became close to the riders at An Post-ChainReaction and as well as being soigneur, her jobs ranged from picking splinters out of the bodies of crashed riders to “soaking up the negative energy” the riders vented at the end of hard days.
“There were good days and bad days but I loved it all; except the Etoile de Besseges in France.
“It's just a grim early-season race and my Nanny passed away while I was there a few years ago so that was hard.
“What I loved was massage time. This is probably the first time in the day where the riders express their thoughts and emotions from that day.
“I just listen to them and basically absorb it like a sponge; soaking up as much negative energy as possible to allow them rest and recover for next day’s racing.
“It was often very difficult, just knowing what to say; consoling riders when you see how disappointed they were after a race had gone badly is almost an art and that's hard.
"You kind of go through the highs and lows with them.
“But it was always fun and great craic - you'd want to see them around the weighing scales like a group of ladies at a weight watchers meeting!”
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