Mark Dowling on his way to another Rás county rider prize on Seskin Hill last year. He says he’ll be “reckless” in the race this year (Photo: Ramsey Cardy – Sportsfile)
By Brian Canty
Mark Dowling says his performance at the Des Hanlon Memorial last Sunday is nowhere near what he’s capable of and his best results come when he’s out training.
The DID Dunboyne man blitzed the field to record one of his biggest ever wins and will head to the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan over Easter as one of the favourites.
Some would argue he deserves a shot at a higher level and when asked why he’s not there already he answered: “I have no idea.
“I always say I know what I can and can’t do; if I was in a pro race I wouldn’t be up in the sprints.
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"I wouldn’t be up there in the time trials but in the climbs I’d be up there right at the front on the biggest climbs.
“It looks like a great ride on Sunday but I know by my power that’s nowhere near what I’ve done in training.
Dowling isn’t afraid to speak his mind and says he can challenge the best on the biggest climbs. He’s been a prolific winner of the biggest races at home for the last number of seasons. (Photo: Ramsey Cardy – Sportsfile)
“My biggest performances are in training. The races aren’t my situation at all sometimes, I just make the best of a bad situation.”
Dowling said being without a team where he can really showcase his ability against the best has left him frustrated – but not lacking motivation.
“I’m not too old to move up,” he believes.
“I’m still new to cycling. I’m still improving at the same rate juniors are improving and I’ll keep going.
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“I said it at the start of the season that I’d keep improving.
“In the winter I never stopped, I didn’t need to. I had too much motivation.
Dowling still believes he can progress up the ranks in the world of cycling.
“People keep saying ‘you need a break’ but every reason I was given didn’t apply to me.
“I wasn’t tired, my head wasn’t gone. I didn’t lose motivation, why do I need to stop?”
Ironically, Dowling said he will actually stop training now and take two weeks off before Rás Mumhan so he can build up again for the Rás.
“As crazy as it sounds I’m going to take two weeks off now because I’m not focussing on Rás Mumhan; if I try and keep it going I’ll be flat by the Rás.”
And speaking of the big one in May he said: “It’s a flat Rás so I’ll be reckless every day, reckless.
“I’ll just go up the road as often as I can and treat them like one-day races, doing mad stuff.
“But to get into top form I need to knock it off now. I can justify taking two weeks off now.”
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