Robbie-Jon McCarthy looking a little glum during the U23 Tour of Flanders in Belgium last year where he helped teammate Alex Edmondson secure victory. The 22-year old is on the comeback trail after he stepped away from full-time cycling in the summer of 2015. Here, he talks about why he quit the sport as well as his hopes for next year.
By Brian Canty
Former An Post Rás stage winner and yellow jersey wearer Robert-Jon McCarthy has opened up about the reasons he quit cycling last year only to return now with renewed enthusiasm.
The Cork-born 22-year old announced last week that we was joining JLT-Condor Cycles for 2017 and believes the period away from the sport will make him a better rider in time.
From an Irish perspective it’s great news too that he’s back as he’s set to declare for the country of his birth, and says “I am Irish”.
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“I have a Cork accent and was born and raised in Ireland,” he said proudly.
“I originally declared for Australia because I was racing there and was selected for the youth Commonwealth Games as a first year junior.
“At the time I wasn't thinking too far ahead and wasn't going to pass up that opportunity.
“I would have declared for Ireland much sooner only for the UCI regulation on waiting two years to ride the Worlds for your new nation, and as an Under-23 the Worlds was too important a goal to compromise,” he explained.
No sooner had he landed in Europe at the start of 2014 was McCarthy thrown in at the deep end; Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne against the likes of Andre Greipel and plenty more big hitters. An early immersion in the sport was one of the reasons McCarthy became disenchanted with cycling but he has since discovered his passion for it.
He stepped away from the sport last year after falling out of love with it, though he readily accepts now that he was the architect of his own downfall.
“A lot of factors contributed to the decision,” he reflected. “I’d say the main thing was I put way too much pressure on myself.
“I'm a super competitive and driven person, so I was in too much of a rush to become a pro.
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"And when things didn't go my way I'd get down on myself and think I was a failure and wasting my own and other people's time.
“If you look at 2015, I thought I’d had a terrible season because I hadn't won a race but looking back, it was my best season ever.
"I was extremely consistent and had some extremely impressive rides but in my mind I'd failed because I hadn't won a race. All I actually lacked was a bit of luck, in hindsight.
“Also, I had the usual fear of missing out; I'd see my school mates out partying and think it was a great life I was leaving behind.
“But again, in hindsight, I was wrong. Now I'm more excited about Sunday morning bike rides than Saturday nights.”
Robbie-Jon, right with his dad Noel (left) and family friend Joe Fitton are currently on an epic eight-day trip across the Outback in Australia, an experience not too dissimilar to the hugely popular Thereabouts documentary which featured Australian brothers Lachlan and Gus. (Photo credit: The Bike Station)
He’ll have plenty of racing with JLT-Condor when he makes the move to Europe in spring next year and even if he’s not pinned on race numbers in Europe for a while, he’s been keeping busy.
He’s currently on something of an epic trip through the heart of Australia with his dad Noel and some friends and when we speak he’s just completed his 27th hour in three days of eight riding into the Outback.
“I think it might take a few months of racing to come back up to the level I was at, or even the whole season.
“But I'm the same person as I was; I have the same legs, lungs and heart so I'm not too worried.
“I think I'll actually end up stronger after the year out as it's given me a much better perspective of life and that will keep me on track during the tougher times.
“Right now I'm in pretty good shape. I got back into cycling in May through mountain biking with my girlfriend and slowly I got the bug again.
“I won a 205-kilometre mountain-bike race a few weeks ago and rode an A grade crit featuring some Conti and national track team riders and I was competitive in the sharp end.
"So I'm happy with my condition considering I had such a long lay-off.”
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