Ryan Mullen poses for a picture with his dad Kevin, who will be a proud parent on Sunday when he sees his son storming through the Arenberg Forest in a race only the toughest are even considered for.
By Brian Canty
Following an impressive debut at the 1.HC-ranked Scheldeprijs on Wednesday where he was 25 seconds down on winner Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep), Ireland’s Ryan Mullen is looking forward to his maiden voyage in a race dubbed the ‘Hell of the North’ this Sunday.
The 21-year-old former national road champion is among the youngest in the Paris-Roubaix field that will do battle over the 258-kilometre race.
“My first real memory of the race is watching the 2010 edition where Cancellara soloed away from the rest of the peloton,” recalls the Cannondale neo-pro.
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“It really inspired me to go out and absolutely smash myself on the bike.
“Seeing Cancellara winning (in 2010) is up there with my highlights of Paris-Roubaix but Boonen doing the same thing (in 2012) is probably the one edition of the race that has stuck with me the longest.”
On Sunday, it’ll be a learning process for Mullen and his role will most likely be to support team leaders Dylan Van Baarle and Sebastien Langeveld.
Both have an outside chance of the podium and Mullen wants to be there to help them take that chance, should it arise.
Mullen is clearly trying to keep his ride in Paris-Roubaix in perspective but at the same time he’s clearly excited about being part of the event. It’s a long way since he rode the Junior Tour, above, less than four years ago. Indeed, this month four years ago he rode, and won, the A3-Junior race at the VisitNenagh.ie Classic (Photo: Stephen McMahon)
“They’re really great guys to work for; always appreciative of the efforts myself and the other guys do for them.
“My job will most likely involve keeping them sheltered and making sure they don’t have to go back to the car for anything or waste energy needlessly.”
It’s a big ask of Mullen and to just finish would be an achievement in itself.
And even if a rider at his age and in the early stages of a pro career like him did not finish a race like Sunday’s, he can still contribute plenty to the team and learn a huge amount for the future.
“I know it’s going to be absolutely brutal but I’m so excited about it,” he offers.
“In the space of four years I’ve gone from watching it in awe on TV to actually thinking about following those same wheels across the bumpiest roads in France.
“It’s always been one of those races I’ve dreamt about doing and I know that might sound very cliché.
“But seriously, from watching my very first few editions of it; it was always something that inspired me to go out and train hard and pretend I was Fabian Cancellara.
“Now I’m actually going to be competing against him and it is a different feeling altogether.”
Being considered for Paris-Roubaix is a nice vote of confidence in Mullen, who still at the tender age of 21 years.
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Some neo-pros take a while to find their feet in the WorldTour. Some never do and leave the sport.
But Mullen has made an encouraging start, with strong performances in the season-opening Majorca Challenge and Haut Var.
He was listed as a non-finisher at Driedaagse van West Vlaanderen and Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde.
But he’s since discovered that was less about legs and more about an illness that swept through the peloton, wiping out several of his teammates.
And now hopefully fully recovered, he’s been included in the roster for many people’s favourite one day race.
“I’m glad I’m one of those riders who have been chosen to do it. I’m in a position now where I want to prove I’m worth the selection.”
Despite clearly being influenced by some of the top riders who have dominated past editions of Paris-Roubaix, Mullen says he does not immerse himself in watching or reading about bike races. And so he has not “paid a huge amount of attention to” the story of Paris-Roubaix down the years.
“To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of cycling in general, which might sound odd,” he said.
Paris-Roubaix – with all of its unpredictability – is a long way from the time trials Mullen excels in. But these early years of his career are about mopping up as much experience as he possibly can and getting stronger.
“As a kid I was always really into watching anything cycling-related on TV, but as it’s become more of a job and a job I absolutely love; I feel like I do enough cycling as it is.
“When I come home (from training and racing) all I want to do is unwind and chill out and watching more cycling isn’t something which appeals to me.”
He’ll be watched the world over this Sunday and as one of three Irish in the race alongside Matt Brammeier and Sam Bennett, the support for him will be on a par with anything he’s had up until now in his career.
There’s a good group of family and friends travelling to the race and Mullen is motivated to do himself justice.
“Finishing is my goal,” he said. “I also want to ensure I do everything I’m capable of to help the leaders.
“I’d be pretty content on Sunday night if I knew I did everything in my power to help towards the overall result of the team.
“I’d rather not finish having spent every last watt of energy helping the others than drag my arse round the race and finish 20 minutes behind the leaders with none of our team in the mix.”
Mullen says he hopes to finish but that helping the team is crucial (Photo: Sirotti)
He’ll have a specific ‘cobbles bike’ for the race - the Cannonade Synapse.
Given the different terrain - which ranges from mud, to camber, to asphalt to road - it has more relaxed geometry than the team’s standard race bike.
The angles are more forgiving and they help to absorb some of the rough roads Mullen will fly over.
“Extra bar tape is a must, and we’ll run lower pressure in our 28mm tyres,” he outlines.
“The trick is to not start with your desired pressure because over the course of three or four hours, tyres will leak a bit of air.
“And seeing as the first 100km of the race is on tarmac it’s better to start with a bit more pressure which will slowly reduce in time for when the shit hits the fan.”
And speaking of cobbles, has he any particular way to ride them? “Yeah; hard! The faster you go, the quicker they’re over.”
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