Potts on winning again after bumpy time with Irish track team
Marc Potts, right, and Eoin Morton come to the line together to contest the sprint at the end of the Waller Cup in Bohermeen, Co Meath. Potts won by a bike-length with Conn McDunphy (Lucan CRC), just behind, taking third (Photo: Sean Rowe)
By Brian Canty
Marc Potts took his second win of the season yesterday at the Waller Cup in Bohermeen. He got the verdict over Eoin Morton (UCD CC-FitzCycles.ie) in a two-up sprint to the line after a titanic battle all afternoon.
Morton had been in a two-man breakaway with Conn McDunphy (Lucan CRC) for upwards of 90 kilometres.
However, Potts and Liam Dolan (Cuchulainn CC) made it across on the final of eight 16.3km laps.
And while they worked together to come to the line, it was Potts who showed the fastest finishing kick.
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The win follows his victory in the PJ Logan Cup last month. And now he is moving ahead to the An Post Rás for his next big goal of the season.
Potts, 24, is back home in Ireland these days and riding for UK-based Neon Velo Racing Team.
He had a stint with the Irish track team the last two winters but never really caught fire there.
His inexperience at the level held him back, he believes. And he set about ‘accelerating’ his development last October.
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It was then things started to go awry.
“I was away in Mallorca from September to October preparing for the European Track Championships," he explained.
“I went there in October but I overcooked myself a bit beforehand and ended up going like crap for Euros which was depressing.
“After that I found out I wasn’t getting picked for any of the World Cups. So I headed back home and put my head down.
“I took a break over Christmas, did the normal endurance work over January and most of February.
“Then I went on holiday to America for two weeks at the end of February and enjoyed myself,” he said.
If it sounds like he cracked mentally, it’s not quite accurate. He says the love for the bike, the training and the sacrifice was – and still is - always there.
He got back training around the start of March and won the PJ Logan within a matter of weeks.
“My goals are later on in the year and I will be doing a mix of road and track again this year," he said.
“I’ve been at the road stuff for four years and the track for a year so I’ll keep the head down and see where it takes me.”
Asked which he preferred he said: “I couldn’t pick between them; they both complement each other in the long run.
“I’ve lacked a lot of experience on the track which has let me down but I think when I get to grips with that aspect of things then I’ll enjoy it more.”
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