Bryan McCrystal is on the move for next year, hopeful that a new environment will bring more learning opportunities and victories (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie)
By Brian Canty
One of the stars of this year’s An Post Rás, Bryan McCrystal said his transfer to the Cork-based Aquablue team “is the right move” for him and he has set himself a target of “getting better and winning more races” in 2014.
The former international triathlete and professional soccer player from Co Louth gave cycling his full focus for the first time this year. But in his maiden Rás he managed to get up the road on a few occasions and even took a county rider prize on stage six from Mitchelstown to Carlow.
After his Rás ride and subsequent blistering times against the clock, he was approached by Aquablue’s Timmy Barry and said he knew "straight away" he would join the team that is now looking even more formidable than it was this year.
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“Yeah, it felt right when Timmy approached me,” said McCrystal.
“You always know by talking to somebody whether it’s right or not. It just felt right from the start. Timmy is sound and from listening and talking to him you get a good feel for what they're at; and the plans he has for next year and how he approaches things – it suits how I approach things.
“I know the team is based in Cork but Damian Shaw is around here, Joe Fenlon is around and Neil Delahaye is in the team too. The camaraderie makes it so much easier; it’s not just me driving up in my car alone to races, now I’ll be in a team having the craic.
“With Cuchulainn CC I was more of a one-man band and I didn’t mind that but there’s nothing like rolling up with a few lads and having a bit of banter before a race.
“The plan for next year is the same; just improve, get better, win more races. Simple as that."
McCrystal, who was fifth in the elite men's national time trial championships in June, feels he can make more progress as an Aquablue rider.
“We look strong as a team. I just want to learn as much as I can. I’m no spring chicken. I’m coming into the sport late so I need to learn as much as I can. Every race I’m learning and I’m sure I can learn and awful lot from the lads in the team.”
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For someone who did very well in his first Rás, it’s interesting to hear him play himself down for the country’s biggest race.
“Look, I’m not out riding the bike or sitting on a turbo thinking about it,” he said of next year’s race.
“It crossed my mind, but I just want to finish as high up on GC as I can and maybe get a county prize or try and do something one or two days. I’m under no illusions; I’ll never win the bloody thing. But I just want to give a good account of myself.”
This year, he and his Louth Prague Charter teammate Roger Aiken were two of the stars of the race, having been super strong at the Tour of Ulster a few weeks previous. McCrystal admitted he wasn’t even going to do the Rás until he surpassed his own expectations in Ulster, where he won a brilliant final stage.
“I said I’d race the Tour of Ulster and try and get a team for the Rás from that. I only managed to jump on the Louth team at the last minute; it was the night before the Tour of Ulster and I rode with them in that.
“I found that okay. A few people were saying there were loads of climbs but there were no climbs, more hard drags I’d say; you couldn’t call them climbs, nothing that went on and on.
“The longer it goes on then you might see me going backwards. But I can get up and over shorter efforts. I was very unlucky in that race because I punctured one of the days I was away in a break and that was my race over.
“But the last day Roger (Aiken) was up there for the win, he was up there against (leader and eventual winner) Joe Fenlon and we tried to do something. It nearly paid off but the lads (Aquablue) knew what they were at and they ensured we didn’t pull out too much of a gap.”
McCrystal won that stage, with Aiken crossing the line beside him. But they could only manage a gap of 26 seconds to the bunch behind when they needed another minute if they were to win the race outright.
That set him up nicely for the Rás, and he wasted no time in getting stuck in there.
“It was an eye opener,” he laughs.
“It wasn’t for the feint hearted anyway. I just found by midweek that I was able to do it though. It’s as hard for the pros as it is for us and what we don’t have in talent we maybe make up for with guts. And it proved that come the end of the week. As regards next year, I’ll just try and be in the best shape possible and if I’m there, I’m there.”
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