Originally from Cork, but a man who beat Caleb Ewan sprinting for the Australian road race title some years ago when they were both junior riders, Robbie McCarthy was in reflective mood after a very good ride in Yorkshire.
Robbie McCarthy on the long road back into cycling
After his fifth place finish into Scarborough at the Tour de Yorkshire yesterday, Robbie McCarthy was in reflective mood.
Now in his second season after a near two-year break from cycling, he felt the result suggested he was getting back to the standard he was at before he stopped.
A successful career in Australia, a country he emigrated to from Cork with his family when he was a child, saw him become junior road race champion there.
He would compete for Australia at international level, including at the Nations Cup and World Championships.
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A stint with An Post-Chainreaction would follow, with whom he won a stage of Rás in 2014, taking the yellow jersey.
He had also won a stage of the Herald Sun Tour, riding for the Australian U23 national team, earlier in that season.
Looking spent during the U23 Tour of Flanders in Belgium in 2015; a day when he helped teammate Alex Edmondson secure victory.
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And when he signed for SEG Racing for 2015, it looked like he was edging forward into the pro ranks.
But a few months into the that season he decided he had had enough. He stopped racing and didn’t come back until last year, when he also switched his allegiance back to Ireland.
And while he has won big races in the past and will never be over the moon with a 5th place, his result yesterday was one of real quality.
He now believes it confirms he is coming good again. But he says it's been a hard slog.
“It's been a long and very hard road coming back into the sport at this level,” he told stickybottle.
“And I've worked so hard to get back to being competitive in these races. I feel like this result is the culmination of that.
“And I know I've got a lot of improving and developing yet to do. So I'm hungry for more chances and can already see ways I could have improved today's sprint.”
Riding the race with his Continental trade team, JLT-Condor, he said it was an incredible experience.
“It was great day out, the crowds were phenomenal, like nothing I've experienced before,” he said.
“The stage was very relaxed early on. But then 50km to go, BMC split it up. It made for a really hard final.
“But I stayed calm and then tried to position myself well for the sprint. I had to use a lot of legs to actually get myself into position because I had no lead out.
“So that sapped a little bit from my kick. But I'm really happy to get up there and show what I can do again.”
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