Ronan McLaughlin departs An Post-Chainreaction having been with the project from the start. His departure comes by way of mutual agreement with the team (Photo: Lydia Van de Meerssche)
By Brian Canty
Ronan McLaughlin has revealed that leaving the An Post-Chainreaction team by mutual consent after six years was a decision he didn’t take lightly but one that he knew was the right one.
News of his departure was contained in a statement from the team this afternoon to mark the arrival of two new riders in the squad for 2014, namely Irishman Ryan Mullen and British rising star Owain Doull.
Donegal man McLaughlin earned a reputation as a dedicated, hard-working and committed rider; one highly regarded by the team and his peers. But he knew the time had come to give up on the dream of making a career as a professional cyclist.
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“I’ve been there six years, I’m 26 years of age now; it wasn’t forced upon me to leave, it was my own decision,” he told stickybottle today.
“There was no falling out or anything but it was time. You can’t go on doing it forever. I’d rather take the decision myself before it is forced upon me,” he added.
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McLaughlin’s role within the team during his time there, for the most part, was as unglamorous as it got and usually he was restricted to domestique duties. But he never complained and helped the team to countless wins at home and abroad.
Last year was arguably his best ever season with the team and he also had the distinction of wearing the Irish jersey at the World Championships in Holland, where he rode in support of Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche.
He said he’ll definitely continue racing, including on the domestic front. He is undecided what he will do next in terms of a career after full time bike riding.
“I’m not really sure what I’m going to do to be honest. I have a few options but I’ll keep that to myself for the time being.”
He said going to college was one possibility but he had "four or five opportunities".
"I’m just enjoying myself at the minute, doing the mountain bike championships and cyclocross races and having a few nights out. I’ll definitely still be racing though.”
We’ll have a longer interview with McLaughlin later.
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