Since its inception in 2006, the An Post-backed Sean Kelly Cycling Team has provided a home away from home, a top notch racing programme and the expertise of one of the world’s best ever riders to young riders from Letterkenny to Lithuania.
At first, the team had to rely on the Sean Kelly name to garner invites to some of the top races in Europe. But their recent performances have earned the Belgian-based Irish postal squad arguably the best race programme of any continental team in the world.
In the past four years the team has proved a launch pad for riders such as Dan Lloyd, Matt Brammeier, Daniel Fleeman, Steven Van Vooren and Andy Fenn to progress to the higher echelons of the sport. And but for a bit of bad fortune, 2012 would have seen three more move to the ProTour.
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Last year’s An Post Ras winner and Tour of Britain stage winner, Lithuanian strongman Gediminas Bagdonas and Mi-Aout Bretagne winner Mark McNally from Liverpool return to the squad in 2012 after potential moves to the big time ended before they began in the winter.
The withdrawal of Bagdonas’ proposed Geox team’s sponsors and McNally’s potential employer Europcar’s failure to make it into the ProTour left both riders frustrated. And while their return is disappointing to the team - whose mission it is to nurture young riders and help them step up to the top level - it also boosts An Post’s firepower for the coming season.
Mark Cassidy, Sean Downey, Sam Bennett, Connor McConvey and Ronan McLaughlin are the only five Irish riders on the 2012 An Post squad; the biggest ever edition of the team, which also comprises four British riders, seven Belgians, one Australian and a Lithuanian.
“On paper this is the strongest team we’ve ever had,” says team boss and former world number one Sean Kelly.
“But sometimes, out on the road, that doesn’t translate into results. There is still a lot of work to be done. We’ve done some of that work at training camp and it’s really Kurt’s job from here on in to work closely with them, see how they’re coming along, motivate them and keep them progressing. But I would be surprised if Bagdonas doesn’t win some big races this year.”
The 26-year-old was the star man of the An Post squad last year, with seven victories including two stages and the overall at the An Post Ras, a stage and the overall at the Ronde de l‘Oise in France, another stage victory at the Tour of Britain and the Lithuanian national time trial championships.
Although his proposed move to Geox fell through this winter, Bagdonas, in typical fashion, has simply shrugged it off and plans to repeat the process this year.
“Last year Bagdonas came from a race programme where he had been riding 120km kermesse races,” says Kelly.
“He made the step up to 180km and 200km races with us. It’s difficult for anybody to adjust to those distances, but he had a great season last year and I think that season with us will really stand to him this year. We spoke to him at training camp in January and told him that it was very important to have a good early season this year. He was saying that the season is very long but I told him not to think too much about the end of the season, to think about the first part of the season.”
“That’s when you need results. If you can get results there, you can sign for a good team in June or July and then you don’t have to worry about the end of the season. You can just relax and sometimes you win races easier when you’re not stressed and can enjoy racing.”
Liverpudlian Mark McNally also came close to the big time but lost out when French Europcar team didn’t make it to the WorldTour for 2012.
“I expect McNally to be able to step up again also,” says Kelly.
“For us, it’s hard to see guys like them coming back after having such a good season, but it also makes our own team even stronger this year. He is one that I think can do it again and when the time is right, we will be pushing him on.”
Newcomers to the 2012 An Post squad include: former Saxo Bank pro Johnny Bellis from the Isle of Man, who lost his WorldTour place last year due to a 2009 motorbike accident which left him in a month-long induced coma and battling a lengthy recovery; newly crowned Australian Under 23 criterium champion Scott Law; and former Irish Under 23 road race champion Sean Downey.
“Downey is new to us, so he’s a little bit further down that line,” says Kelly of those ready for the move to the WorldTour.
“We will see in the first couple of months how he goes and then we will start working on that. We have to get a grip on what he’s capable of doing at this level. I think Downey could be one that will maybe need another year at this level but we will have to wait until maybe halfway through the season to make a decision on that.”
“I don’t think we can expect anything from Bellis until the latter part of the season,” says Kelly of the former Saxo Bank starlet.
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“That’s going to be a slow process. In March he’s going to ride some of the inter club races in Belgium and we’ll see how he comes along. It’s impossible to forecast how he will improve but I don’t think we will see much of him for the first part of the season but hopefully he will start coming back to himself in the latter part of the year.”
One who did manage to make the move from the An Post squad to the WorldTour this year was British youngster Andy Fenn, who joined current Irish champion and another former An Post rider Matt Brammeier at Omega Pharma-Quickstep.
Fenn has settled into the WorldTour quickly with two victories at the Challenge Majorca under his belt already.
“I was surprised at Fenn winning so early,” admits Kelly.
“I thought he’d need a bit of time to find his feet but after the Worlds and the end of season he had, he signed for Omega Pharma-Quickstep. And obviously all through the winter he has looked after himself and trained properly.”
Although the stagiaire season began on August 1st last year, Fenn stayed with the An Post squad right through the year instead of trying out for a bigger team. It was a gamble that paid off according to Kelly.
“Depending on how close you are to getting a contract, a stagiaire can be good or bad,” says Kelly.
“If you’ve got results and teams are following you and want you as a stagiaire then they just want to see what sort of mentality you have, whether you’ll fit into the team or not. It’s not all about how you can ride or what you can do on the bike. It’s about your mentality off the bike and they want to get a feel for that.”
“A lot of teams talk to me and they’ll say ‘what kind of a guy is he?’ When you take someone as a stagiaire then you can see for yourself whether they will get on with the rest of the team or not. If that’s the case, when you have got the results, and they just want to see what kind of a guy you are then that’s okay but if you’re not ready to go for a stagiaire then I don’t think it’s a good idea. A lot of people like to go into a team and do a stagiaire but if you’re not in good shape I don’t think it’s the thing to do at all.”
The An Post squad has recently been a victim of its own success, with the best riders being snapped up by the bigger WorldTour teams every year, ensuring an annual end of season race to find more potential champions for the green-clad team to keep its sponsors happy and its structure intact.
It’s a problem that Kelly says could be helped with some kind of reward for teams like An Post, who nurture young riders and help them on their way to bigger things.
“I think if you have a good continental team, like ours, with a good structure and they’re serious about the job they do and look after their riders well, then I think you should get some form of compensation when those riders progress to a bigger team,” he says.
“We have a good training programme, a good racing programme and we also work with a team doctor, where the rider is followed and a rider is not allowed go to three or four different doctors. All of that is so important - for the rider himself that he’s looked after well, and also to prevent any doping situations, so that you don’t have any problems with doping.”
“All of those things are very important for the team itself, for the UCI and for the WorldTour teams that they may move onto. For that reason, I think those teams should be compensated if a rider moves to the WorldTour, either by way of a transfer system or a fee.”
“For example, Andy Fenn this year has already won a couple of races for his new team. I think there should be some reward for our team for what they do with the riders.”
One Irish rider Kelly is touting as a potential new star is his fellow Carrick-On-Suir native Sam Bennett.
The 21-year-old former junior European points race champion and current under 23 Irish road race champion has an injury-free winter under his belt for the first time in two years and will debut for the team in Portugal at the Tour of Algarve from Wednesday February 15th to 20th.
“Sam too, will have to start getting results at the earlier part of the year. He has to get up there. First of all, you have to be up there in the finale of a race like Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne or some of those semi classics. If you’re in the finale, then you can see how far you can go in the finale. If you’re still there at the end and it’s a sprint finish, then he should be able to do something, maybe a top five, or top three place.”
“The Algarve will be a bit of experience for Sam and will give us an indication of where his form is at the moment. This year, Sam needs to start moving forward, moving closer to a bigger team, not only for us but for himself. I feel that he’s capable of doing that but it’s all about being motivated 100pc and keeping the head right all year.”
“Sometimes the younger guys, they lack a bit of confidence and it can be a handicap. Sometimes the Irish guys have this mental thing that the other guys have something better than them; that the Belgians and Italians or whoever, are better than them. But they still only have two arms, two legs and a bike and if you put in the work and commitment over a long period, of a year or two years… and if you’ve got the genes, then there is the potential to move up the ladder.”
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