Sean McKenna of the Irish Development Team pips Sean Lacey for the minor placings on stage 2 of Kerry Group Rás na Mumhan, taking the yellow jersey for his efforts (Photo: George Doyle)
By Brian Canty
Having scored six wins during the season, won the Leinster road title late in the year and also gained his first U23 international ride, Sean McKenna has capped his terrific campaign by finishing atop the Cycling Ireland rankings for 2014.
While he fell short of adding another win to his palmares right at the end of the year when outgunned by the Aquablue duo of Damien Shaw and Keith Gater for the Laragh Classic, the 20-year-old Dubliner had little to complain about as he reflected on another season passed.
“I won six races and I was placed in a good few more,” he said.
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“It’s impossible to pick a highlight but getting the yellow jersey on the second day of Rás Mumhan and getting the chance to wear the Irish jersey at the World University Championships were amazing.”
However, he said each win meant a lot to him and his team and if he maintains the rate of progress he has achieved this year and last, more rides on the Irish team are likely.
Placing 3rd in the Newbridge GP back in March behind team mates Greg Swinand and Anthony Walsh; McKenna credits the support within the UCD CC camp as a major factor in his progress (Photo: Sean Rowe)
“I’m still motivated, I’d love to have a few more races, it’s a real shame the season is over,” he said.
“But I’ll keep tipping away on the bike while the weather is good and take a bit of a break at some stage for a while. I’m back in college too so I’ll have to do a bit there. I’m also working part-time so something will have to suffer.”
McKenna praised the team spirit in UCD CC, saying it was one of the reasons for his success. He will be staying with them for 2015.
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“The guys have been brilliant the last two years,” he said of his club mates.
“They’ve looked after me so well. And our sponsors too have made it a brilliant club to be a part of. And the amount I’ve improved the last two years has a lot to do with the structure around me.”
McKenna first showed his real potential with some very strong performances last year and is never afraid to get up the road and ride (Photo: Pawel Sadowski – Shutterstills.com)
While riding very strongly from the drop of the flag at the start of the season, McKenna very nearly took two more wins during the last weekend of racing a couple of weeks ago.
He won the Leinster Championships on Saturday and made his way into the winning escape at the Laragh Classic in Co Wicklow the following day. However, Gater pounced from that move to win, with McKenna running out runner up after being marked out of it by Shaw in the closing miles.
“I was happy with the whole weekend, to be honest,” he said looking back on those final competitive outings.
“Coming second in Laragh was a nice bonus after winning the day before. It was a nice way to finish out the year. Laragh was very hard, the course was up and down all day and on really dead roads.
“I got in the break early enough with the two lads and riding steady made it a lot easier than attacking from behind all day. To get second was brilliant because I definitely was not the strongest.
“But that’s the great thing about cycling. It’s not only strength that dictates the outcome of the race, it’s about using your head too.”
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