“If I don’t step up next I’m stepping out and I’ll try something else," he said.
By Brian Canty
Damien Shaw is heading into his second season with An Post-ChainReaction and has said 2017 will be the year he either “steps up or steps out” of professional cycling.
The Mullingar man is the eldest member of the team and at 32 years he knows that time is not on his side if he’s to make a career from the sport.
He reckons he took a lot of beatings in 2016 but a lot of lessons too.
And he “can’t wait” to implement what he’s learnt when he gets underway in a few weeks.
“I think I was fit but inexperienced last year and I’d be hoping I picked up a few things about what to do and put those into practice," he told stickybottle at the team training camp in Calpe.
Advertisement
“I was maybe a little bit intimidated in the bunch," he added of getting to grips with how the pros ride.
"I suppose you see other bigger, fancier set-ups and the big name guys who obviously know their way around; allowing them do what they wanted instead of forcing your will.
“Just more time in the bunch is all I need. I’ll be interested to see how I get on.”
Shaw took a bit of psychological punishment as well when stepping up from the domestic scene to An Post-Chainreaction 12 months ago.
He went from a situation where he could attack off the front of Irish races to hanging on in pro races. It was never going to be an easy transition.
“Big time; there were more beatings than high points, nobody can prepare you for that," he said.
In recent years he said he had looked on as other Irish riders went abroad to race, with mixed results.
Related News
“If those guys came back on a Sunday and I’d beat them; it was that intrigue that forced me to give it a try abroad," he explained of wanting to race in Europe even though he came to cycling late.
"But it’s a completely different style of racing and it’s about adapting to that.
“Being honest, looking at what was happening me in races, what I physically need to do well in races; it was nearly too late to change that by the time I was into the season last year,” he said.
This winter he has tweaked his approach based on the lessons learned in Europe last season.
Since he started training in early November Shaw has been doing more high-intensity efforts.
But he also accepts where he positions himself in races this year will be crucial.
“My gains will be in reading races and knowing where to be," he said of that all-important positioning in the peloton.
“You can have all the power in the world and be trained to the last but if you’re not in the right splits it’s no good to you. That’s the biggest thing I learnt last year.
"I was fit for the training camp and the season but when it came down to it I didn’t have the top speed.
"I didn't have that ability to ride at 55k an hour so I changed that a little bit this year and a little bit more intensity.
“Everyone concentrates on the distances of 190k stages and I got sucked into it but it’s the first and last hour that counts.”
Shaw has set no major targets just yet but the An Post Rás and the nationals are two events he knows he’ll have to be good for.
And after leaving his job in the fire service in his hometown of Mullingar he’s hopeful the sport can have something for him in some shape for the coming years.
“If I don’t step up next I’m stepping out and I’ll try something else," he said honestly, but pointing also to the existence now of the Irish ProConti team Aqua Blue Sport.
"It’ll be hard to break into that team because there’s so many top riders out there and it’s up to me to show what I can do."
Topics
