Stephen Halpin has had a tough time since riding the Rás on the Ireland Development Team in 2009, but he’s part of a new UCI Continental team this year
By Brian Canty
Ever since he was a junior he was touted as the ‘next big thing’. But before he knew it, the future was the past and Stephen Halpin wondered if he should cut his losses altogether and retire.
He’s still only 24-years-old, but since his breakthrough year in 2009 it’s been tough going for the man from Skerries in north Dublin.
Injuries, illness, crashes and bad luck are occupational hazards for every cyclist but some seem to get afflicted by them more than others. Halpin does anyway.
“I thought about it a lot actually,” he told stickybottle about stopping racing.
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“There’s only so many setbacks you can take. And even the last year - between being sick and breaking my collar bone; it was very difficult. But I live with Philip Deignan and he’s been through a lot of setbacks as well and he’d be good to encourage me to keep going.”
“Páidi O’Brien as well; the same. He’s been in a similar situation to me and when you’ve people like him who’ve been through it and they’re encouraging you, it makes it easier.”
“It’s been very frustrating though, the last number of years. The last really good year I had was when I did half a year with a Belgian amateur team and the other half with the An Post team in 2009. I’ve been sick every year since then. Even last year I was going well at the start of the year and then I got sick and that put me out for six weeks. I came back and got fit for the Nationals and a week later I broke my collar bone.”
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“There have been a lot of setbacks, which has been quite frustrating. But I’ve good people around me and many who believed in me more than I believed in myself so I think it’s them who kept me going. Obviously my girlfriend Maria; she understands the sport because it’s in her family. And Conor McCrane, my doctor, has been huge.”
“My parents as well; ever since I started cycling they’ve been giving me handouts. When I was amateur I was always reaching out to them. If it wasn’t for them I’d be in a normal job or in college.”
Last year, Halpin rode with the Metaltek-SCOTT team whose main focus is on Premier Calendar races in the UK. But not only did the style of racing not suit him, it was announced late last year that some of those races wouldn’t go ahead this year. But he was being let go anyway as “the manager didn’t want to take a gamble on me”.
Little wonder then that he’s so eager to hit the ground running with the new Polygon Sweet Nice team he’s signed for; an Irish-Indonesian UCI Continental level team that counts five Irish riders in its ranks; Halpin, Mark Dowling, Charles Prendergast, Daniel Clifford and Ryan Sherlock.
He has wintered well and has kept lean and increased his strength by incorporating TRX Suspension Training into his routine under the watchful eye of John Lally at www.stringerfitness.com. And he says he is very much looking forward to hitting the road with the new team.
“I know the lads from riding against them over the years so I’m eager to start racing now. Mark Dowling only lives up the road from me and Ryan Sherlock is only a few kilometres away as well. It’s a good bunch of lads and a good strong team as well to have domestically in Ireland so we’re all super-excited to get going.”
“I think the racing will suit me as well. The Tour of Thailand is one of the big races we’ll be targeting as well as the Tour of Hong Kong, and Tour of Japan. They’re all coming up before the Rás. The one thing I missed from being in Belgium and the UK is those types of stage races. Belgium has a lot of one day races and the same in the UK and they didn’t really suit me so I’m looking forward to a few good stage races because I prefer them.”
And mention of the An Post Rás inevitably excites Halpin, given his affection for stage races.
“That’ll be a big goal, especially with an Irish registered team and five us in the team. Typically I’ve been sick for it and haven’t been able to fully express myself but hopefully this year I’m over the illness that has dogged me the last number of years and I can really show myself there.”
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