A former international rider himself, Neill Delahaye is charged with getting the best out of the strongest junior riders we have.
By Brian Canty
Cycling Ireland national development coach, Neill Delahaye believes the right structures and talent are available in Ireland right now to produce more and more full-time bike riders.
The former Irish international replaced Frank O’Leary in the position in May last year and hasn’t let the grass grow under his feet, “living, breathing and sleeping” his new role.
“I’m getting a great kick out of it,” said the former Rás Mumhan stage winner.
“It’s certainly not your 9-5 job but you’d be mad to think it was. I knew what I was getting myself into. It’s more than a job, it’s very much a lifestyle.
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“You have to live it, breathe it and sleep it. It’s the type of thing you have to have a passion for to get results because the riders; they live, sleep and breathe it too so we have to be the same.”
His mandate is to help develop the junior and paralympic squads, while also lending a hand to head coach Brian Nugent with the U23s and elite squads when the need arises.
This year, Delahaye has already held one junior camp in Co Limerick, there’s another this week in Majorca, followed by a 10-day paralympic camp at the same venue.
That later outing will lead into the Paralympic Track World Championships in April as well as World Cup meetings, European junior road and track championships and world championships later in the season, to name but a few.
“We’ve a base in Majorca now which is proving very effective,” he said.
“We’ve a good working relationship with the manager of the velodrome there so that’s pretty important for us to get the riders exposed to training on the track.
“The island itself in recent years has really turned into a good training base for the road and you can see that by the amount of World Tour teams here. You know you’re on the right track when all the top guys are here.”
Delahaye believes Ireland currently has a good crop of juniors.
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“I’m impressed so far but we haven’t done a whole lot. We had that weekend in Ballyhoura and I’d been in touch with them since then before heading to Majorca and I find them very motivated.
“There’s no shirking away from the hard work, they all want to knuckle down and progress and develop. And I’ve definitely found their attitude was very good and they had the ability to match it.
“There are some talented guys, some really strong guys; similarly with the girls. Ultimately, our ethos is that if they’re good enough and showing potential to compete internationally, we’ll be there to support them and help them develop along.
“There always was talent here,” he said of the domestic sport in years gone by.
“But I think we lacked a little bit of structure. Brian Nugent has done an awful lot of good work over the last couple of years with Geoff Liffey and they really have put systems in place that are proving to be successful.
“We know what it takes to make good bike riders, we know the numbers, we know the environment. We have our heads around it and there’s no doubt that we’re trying to bring people into an environment where they can excel and have exposure to the right competition.
“And we have all the support they need in terms of coaching to further their careers and hopefully make full-time bike riders out of them.”
Delahaye has some interesting thoughts about where he thinks young Irish riders with potential should be based.
“It is a tricky one. The Continent is where it’s at in terms of racing. You definitely want to be giving them enough exposure to that end of the sport so they’re aware of what they have to deal with and they know the level they need to step up to.
“They need to have the physical capacity to deal with it. And then be fit enough to get into a race that they know will be hard but they’re used to it and be ready for it. And then they can start thinking about strategy and tactics and how they’re going to get results.
“I’d be looking for certain riders to take part in certain races. Not every race is going to suit them, there’s no doubt that there’s a strong bunch there and some of them have the ability to race with A2 and A1 riders.
“But on a week in, week out basis, that mightn’t be the best thing for their long term development so it’s about giving them enough exposure to harder racing that brings them on but not burn them out.
“I would look for dispensations for certain riders in certain races. We’re just very lucky that we have a bunch that we can say are fit enough and strong enough to do well.”
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