Olympic rower Cathal Moynihan faces into next season with some wisdom gained the painful way and the knowledge he can beat the best with the rub of the green (Photo: George Doyle)
By Brian Canty
The 2014 campaign was very much a season of two halves for Tralee Manor West BC rider Cathal Moynihan.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with my year,” said the former Olympic rower.
“The first part went very much to plan and I was at the sharp end of most races but then I’d some bad luck with crashes,” he added.
The 33-year-old won the opening stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan at Easter after he launched a perfectly-timed attack with less than two kilometres remaining.
He would lose the leader’s jersey the following day but went extremely close to a second stage win on Sunday, when he was pipped by Paidi O’Brien into Waterville.
Advertisement
All seemed to be going according to plan for Moynihan but the wheels came off his season less than two weeks later.
In a former life: Moynihan rowed for Ireland at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in the lightweight fours, having taken up that sport relatively late at the age of 22 years.
He crashed hard on the opening stage of the Tour of Ulster, a race he regretted even starting.
Looking back, he said his Good Friday triumph into Killorglin in his native Kerry was an evening to remember.
“It was very special to win what I’d consider a home stage. For me, there was something sweet about winning against the odds,” he said.
“Maybe the best part was seeing the surprise, the buzz the riders and everyone else in the team got from taking the lead.”
While he came out of Kerry Group Rás Mumhan buzzing, he said he approached the Tour of Ulster in great shape thanks to coach Paddy Doran.
“But I was very tired from training, work and other commitments and my body was telling me I didn’t need to go up there to prepare for the Rás,” Moynihan added.
However, because he was entered for Ulster on the same team he would ride the Rás with, he felt he needed the competitive outing to gel with the riders.
Related News
Driving the pace at the Kanturk Three Day last year, with junior international Stephen Shanahan chasing him down (Photo: Brendan Slattery)
From the euphoria of winning the opener in Kerry at Easter, disaster would strike on stage 1 up North.
“A few of us hit a traffic island and it turned out to be a bad accident,” said Moynihan.
“It was the key moment of my season really; to be hit with bad injuries at such a critical time.”
He would start the Rás just weeks later but, on a downward spiral, he would hit more bad luck, again on the opening stage.
“Last year I’d a clear run and I got stronger and more confident as the race went on,” he said of the 2013 Rás.
“This year, it was a different story and with the injuries from Ulster it was a battle to even start the race.”
On the opening 150km stage from Dunboyne to Roscommon, Moynihan said he was placed in the top 15 with around 20km remaining and hopeful of contesting the finish just up the road.
Winning the opening stage of Rás Mumhan, a victory that has given the rower turned cyclist great heart (Photo: Pat Doherty)
However, those plans came tumbling down when a rider ahead of him fell and brought him crashing to the tarmac with him.
“It was a bad start when I needed a bit of luck,” he lamented.
“It left me very much on the ropes so I decided I’d try to help my team mates with were higher placed overall.”
However, he would soon fall victim to the stomach bug that swept through the race and was eventually forced out with two stages remaining.
“It was a disaster, but character building I guess,” he says now looking back.
With a big win under his belt, he says he is looking forward to next year and is hopeful of targeting success in some other major races.
“I’d like to win one of the big one-day races, like the Shay Elliott.”
Topics
