By Dara Smith-Naughton
Many young stars have emerged from Irish cycling over the last few seasons and one of those to really step to this year is Liam O'Brien. Impressing at the Junior Tour of Ireland, junior time trial at the World Championships, in Belgium and at the Junior Tour of Wales, O'Brien has shown he can compete with the best on the international stage. He can absorb the pressure of big days and churn out a big TT performance when the chips are down; getting even better at that as the months have passed.
The exploits of the 18-year-old Fermoy CC rider have earned him a spot on new Lidl-Trek's development team for next season. When the World Tour squad announced the first eight young riders it had signed a few weeks ago, O'Brien's name was in amongst them.
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The Irish teenager today speaks to stickybottle about his season - specifically his ability to compete internationally this year - and his new contract with one of the most glamourous and best-organised outfits in the sport globally. He has also decided to take a long block away from education to give cycling his full focus, specifically road cycling, even though he is an international cyclocross rider.
After news of his new contract for next year emerged, O'Brien celebrated with a fine performance through the Junior Tour of Wales, including a last stage raid on the final day of action to the summit finish of Tumble Mountain. He just came up short of taking the race victory overall, but his move from 50km out forced the winning breakaway and lifted him from 4th to 2nd on the final general classification.
"I was happy with 2nd place, obviously first would have been better, but it's a good result. Team Wales had a strong team throughout," he said of the race that always features the best of British, including juniors already signed to World Tour teams.
That result wasn't the first 2nd place the Cork man secured in a major junior stage race in 2023; though the first 2nd place was very different, and a major disappointment. In cruel fashion, he was pipped for overall honours at the Junior Tour of Ireland in August. He crashed in the final 5km of the last stage and lost the yellow jersey he had held all week after winning the opening stage.
"It was pretty disappointing, we hadn't put a foot wrong all week. Not to have control of how it finished made it worse," he said.
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However, at that stage he was already firmly in Lidl-Trek's radar. And when his showing at 'The JT' was added to his other major results this season - including 11th place in the junior TT at the Worlds and 4th in the TT and overall at the UCI 2.1-ranked junior stage race in Belgium, Sint Martinusprijs Kontich - his contract for next season was secure.
He described news of the contract, an incredible opportunity in what will be the first year of Lidl-Trek Development Team as a mixture of delight and relief.
"It's always been the dream to go pro," he said. "And it's definitely a step in the right direction to that. It takes the pressure off of the rest of the year, to have that sorted."
Despite taking this huge leap towards the pro-= cycling scene, O'Brien kept his celebrations to a minimum. "We keep it simple around here, there were no celebrations," he confirmed as he has his eyes fixed firmly on the European Road Championships still to come in the Netherlands.
Competing on a global stage will of course boost any cyclist's chances of representing their country at an international level and having competed as a junior for Ireland on the road and in cyclocross, O'Brien is knows he must now breakthrough to the national set-up at U23 level - easier said than done considering the level in the U23 ranks for Ireland at present.
"I'd like to step up into the Under-23 team, it won't be easy though", he said, adding that, given the opportunity now available to him with his new team, and with Ireland, he was going full-time with his cycling in the years ahead.
"I'm taking three years out," he said of defer college. "I can always come back to college. I'm trying to make something out of this (his cycling career). Trying to balance the two would be unrealistic."
However, with road now his firm focus, he does not believe he can commit to another full winter of cyclocross, with all the training, racing and travel that is involved, especially as he will continue to race on the road for another month. O'Brien says his number one goal for the 2024 season with Lidl-Trek is to learn and compete at the next level, something all Irish cycling fans will be excited to see.
