Martin O'Loughlin has been around long enough to see many Irish super teams come and go. And, he argues, all of them imploded in time (Photo: Toby Watson)
Last week former international rider and Rás winner Tommy Evans generated some great debate with his views about whether Irish super teams were good for the domestic racing scene.
Evans' contribution was the first in a new series in which stickybottle will put a question or topic to well known figures in the sport.
Responding to the same question - on the contribution of super teams to domestic racing - former international rider turned super vet and coach, Martin O'Loughlin outlines in his dispatch how they work and why they all come to an end eventually.
So-called 'super teams' have been with us since road racing began; from the mighty Emerald CC team with the McQuaids, Mick McKenna, Gary Thompson in the 70s and early 80s to the Tara RC team that included the Kimmages and Laurence Roche.
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The Carrick Wheelers of the 80's and 90's were a strong unit while Paddy Buckley Solicitors with Robert Power, Madden and David Hourigan of the early 90s similarly so.
Clarke Contracts came later. The Dan Morrissey-Carlow teams at the turn of the century were a major force, in the same way Aquablue and ASEA are today.
These teams have come and gone, save for the latter two of course.
Carrick Wheelers continues as there is a great interest in cycling in the local community and a solid committee who've been there through good times and bad.
Team Aquablue might advertise themselves as a team but they run races, have a healthy club membership and have very enjoyable and well-supported weekend training group rides.
I'd bet that they'll be still here in 10 years’ time.
Most ‘super teams’ last much shorter than that, however.
As Tommy Evans pointed out in his article here last week, despite well-laid plans, some riders benefit more from being in a strong team than others.
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More often than not, riders like me couldn't win against those teams - but could decide which of them we wanted to win.
There are many great races in Ireland, but you won't get rich even if you win every Sunday.
The money was the same in the 1980s in punts as it is in Euro now. The economists among you can work out the real diminished returns.
We cyclists are basically a selfish breed of human. We devote endless hours to training and we stay in on Friday and Saturday nights.
We push our bodies to the limit, leaving us able for precious little afterwards. Family events must fit around our biking.
Our minds are preoccupied with training methods, nutrition, equipment, clothing and race tactics. Then we have breakfast and go cycling.
Winners have all of the above qualities magnified by 10.
Lifelong friendships are consigned to the scrapheap over a contentious €10 sixth place that the race jury got wrong.
Therein lays the beginning of the end of the super team. Without exception, they all implode; some sooner, others later.
But, just like burning heather to bring fresh growth, another super team will rise up from the ashes.
And given the size of Ireland, inevitably some of the same riders will be involved.
Maybe even the same sponsor. Most only leave a legacy of names engraved on a perpetual cup. It's always been that way, and always will be.
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