Jamie Meehan knows what it's like to move quickly. In the space of just over six months he went from riding for a club team in France to securing a place on a UCI Conti team and then a World Tour stagiaire with Cofidis, which instantly became a long-term contract.
The Donegal man is still just 22-years-old and was probably Irish cycling's breakthrough rider of 2025, alongside Lara Gillespie, who punched through to the top. And now Meehan faces into 2026 with his first full season in the paid ranks stretched before him. His opening races are already planned, and he gets right into the action next week.
But before stickybottle spoke to him about the challenges to come, Meehan reflected on a whirlwind 2025. One word that cropped up a lot was "fighting". He fought for a place in the sport, and he made it. Now - remarkably with relatively few miles on the clock - Meehan is about to get truly acquainted what with he can do on a bike.
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"At the start of last year, I was thinking it could go either way," he said a career that had had its ups and downs. "The previous year, I had a lot of crashes and I was thinking 'maybe it'll go well, maybe it'll go badly, I don't know'. So I went in with just more of an open mindset.
"And thankfully it all went well. Come August, after I signed the stagiaire, things got busy and then there was a lot more responsibility," added the man formerly of VC Glendale and Spellman Dublin Port, the two Irish clubs where he cut his teeth.
Meehan competed at home, for Spellman Dublin Port, in 2022, when still in his final year at school. The following year, he raced in Spain, for Brocar-Alé and also won the Irish U23 road race title, before riding for French team CC Étupes in 2024.
Last year he secured a place with UCI Conti team AVC Aix Provence Dole and took a series of very strong results early in the season, followed by 2nd overall at Rás Tailteann. He then took three podium placings in hard races in France and was 2nd at the Nationals, taking U23 gold again.
And then came Giro Valle d'Aosta-Mont Blanc (2.2U), one of the hilliest races on the U23 calendar, with a stacked field. He placed top 10 on three of the four stages and 6th overall, climbing the big mountains with the very best. Then he won Trophée Souvenir Roger Walkowiak in France.
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His Cofidis stagiaire was quickly confirmed and in his first race - Tour de l'Ain (2.1) - he was 3rd on a stage and 14th overall, a fantastic debut riding for a World Tour team. His full contract with that team, all the way to the end of 2028, was instantly announced.
In the end, it seemed to come very quickly, but Meehan had soldiered all over the world for almost three years chasing that pro contract. While his team will rider as a ProContinental outfit next year, it will have its pick of the major races, meaning the step down from World Tour makes no difference to Meehan. And he knows he must perform.
"For sure, I felt like I deserved it a bit," he said of riding that first race for Cofidis. "So I was thinking 'okay I worked hard to get here, I fought for it'. But at the same time, when you pull on the jersey, it's a different feeling.
"You kinda feel like you're a kid, and you have to earn it. I acted that way (in Tour de l'Ain). I fought for every inch on the road to prove to the guys I deserved to be there. And thankfully that ended in a third place in a 2.1.
"I had the contract before that result. But with the way the race played out, it just showed that I was willing to fight to be there. And that's what the team were happy with, and that's what I was happy to do. You have to be willing to show you're going to fight the extra mile, so it was good to show that.”
Meehan added at the end of the season he suffered from some issues with his back and pelvis, perhaps due to changing his bike and set-up mid season after getting his chance with Cofidis. After working on that, it was back to training and now the season looms large.
He starts at AlUla Tour (2.1), getting underway next Tuesday for five days of racing, in Saudi Arabia. Then comes Tour de la Provence (2.1), a three-day in France from February 14th.
"It's about trying to show my climbing capabilities at the lower level races," he said of the year ahead. "They are races where maybe there's sprinters going, but there's also a climbing stage and I can be competitive.
“And then it's about show I can help the climbing group (in the team), possibly on a Grand Tour, I don't know Yet. There's been talk of it but it all depends on how the start of the season goes, up until Nationals really."
