The Irish Thread

mulletmaster

I've never been in the same race as him (not that I would have seen much of him anyway), but he has absolutely crushed clubmates, just rode away from them and they have had an FTP of 5w/kg+. Seems to always do it on big solo attacks too. V classy, can't wait to see where he ends up.

frenchfighter

mulletmaster wrote:

I've never been in the same race as him (not that I would have seen much of him anyway), but he has absolutely crushed clubmates, just rode away from them and they have had an FTP of 5w/kg+. Seems to always do it on big solo attacks too. V classy, can't wait to see where he ends up.

If someone was doing that in the pro ranks he would have DOPER all over him. ALL over him.
Small time riders dope in Italy. I totally believe they dope over here too even if I would expect it to be less so.

Not saying he is although I hope he is being tested. If he is clean then he is crushing it Merckx style. And he is not a powerhouse build by any stretch of the imagination.

mulletmaster

I don't for a second think Irish amateur racing is 100% clean and have heard rumours about a few guys this season but in all honesty nobody has ever said anything that wasn't glowing (in enthusiasm) about this kid. He has always been a protege, not someone who rocketed up from obscurity. I personally don't have any reason to doubt his great performances and hope (and think) they are legit.

frenchfighter

Hope so too. Hope he isn't just ahead of the curve. Seems to have the heavyweight mentality I like.

mulletmaster

Heavyweight wouldn't be in it. Just rides away off the front, singlehandedly took out the USA national junior team at our recent junior tour. They were team TTing to try and get him back and couldn't do it.
Anyone bridges to join him and he just shells them out back to the bunch haha. I hope he is this generation's Kelly/Roche.

frenchfighter

Yeah I've been reading the links TWH posts. And it is heavyweight riding! Doesn't refer to the physique of a rider more the attitude.

mulletmaster

Sorry "wouldn't be in it" would be a local phrase to emphasise a quality about someone, for example, "Valverde? Wheel sucker wouldn't be in it..."etc
Hope he goes all the way and doesn't get burnt out/fed up doing Belgian kermesses or whatever he has planned next.

Pross

Has he been winning consistently since he was a youth rider? It's horrible seeing the 'd' word appearing in a discussion about a talented junior rider even if no-one is making any direct accusation. I can understand why it gets raised but I can't see kids of that age doping off their own back and would be very surprised if anyone was pushing them into it. Then again, this is cycling! Chances are he's been a successful rider since he was even younger and is just a phenomenal talent and possibly just ahead of the development curve. It's going to be exciting seeing him come through the ranks though.

Pokerface

frenchfighter wrote:

mulletmaster wrote:

I've never been in the same race as him (not that I would have seen much of him anyway), but he has absolutely crushed clubmates, just rode away from them and they have had an FTP of 5w/kg+. Seems to always do it on big solo attacks too. V classy, can't wait to see where he ends up.

If someone was doing that in the pro ranks he would have DOPER all over him. ALL over him.
Small time riders dope in Italy. I totally believe they dope over here too even if I would expect it to be less so.

Not saying he is although I hope he is being tested. If he is clean then he is crushing it Merckx style. And he is not a powerhouse build by any stretch of the imagination.

Just had a word with my coach, who also coaches Eddie to a certain extent (our coach looks after the Junior Squad at times. Asked him about the anti-doping thing and he confirmed that he does indeed get tested at races, plus he was tested at a training camp in Majorca with the team. Obviously it's not foolproof, but it's clear to all those around this kid that he's a special talent.

Good shot at winning the World's this year.

frenchfighter

Thanks for the info.

Need a top Irish rider in the pro ranks eventually. Roche is a disappointment. Bennett is decent in what he races.

Pross

frenchfighter wrote:

Thanks for the info.

Need a top Irish rider in the pro ranks eventually. Roche is a disappointment. Bennett is decent in what he races.

Deignan? Martin?

frenchfighter

Deignan is decent but he is not a star. Martin is excellent when he wants to be - his omission in this case is not to be read into (I am a fan).

dish_dash

frenchfighter wrote:

Deignan is decent but he is not a star. Martin is excellent when he wants to be - his omission in this case is not to be read into (I am a fan).

Maybe you were just thinking that Martin was from Birmingham

tailwindhome

Pokerface wrote:

Good shot at winning the World's this year.

Be interesting to see how he does when up against the world's best.
Though by all accounts he handed the US squad their ar5es recently so.....

Pokerface

As an aside, I was told that Dunbar is über sensitive about putting anything unnatural into his body, to the point of refusing to take even Paracetamol after crashing one time.

frenchfighter

Pokerface wrote:

As an aside, I was told that Dunbar is über sensitive about putting anything unnatural into his body, to the point of refusing to take even Paracetamol after crashing one time.

Sounds good. In fact it sounds like Contador:
Pedro Celaya, the doctor at his past team Discovery reported that as he remembers, Contador was absolutely obsessed with not doing anything strange about his health

tailwindhome

29 August 2014; Ireland's Colin Lynch competing in the Men's C2 Time Trial, where he finished 5th with a time of 25:17.69. 2014 UCI Paracyling World Road Championships, Greenville, South Carolina, USA. Picture credit: Jean Baptiste Benavent / SPORTSFILE

frenchfighter

Looking mean! Nice shot.

Pross

Lovely position but what's that on his back? Do they use radios at the para worlds?

tailwindhome

31 August 2014; Ireland's Eoghan Clifford, from Galway Bay CC, Co. Galway, during the men's C3 Road Race, where he finished first and won a gold medal

Pokerface

Pross wrote:

Lovely position but what's that on his back? Do they use radios at the para worlds?

Yes, it's a radio. A very crappy one unfortunately.

Eoghan Clifford won both he C3 TT and RR in convincing fashion. He'll be the new star of Irish Paracycling for the next few year.

Biffcp

Surprised no-one's mentioned



Surely one of Ireland's brightest hopes.

Pokerface

Biffcp wrote:

Surprised no-one's mentioned



Surely one of Ireland's brightest hopes.

Yes. Probably been touch on in several other threads. I know Ryan well and he's got a solid head on his shoulders. Not sure if he'll excel in TT, track or all around yet.

tailwindhome

TailWindHome wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

What is the drug testing like in the sort of races he is running away with?

I don't know. It would be naive I suppose to think that there isn't any doping, even at this level but I can't think of a more depressing thought.

Yup.
Depressing is the word for it

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news ... -positive/

frenchfighter

Monster Mullen gets silver in the U23 World's TT.

"I can't even explain it. I thought I might hang on but I got everything out, I emptied myself," Mullen said. "I took as many risks as I could but at the end of the day the better guy won. I can't really regret anything but it's really disappointing to come so close to getting a world title.

"I can't think of anywhere where I could have pushed harder without jeopardising the overall result, so like I said the best guy won. It is very disappointing to come so close but I'm happy with the result and I'm proud of it because it shows my progression over the years to be up there with Campbell."

Close on 50 km p/h. Unfortunately an Aussie beat him by 0.48 of a second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KahIpPnqBTU

Looks really disappointed at 4.40.

frenchfighter

Photo by Kare Dehlie Thorstad

mm1

Just watched the highlights and Flakemore appears out of nowhere behind the Russian sprinting flat out for the line. Mullen seemed to be weaving across the road in the run into the finish far more than other riders, wondering whether he was caught by cross winds or simply spent? Shame if that's what cost him 0.48" - he'll be back.

mulletmaster

Eddie Dunbar signs for NFTO. Hope he shines for them and takes off from there.

tailwindhome

mulletmaster wrote:

Eddie Dunbar signs for NFTO. Hope he shines for them and takes off from there.

http://www.stickybottle.com/races-resul ... pro-races/

frenchfighter

Great stuff. Dont follow that site so whenever you see something about him please post up. Going straight onto my man list when he turns to WT. What a talent.