Showcase 2007/2008
Mark Heneghan
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Derek Coffey
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David Blair
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Cliff John
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Gerard O'Reilly
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Mark O'Gorman
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Tomas Grinius
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James White
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Sean Mooney
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I first started cycling when I was 14. I got a bike for Christmas and the salesman in
Eurocycles asked me if I wanted to join a team. I said I'd give it a lash. Here I am
now. I am on the Eurocycles racing team.
I started to race when I was 15. That time I was a 1st year unde- 16. So I was
basically learning about racing. All through the year I was going away to races
and meeting new people. That is why I was enjoying it so much at the start. Then
when I won my first race later in the year I started to really enjoy it. I went to the
National Championships expecting to get a top 5 and I would have got it only for
my first crash to ruin everything on me.
I used that crash as an incentive to get the next season off to a good start. My
winter training programme was unreal. Four to five hours every Saturday and
Sunday in the lashing rain, wind, snow, basically everything you would get on the
worst winter days. I'd still be out.
My season started well with two seconds and a third place. Then the big race of
the month came with me right up there for the overall. I was nearly at the finish in
about 3rd overall when I had another crash. This one was a little more serious
than my first. I ended up in Cork hospital on a spinal board, with whiplash, a
ripped back and, worst of all, my new bike was in a state: frame cracked,
handlebars snapped, wheels were square and more.. I think I wasfour
weeks off my bike which was torture to me. To make things worse, my bike was
stolen out of my car. Everything just started to go wrong. So I had to take a little
break. When I came back nice and refreshed I won my first race back. I went
away to Belgium and Holland with Ireland and when I came home I finished 13th
in the biggest underage race in Europe. There were around 110 people in it.
The end of year races were better. I won the National Road Race and Circuit
Race Championships at Under 16. I then went on to win 8 races after that.
This season I have been racing against the men for the first time. I love it even
more now. I have been away to France, Belgium, Holland and many other places
this summer. I was 3rd in one of the biggest races in Belgium this year. I have
also been in good form at home. I won six senior races this year and in the stage
races I was 8th overall in a mountainous race in France. That was against
Americans, Italians, English... well all the countries you could think of. In the
National Champs I was about to get 4th place until I got a puncture 1km from
the finish. That was a sickner. I was racing in a big stage race in Mayo. It is one
of the big European stage races. It was over 6 days and around 600km. I was
on the Irish team. I was 11th overall, 2nd Irishman, 4th U/17, 2nd on a mountain
top finish, 6th on a stage, 7th on another stage. I was also 3rd in the KOM
competition.
I hope to become a professional cyclist when I am older.. But we'll see what
happens.
