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OTHER CYCLING : Track Racing : Shane Stokes Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM

O'LOUGHLIN IN ACTION TODAY
By Shane Stokes
26 Mar 2009,

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David O�Loughlin will today aim for a medal in the individual pursuit at the world track championships in Poland. Having finished sixth in last year�s championships in Manchester, the An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly rider has more recently placed third and then second in World Cup races in Beijing and Copenhagen.



He feels that all going well, a place in the top three is possible. The heats are taking place this morning with the finals for the four fastest riders being held later on today. If he rides to his full ability and all goes to plan, there is reason to be confident that he can be in the scrap for a podium finish.

Irishcycling.com spoke to the Mayo rider last weekend, getting his thoughts on his chances for today�s event.

SS: What have you done since the world cups?

DOL: Well, straight away afterwards I did the Volta ao Algarve. That was really good for me, getting a nice stage race in my legs. That was really important. I then took a little break for a few days, then started doing some quality training at home, a lot of specific work.

I think I had about two weeks of doing that sort of training and then I started out to do the Three Days of West Flanders. I wasn�t feeling so good and so I decided to abandon on the first stage. I would have liked to have that weekend but I got back to more training at home in the west of Ireland. The weather wasn�t ideal, I would have preferred to have been away in better weather but it didn�t happen for various reasons.

SS: Did you get to the Cycling Ireland track session in Aigle?

DOL: Yes, we were in Aigle all this week and we had a good camp there. We had four or five days on the track there, so it was good. I was pleased with my form there in Aigle. I think that I am on schedule. Doing the stage race in Algarve and getting a good block of training in after that means that my form has come up a lot in recent weeks. During the World Cup season I was working a lot on technical aspects of the pursuit, the delivery of the effort and pacing; I think we achieved a lot during the winter, between the World Cups. Now I intend to keep working on those things but more importantly, I will be getting the engine tuned a lot more.

SS: And you have got two medals at the World Cups, so that is obviously good for your confidence and getting used to riding in finals�

DOL: Yes, it is. Competing for medals and even riding in finals, doing two rides a day�that is all important. It was definitely really good to do that in preparation for the world championships and hopefully the Olympics in future plus other world championships.

SS: The first time you did the worlds, you could see the nerves of that whole new situation. I guess the more times you are in that position, it just becomes second nature and the nerves are less and less an issue�

DOL: That is it. I remember that first worlds in Majorca�I supposed I really didn�t know what I was doing, I was so new to it. I have learned a lot in the short space of time that I have been doing it. I particularly enjoyed doing team pursuit this year. We have a great squad there and I think there is a lot of potential for the future. I just think it is an awful shame that we didn�t get to ride the world championships. That was disappointing.

But the programme will continue to run as it has been and the team will improve.

SS: Heading to Poland, what are your expectations there?

DOL: I think obviously I am aiming for a medal. I think that is a realistic aim coming into it. In terms of time, I think a PB is what I am aiming for. At the moment it is 4.20 so I am looking for that or better.

SS: Do you think that your form is better than in the last World Cups � have you have been able to build on that?

DOL: Yes, for sure, my form is building all the time this year. It is definitely better than it has been in the World Cups. I was training there recently and the times were good and encouraging.

SS: Is Phinney likely to be the favourite over there?

DOL: Yes, for me I think Phinney is the clear favourite. I think that Jessie Sargent is fast, Jack Woolridge, Ed Clancy and Stephen Burke. There are a few guys there who are definitely capable of winning medals, but for me I think that Phinney is the clear favourite.

That said, I believe that I am just as good as some of those guys there, if not better. So I don�t think there is any reason why I can�t get a medal if everything goes to plan.

SS: Can you tell me how you got into the sport?

DOL: Originally it was just the case that one of the local clubs was doing a bit of a training weekend and a recruitment drive here in Mayo. I got talked into coming along and that was me hooked from there on in. I enjoyed the weekend and it all went from there.

In that year I did the Community Games and won a medal there. It started then and I got more and more involved, doing the junior world championships two years later and I took it more seriously from that point on.

SS: How long were you with Navigators?

DOL: I spent three years with Navigators in America, then did two years before that with Ofoto. I was living in the US off and on. I tried to spend as much time as possible at home in Ireland but I did spend periods of time in America.

David O'Loughlin is with the An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly team this season.


SS: You are with the Kelly team now � are you on the road much, or do you get to spend time in Mayo and just head to the races separately?

DOL: Well, Sean and Kurt and An Post have been very supportive and understanding, especially with the track. They have given me a lot of freedom. Primarily I am based in the West of Ireland in Mayo. Obviously if there is a block of racing I need to do I will just stay in Belgium, but generally speaking I train at home and just travel to the races.

SS: How important do you think the team is to give Irish riders the opportunity to do something?

DOL: I think it is brilliant, it is a huge opportunity for Irish cycling and Irish riders. It has a good programme, is a well organised team and just having Sean there in the background is great. It is amazing seeing him around and how people are so in awe of him and how good he is.

He just opens up a lot of doors for the team and the athletes on it. It is an amazing setup and I am really impressed with things with them so far this year.

SS: What is your programme like for the rest of the year?

DOL: In April I am going to take a bit of a break after the track worlds in order to regroup � it is more mental than physical. I will be doing two stage races in Spain in the end of April. Extramadura is one of them and the Vuelta Asturias is the other. I am looking forward to them, then soon after that is the R�s. I will have possibly one or two one-days after that in Holland and Belgium.

I am obviously looking forward to the R�s this year. It is important for the team. I spent a good few years trying to win it�it might happen but the R�s is a very unpredictable race, it is a very difficult race to win.

SS: Is it difficult to go from track to road � it seems that there needs to be a bit of time to convert back over to the endurance racing. Is that a hard trick to go from one discipline to another?

DOL: I think it is definitely doable to flip over and back between the two of them. I think I have learned a lot and I am getting better at shifting between the two of them. Hopefully this year will be a lot easier than it was last year. I definitely learned a lot from making a lot of mistakes in the past, so hopefully this year it will be a lot easier to make that transition.

SS: You mentioned trying to win the Ras � are there other races at home and internationally that you want to do well in?

DOL: Generally I want to do well [everywhere]�I am really looking forward to the road this year. There is a good opportunity with the team, they have a great programme. I haven�t really looked in detail too far ahead after the R�s but obviously the Tour of Ireland is a huge highlight. I know there is going to be a lot of international racing between now and then so I am looking forward to getting stuck into that and getting some results.

SS: Longer term on road and track, do you have specific targets?

DOL: I am still fairly focussed on the track for the London Olympics. I am definitely going to keep going on the track and I en joy the road as well. I like doing a bit of both because when you get a bit fed up with one, you can just move on to the other! They are on at different times of the year, so they keep me quite focussed and enthusiastic all the time.

SS: For London, is the target a medal?

DOL: For sure. I still believe that the medal is possible. I am still learning so much all the time and improving, making progress�that is the most important thing on the track in the individual pursuit and team pursuit. I definitely think that medals are possible in London for both the individual and the team.

As regards the road, I still want to keep progressing there. I want to win international races, not just races in Ireland. Obviously some of the Irish races are important for the team and the sponsors, so there is a bit of emphasis put on them.

SS: It was a bit of a leap in the dark in turning to the track as there wasn�t much of a track programme for many, many years. Do you think overall it has made you a better rider, a more ambitious rider?

DOL: I think it has, I think it has definitely been a very positive experience for me, for my career. I think it will benefit me on the race, it has definitely given me a new level of confidence. It is almost a new lease of life for my career.

Plus it gives you a really good insight�the preparation is a lot more in depth, a lot more analytical, so I think it is definitely going to improve me as a road rider as well as a track rider.

SS: Who do you work with mostly on the track?

DOL: Mostly it is Tommy Evans, he is the national coach, but I am still involved with Padraig Marrey. He has helped me down through the years. I think that the Cycling Ireland coaching staff are doing a very good job at the moment.

SS: And Phil Leigh is coming in as well as High Performance Director, so that�s going to be a change, adding another dimension to it�

DOL: Yes, it will be interesting to see. I haven�t had a conversation with anyone so I don�t really know what Phil�s plans are as yet.


Irishcycling.com would like to wish David the best of luck.



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