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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
Readers Reply 3rd Sept
To be honest guy's I never reply to anything I see on these site's unless I can vouch for what I say.
Having read Alex Reid's letter I feel compelled to write in. As a close personal friend of Philip's and fellow cyclist I can understand that with Philip ending last season on such a high that many people may feel dissapointed that this season has not gone so well but I feel it is unfair to attack Philip personally.
I can state knowing him as well as I do that neglect of his health and well being is so so far from the truth. It is quite unfair to state these thing's without knowing the 'FACTS' and find that these kind of unvouched and unwarranted comment's are unhelpful. Support for these young athlete's would be the best medicine.
I can understand people's frustration as I myself want to see him on top of podium's hell last year I was jumping around my sitting room ecstatic when he won the stage but this is a cruel sport and negative comment's do not help much as my mother used to say IF YOU CANNOT SAY SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT SOMEBODY SAY NOTHING AT ALL.
So go on all you Irish people get behind your own and offer them support when they need it, don't kick them when they are down.
I for one will be giving him 110% support both as a Friend and as a Cyclist.So go on Philip we are behind you well most of us anyway.
Martin McDevitt
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Original Letter (1st Sept)
To the Editor
I am writing to you concerning Philip Deignan.
All of us in the Irish cycling community know that Philip is a rider blessed with phenomenal talent, as his stage win in the Vuelta last year attests to. However I believe this man is capable of so much more and that it would not be going too far to say that he is guilty of wasting at least some of his considerable talent. I say this because he is clearly neglecting his physical well being. There is not one season that goes by where he is not injured or ill, no matter what is written on the subject not all of this is down to bad luck. Season after season all that the close follower of cycling reads in one race report after another is 'he is currently building form', one cannot build form forever.
It is clear that Philip is capable of so much more, how many riders can go without racing for so long and pull out such strong performances in a three week tour at the end of the season? That in itself is remarkable. One can point to the injuries and the illnesses but perhaps part of his problem is over training. There are not many riders who are out for large periods of time for reasons other than injury caused by a crash or mononucleosis, yet apart from his crashes in his first Spring as a pro he has had every ailment in the book apart from the traditional ones. Now, I recognise being a professional cyclist is one of the hardest jobs in sport, but it is a career that is entered into voluntarily and is one that requires extra care when it comes to physical well being.
I want Philip Deignan to do well, I am merely making an observation that I am not alone in making. Here we have a cyclist who could do very well in week long stage races such as Pais Vasco, Catalunya, Paris Nice, in the Ardennes Classics or Lombardy and in the Grand Tours. Philip admitted earlier this year that he had over trained, he must now address this issue if he wants to do well. At a time when Daniel Martin and Nicolas Roche are beginning to make a name for themselves and we have a new crop of strong riders such as Sam Bennet, Philip Lavery and Sean Downey(though they have a long way to go yet) coming through, it would be a shame if one of the most talented cyclists Ireland has ever produced was left behind.
Here is to a successful end of season for all our pros
Yours
Alex Reid
Tyrone N.Ireland
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