Carlow man, Con Scully was the first Irish man home in the U-19 Gent Wevelgem in Belgium on Sunday morning.
The 18-year-old was in triumphant spirits when he spoke to Full Time last night.
“I’m still very happy with the result and to be in the top group”.
Donning the Irish colors
This is the teenager’s 3rd time representing his country and he does so with great satisfaction.
“It definitely gives you that boost when you put on the colors in the morning and see Ireland across your chest. It’s definitely a proud moment”.
Dedication
The 6th year student has mastered the art of juggling his studies with his cycling pursuits.
“I do 2 split sessions a week where I train in the morning at 5.30 am before I head to school. Then I do about an hour and a half when I get back from school”.
The Carlow Road Cycling Club man has every minute of the day accounted for between study, training, nutrition and rest.
“Luckily, I have a half-day on a Wednesday so I can get out for 2.5/3 hours. Fridays are the same for me and then obviously Saturday and Sunday are big training days so 3 or 4 hours on those days too.”
The dream
He is remarkably focused for a man of his age but says this is down to a very clear vision that he has for his future.
“Hopefully I can make a career out of cycling. That’s the hope anyway to get the professional contract by the end of this year. Hopefully, with a couple of results like Sunday there, a contract will materialize with a team by the end of the year”.
“It’s something I need to stay working on but that’s definitely the dream”.
Nations Cup
Although Scully was happy with where he placed in the Nations Cup on Sunday, he felt that he was on course to finish in a higher position if it wasn’t for a couple of unfortunate incidents along the way.
A number of crashes by other cyclists obstructed his route Sunday morning.
“The big crash was along the main cobble climb where I had to get off the bike and run up a section of it and get back on again and chase back into the group so that was quite a stressful moment”.
“Then, we were a bit unfortunate in the end. We had 2 Irish riders in the front group. Me and Adam Gilsenan were approaching the last kilometer and Adam crashed. I got caught in that crash and rolled into 30th. I’m still very happy with the result and to be in the top group”.
Grassroots
Scully says he would be nowhere if it wasn’t for Carlow Road Cycling Club.
“I’m very lucky to be in such a good club because the support I’ve had the whole way up is the main reason I was able to get to that race on Sunday”.
Scully’s next event takes place over the Easter holidays when he will compete in a stage race in Belgium.
“That’s the main focus at the moment to get ready for that”.
Listen back to the full interview here:
