Curro cyclist’s Irish pedal power

One lucky, talented Curro Mount Richmore cyclist got on a plane to Dublin recently to take part in the three-day Errigal International Youth Tour in Ireland.

Chloe Bateson said the moment they arrived in the town of Letterkenny, where they were based, they built their bikes and started riding the course.

“Day one was a 30km road race. It included tight corners, fast downhills and sharp climbs. Day two was a short time trail with a stretched out climb towards the end, including an early evening road race of 30km with a stretched out hill before the finish line. The last day was a crit around central Letterkenny. The course was short, fast and flat,” said Bateson.

“I felt confident about the first race day. We were lead out by car in the neutral zone, but as soon as it pulled away the pace increased. I stuck on one of my teammate’s wheels and we worked our way through. We were in the middle bunch of riders as together we could not stick onto the lead group. The end grew near, sprinting with another two people on the uphill. Just before the line, my chain jumped off unexpectedly. I finished the day strong only a few seconds behind the other U14 girl with a fourth place.”

Day two started with a time trail, so the riders had different start times.

“I sprinted the start and kept a good speed into the head wind. Unfortunately things did not go as planned, but I managed to sprint again towards the finish to take a few seconds off my time.”

On the third and final day, Bateson said she had gotten into the rhythm of preparation before the race.

“The first two laps were neutral, but because of it being such a tight course and us bunching so much around the corners, there were a few incidents that I managed to avoid. When the race officially started I broke into the second bunch. I kept a pace, concentrating on the turns and attacks. Still feeling comfortable in my position with energy in my legs, our bunch (being the only ones left behind the leading group) was also called off with only three laps to go. That is how they do it over there.”

Overall, Bateson said the tour was a massive learning curve in her career and has prepared her mentally and physically for future upcoming overseas races.

Final results for all four stages for U 14 age group – fifth female (out of 17) and overall in the U14 age group (male and female) 49th out of 85 entrants.

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