Ronan McLaughlin interview
The careers of the men who finish a race with their arms raised in triumph are recorded in infinite detail, but as any observer of professional cycling will know, victory is almost impossible without the unswerving support of a team.
Ireland’s Ronan Mc Laughlin, who has called time on a professional career with Sean Kelly’s An Post-Chain Reaction team at the age of 27 understands better than most the sacrifices required to earn a living as a bike rider, having left Ireland for Belgium to pursue his dream.
Three finishes in the Tour of Britain and a host of top 10 placings in the Irish national road race championships, competing against the likes of Tinkoff-Saxo’s Nicolas Roche, proved that McLaughlin had the legs to carry the fight to the professionals competing in cycling’s elite UCI WorldTour.
Read this interview with one of the peloton’s many unsung heroes, as McLaughlin reflects on representing his country at the world road race championships, this year’s Grande Partenza of the Giro d’Italia in Belfast and Ireland, and the Curadmir three-day sportive.
