Darnell Moore (Team Caldwell Cycles) looked like he’d emptied the tank as he crossed the line at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Dublin on Sunday; caked in thick mud, exhausted but a very happy man.
He is no stranger to focusing on a big goal and taking scalps as he is a prolific winner in both the cyclocross road disciplines and has been a national champion in both codes, and in the hill climb. In a very challenging day for racing, he placed 19th, some 5:52 down – after 55 minutes of racing – on winner Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions).
Moore – still with a huge appetite for ‘cross a decade after he won bronze in the junior race at the National Championships – believes his decision to change his winter routine this year, was behind his very strong ride at the Sport Ireland Campus, Abbottstown, on Sunday. He took the decision to rebalance his cyclocross racing and his traditional winter training on the road, and told stickybottle he could really feel the benefit.
“That was my main aim from the time I knew it was on again,” he said of the World Cup race, being held in Dublin for the second time. “So I haven’t done much ‘cross this year and I think you just kind of have to prioritise training over racing every weekend with the likes of this coming up, so I’ve been picking and choosing this year. So, in terms of racing, I missed a few of those National Series rounds. I just thought I was better off to train.”
Specifically, Moore said he decided to target the World Cup by doing fewer cyclocross races on the home scene in recent months and instead using his weekends for hard training on the road.
“I kind of got caught up last year with riding ‘cross (races) at the weekends. And I felt like I was losing out on my proper training. Because I work during the week, I do turbo most mornings before going to work,” he explained, adding a combination of home training and road spins have been the order of the day of late rather than ‘cross training.
“I’m not going to pull major benefits from doing a (cyclocross) skill session. I’m only gonna gain a few seconds, so a good training session on the road is better off for me.”
And how did Sunday’s race feel, with the crowd shouting his name as he whipped around the course shoulder to shoulder with the European pros.
“Ah, it was class,” he said. People shouting you on definitely gives you an extra 10 per cent and there was always someone shouting me on from somewhere.
“In fairness, the course was very, very good, it just wasn’t as draggy as last year. There was plenty of grip around there. I just had to keep changing the bike every two laps and the bikes held up okay, thankfully, no mechanicals.”
While the elite men’s field really charged away from the start line, at a blistering pace, Moore was not deterred.
“I did try to go with the pace early on, just to get that initial gap and then try and hang on to it,” he said. “But while I did go with it, you could blow up fairly hand. So you just kind of have to pick and choose where to push on and where not to.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, Moore said he would ride the final couple of National Series races and then the National Cyclocross Championships. After that, he was looking to another road season, with Rás Mumhan and Rás Tailteann two goals during his season with Caldwell Cycles, the same shop he works for.
“There’s a few good young lads there as well in the team, so hopefully try and give them a bit of a hand,” he said.
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