Sean O'Kane

 2024 Training

January & February

The month started off with some running and a marathon to switch it up a bit. After that, this period was focused on base miles. Hardly any intensity. Probably not enough. Using strava’s zone two, the easy spins were just too hard as well, it was all practically tempo. But I got good volume in at a low enough intensity so it was a good preparation for the coming season. I did what I could with the knowledge I had.

I joined Orwell during this period and went out on my first group spins, eager to gain what knowledge I could off the senior riders and get used to riding in a bunch. It was also punctuated with some of my usual crazy explorative antics, including a 200km spin with the Ray Crinion sportive, and ending the block with a crazy 1000km week in Spain, what better preparation for my first week of racing.

Est. FTP 340w.

March, April & May

Racing began. So did overtraining. I wanted to do everything, wanted to be too perfect. Having made a comprehensive plan for the start of the year, I just didn’t want to miss any sessions I had planned, even when it was the right thing to do. I had the right principles but couldn’t hold myself back. This culminated in a heart rate max of 176 for a time trial at the end of the block. But this was my first proper taste of the drug of racing and I was addicted. I got some results, such as an 8th in the Newbridge GP, a 3rd in the Connor Coombes Memorial and 4th place in the Sean Lynch Memorial, the result that tipped me into the A3 categoriy finally. I learned valuable experiences here, but was also very frustrated by the negative racing style of the riders, who all seemed contest to end in a sprint no matter how good their srint actually was. Even during this period, I was doing 2 intensity sessions a week in addition to the racing. My perfectionism was slowly killing me.

Est. FTP 350w.

June & July

I knew I was doing too much and I needed a change. What I needed was a coach. Someone who would hold me back when necessary, and would get me performing optimally, get me performing at my best. My mentality was always to do more than everyone else but that wasn’t what I needed at the moment, I needed to put the handbrake on. It was time to turn my dedication, my mentality, my commitement to never miss a session, into results.

I upgraded my tires from gatorskins (widely known as the fastest tire around) to a pair of GP5000s and got myself a set of 50mm carbon wheels. It was time to equal the playing field. L’Etape was the main goal I had focused on all year. It was a brutal day out with intense heat, all making it hard to keep on top of nutrition. My legs were gone on the final climb but I finished a satisfying 237thplace, a good result considering the amount of contestants. Once we got that out of the way, it was time to really work on improving me as a rider.

Est. FTP 370w.

August

Lactate clearance intervals again, again and again. We really focused here on recovering quickly from efforts and doing them again, simulating the demands of races. It was absolutely brutal, but I could feel myself getting stronger, and improving. During this month, I had a club league race, up the Ballysmuttan climb. A hard finish by Irish standards. After an 8m solo bridge, I was able to catch the front breakaway and ride away on the final climb. I shattered my power PRs from 1 minute to 8 minutes. But that feeling of crossing the line first, the joy, the relief, the satisfaction. I now knew how to win.

The training was paying dividends. The focus was now onto my first stage race, the Charleville 2 day. Like earlier in the month, it was a combination of brutal lactate clearance 30-15s (truly horrific) and sub-threshold spins in the mountains. But like all year, it was just about getting the sessions done, day after day. Consistency is what makes the difference. Never missing the session. Eating healthily outside of training, and fueling well during training. I just needed to trust the process, and I would reap the rewards.

Est. FTP 380

September & October

The Charleville 2-day had some great and some not so great, but was a very valuable experience. My goals were high, to win a stage but I fell short of that target, due to a mixture of inexperience and just not being the strongest rider. Then focus turned to the last race of the year. The national hill climb championships. My first national event, against some of the most talented riders in the country. It was now about getting my fresh power as high as possible. Out of Charleville, the form was already good though. We focused on longer duration power, 4-10 minutes, at varying intensities, to stimulate adaptations for these durations. During some 10m intervals, I broke PRs, and followed it up in the mock hill climb. I thought the power meter was broken, pushing 437w for 8:34s, just a couple seconds off the KOM at that time, held by Ruari Byrne. I couldn’t believe my level, the goal was now to not just top five, but to podium.

The hard work was paying off and I just couldn’t wait for each training sessions. I was hit my illness though around this time, the timing couldn’t have been worse. I wasn’t able to hit the numbers in the sessions anymore, I was struggling just to hold it for a couple minutes never mind ten. The sessions were constantly 4-10 minutes at above threshold intensity. In total during this month, a total of 6 between the end of Charleville and the Hill Climb. Enjoyable usually with the high power but I just couldn’t reach those heights. I did the usual taper for the hill climb and ended up with a decent result but a feeling of what could have been.

Est. FTP 400w.

Race Highlights

Des Hanlon 24

It was time for a trip down to Carlow for the Des Hanlon Memorial. The start was lackadaisical, nobody wanted to do anything with what was up ahead, so the first half of the race was just about conservation. Throughout the second phase I just stayed top 5 wheels, not closing any moves, just trying to stay calm.

As we got onto the final climb, a group of two went off up ahead and the gap just expanded and expanded. I tried to work in the group but when I flicked my elbow, nobody came through. I pulled to the side and had a small gap to the group. I lit the afterburners and sent it. I immediately had a gap, and kept it. Within a minute, I was up to the front of the race. I was feeling great, but the climb was ending. I went straight by them and kept drilling it. One dropped, one survived. We were at the plateau.

It was 15km left of descending and false flat downhill, and we swapped off perfectly, extending the gap to just over 30 seconds until we came down to a wet right-hander. The road markings said left. The marshall was ineffective. And by the time I tried to recorrect my line, it all came crashing down. The scrape of pedals was omniscient. I got straight up, flowing with adrenaline and tried to get going but my chain was off. The group behind came hurtling past. I lay in the grass, trying to compose myself. My pelvis was hurting, I didn’t feel like I could pedal. Finally, I got up and began soft pedalling to the finish, my ego bruised, and feeling beyond disappointed, pure bitter frustration.

I was fortunate to have the support of my Uncle Jon and Barry who gave me a lift, and got myself patched up. Not the greatest second race ever. A possible win led to a possible trip to the hospital. Neither happened in the end.

Connor Coombes Memorial

The month started off with the Connor Coombes Memorial. A circuit with one short hill and a couple other rollers, but in essence, a flat race.

I had analysed the course before the race on veloviewer, looking for a late flier, so I had two points in my mind, and just kept my powder dry until they came. One with 4.3km to go and one with 2.5km. With the torrential tailwind, a late move was destined to do well. We were getting close to the final chance at glory, as the first kicker wasn’t hard enough to make a difference(I have no sprint as you could have guessed).  

The road began to ramp up, I accelerated in the saddle and just left it all out on the road, stomping on the pedals with all my force until I got to the top. I look around. There is immediately a gap, though someone is trying their best to pull me back. I keep stamping, the lactic acid in my legs is screaming at me, but I have to put that thought into another world. I look behind again, he’s pulled off, I think to myself ,’I have a chance here’. I catch the rider in front and immediately drop him off the wheel, he has nothing left. I can here the shouts of encouragement behind me, but I’m just pushing as hard as I can, thinking about nothing else. The finish line appears in the distance.

Agonizingly close yet so far. The peloton is preparing the sprint and is slowly closing in. 400m and they are on my wheel. Are they gassed, do they have nothing left? I just have to keep going. 200m to go and the sprints begin, I slowly get passed by one rider, then another, as I bike throw for the line. Third place and my first podium, delight and despair. My best result by a country mile, I’m delighted yet a feeling of what could have been persists. On reflection, 440w for 4 minutes was a maximum effort and there wasn’t much more I could have done.

Alan Towell Memorial

Up ahead was a selective race with plenty of significant elevation gain (by Irish standards), a route that suited me well. As I had done with the previous couple of races, it was all about just biding my time and not wasting unnecessary energy, and then attacking with a dangerous group or when I felt the time was right. I just made up the positions on the flat, slowly filtered through the group on the insignificant climbs, trying to limit any unnecessary accelerations as best as possible.

With me almost going into the curb, two almighty pothole collisions and a tractor halting the race with a lap to go, a lot of concentration was needed but I had my eyes focused on the hardest climb on the circuit. 800m at 8%. As we approached it, there was a group of 3 up ahead which had gotten up the road, unbeknown to me, and another group of 3 in the gap.

Once we arrived, I opened up the taps, put my head down and drilled it. To my surprise, only one rider was able to stay on the wheel. I was out of water though, with 10km left, and my hamstrings began cramping in the last 100m of the climb. A couple more riders caught up to us in the subsequent plateau and we had a group. I began pulling through immediately, the legs were good, but the cooperation was horrible. It was frustrating but I wanted to catch the group in front and get as good a result for myself as possible. As we approached the finish, I went early, but had no real acceleration left. 2 riders bombed past from behind to take 4th and 5th place, and then 2 more slowly eeked past as I stalled. I ground my way to the finish line, finishing 8th and being absolutely delighted. My first points in A3, and confirmation I had what it took, being able to make the selection and drag the group away. It put a bow on what had been an intense but fruitful month.

Charleville 2 Day

The Charleville 2-day stage race. 2 action-packed days full of racing. Day one was a hilly stage in the morning, followed by a short and sharp afternoon time trial. Day two was the decisive for GC, a mountain stage, by Irish standards. It was going into the unknown for me, as this was a race people would have peaked for, and the competition would be intense. After the long drive down to Cork, a stop at the Barack Obama Plaza, and buying 10kg of pasta and 50 bananas, we settled into our grandiose holiday home.

As we approached the final hill of the day, I began moving up and latched onto the wheel in front. We came with speed, and I exploded out of the group just as we met the climb, the timing was perfect. There was no way anyone could close that gap. Immediately, I started thinking about the groups up the road. There was a lone leader and four behind. While my teammate Cesar blocked behind, I caught the group and ripped past them, dropping all bar one. We regrouped over the crest and swapped through and off disjointedly once again, I was doing the majority of the work as two of the others sat on, taking the odd pull. We weren’t catching the lone leader, but we had a significant advantage on the peloton. As we approached 150m to go, I launched but had nothing in the legs, and they were immediately screaming at me. Like I said, no sprint! 5thplace on the stage had to suffice, but I was delighted with it, and it put me in a good spot regarding the GC.

The focus immediately turned to the time trial, a simple 8km straight road time trial with no technical aspect. It was a race against time to fuel up as much as possible, eating rice, rice and. More rice. I was amped up as I finished my warmup, having the pacing plan memorized in my head. I sprinted at the start, forgetting to start my garmin. Not the best start. I quickly settled into as aerodynamic a position as I could handle with my ITT clip ons. I was pushing but wasn’t on the limit, stronger than my pacing plan suggested. My heart rate wasn’t high though but I assumed that was fatigue more than anything. I didn’t want to blow up. As we got closer I pushed harder and harder but it was too little too late. I ended up pushing 460 watts in the last minute with the other 7 averaging 384, a massive jump. I finished and had a look at the results. Not even in the top 20. This was the stage that should have suited me with my heavier profile. A disappointment but I couldn’t dwell on it too long. Focus had to turn to the next day as soon as possible.

I always liked the climbs, it was where I could make a difference, but this was a higher level. I was confident though I could at least move up in the GC. There were plenty of attacks at the start of the race as the main GC contenders tried to blow the race apart. Nothing to do with me I thought to myself, not my job. Once we reached it the first rep, a group of favourites went off the front. I had planned to just sit in the wheels, and remain calm up the first rep.

As we approached the summit, we caught them and there was a lull for a second. Then came the decisive move, at least from my end. The group of favourites, mostly comprising of the same riders went again. It was right before the descent, I thought we would catch them, but that would be the last we saw of them all day. Once we got onto the flat, we could see them up ahead but after the chaos of the descent, we were in ones and twos. Everyone made a full gas effort to close the wheel in front and then there was a second of relaxation, and we would never see them again.

We were ambling along, until the second rep. Here, I wanted to make a difference and go early, try and make some sort of inroads to the group in front and pick up any stragglers. After about a kilometre, the pace was mediocre and I went on the right-hand side of the road, seated, trying to sneak away. Immediately I had two riders in the wheel but we had a gap to the group. I pulled and pulled and the began working with a Bray rider while another sat on. Despite us pulling full gas, and being among the stronger two on the previous climb, the group behind was working well to maintain the gap to us. As we reached the crest, they accelerated hard behind, and closed us down. That was it. With such a big group, an attack on the flat would have been fruitless. My chance at a stage result I would have been happy with was gone. It was now about limiting the losses to the riders up in front who had a commanding gap on the rest of us and were fighting it out for the stage win. We rolled through together, with good cohesion until the finish. In the sprint, I had nothing once I got out of the saddle once again, and finished last in the bunch sprint.

Overall this gave me a top twenty on GC, which in the context of my first year racing, was a great result, but I had hoped and expected before the start. Despite that, I took confidence from my stage one result, knowing that I had the ability to do well. Some good, some bad, but overall, a learning experience that was important to get under the belt before next year’s forays into the elite leagues.

National Hill Climb

I had gone from my best power output to struggling to match my Charleville form. I came into the ITT uncertain due to my illness the previous week or two but I knew I could only do my best on the day.

It was my last result of the season & my first national race. Me and my coach went through every way possible to optimise to the full extent for it, up Kilmashogue’s small brother, Tibradden, which still had nasty ramps all the way through it. I trained up it again and again, and knew it inside out. All I could do on the day was hope that my recent ill form would disappear as I prepared my carbload and taper. The goal had initially been a podium, but that would have required an inhumane effort with the competition, a top 5 was more realistic with my previous form. But on the day, I could only do what I could do. As I began my long warmup, it dawned on me how big of an event his was, a national event, the best riders in Ireland, and it was my chance to prove myself, to make a name for myself.

We planned a negative split pacing plan and that’s what I stuck to, pushing 403 until the bends, and then emptying the tank after, the epitome of suffering as I average 429, well below what I knew I was capable of but all I could do on the day. In retrospect, getting 9th place in the end was a fantastic result, and night and day from where I was at the start of the year. Getting top ten at a national was something I couldn’t have even fathomed at the beginning of the year. While riding home with Killian, the winner of the day, and Patrick, who placed 8th place, they had the great idea of going for the Cruagh bridge to bridge KOM. So less than an hour after killing myself up Tibradden, I was now tasked with giving a leadout to the winner of the day, to the behest of Eoin Byrne, the original KOM holder. One of those, how did I end up here moments. A fitting close for a great first season, and only the start of much more.

Targets for 2025

Rás Tailteann

This is my primary goal for the year, and what all my preparation is built towards. Because this is my first proper pre season, I don’t have any specific goals yet, and the sky is the limit, nobody knows how I will progress from here, not even myself. It will be about seeing what fruits I bear from my training, and seeing a couple weeks before the Rás what some realistic goals would be. I’ve had my first stage race, so now it’s about building on the new experiences of last year and getting notable results. Main goal for the team will most likely be supporting the strongest rider in the club, Joe Nathan Matar.

International Racing

After the Ras and a short block of training, I’ll be heading off to Belgium for my first sample of continental racing in kermesses around the country. These criterium esque races are known for being the breeding ground of many top cyclists, both from Belgium and abroad, and getting any sort of result is sure to raise your profile among teams and scouts in the region. Even ignoring that, the chance to compete against 70+ other motivated individuals in the home of cycling is something that should be on anyone’s to do list. It will be all about reaching the next level, and competing against super motivated individuals with the same goals and aspirations. Only the strongest will win. You’ll find grip on your tires you never knew were there. Elbow to elbow through very single corner. No matter your level, you are sure to come out a much better cyclist. The goal here is to leave my mark on the race, and become recognised.

Dublin Marathon

Completely unrelated to cycling, I’m planning on finishing the year out with the Dublin Marathon. Despite already having finished a marathon doing laps of my local park (30ish), I want to have a proper preparation and maximise my potential to reach the best possible time that I can be proud of. With running there is always a large risk of injury so I will have to dedicate 2 months or so for preparing the tendons and ligaments for the impact of it.