An Post’s secret to success !
The An Post Sean Kelly team have begun this season at a fantastic level . They have figured very strongly in every race that they have entered thus far . This has not happened by chance .
Sean Kelly was probably one of the hardest working professional cyclists ever . His level of dedication and attention to detail is legendary . It is only natural to assume that some of this work ethic would rub off on the riders of the An Post Sean Kelly racing team .
A good example of this is 38 year old Niko Eeckhout . A former Belgian national champion who looked up to Kelly as a hero when he began racing as a teenager whilst Kelly was the World number 1 . In the Autumn of his career now , he could be excused for not having the same motivation and dedication as his younger protégés . But that would not be the ‘Kelly’ way . Eeckhout , like Kelly leads by example .
Over Christmas when Belgium was covered in a foot of snow it was impossible to train outdoors . So what did Eckhout do ? He trained indoors . But not for 30 mins here and there . When his training program said that he was to do 6 hours , and he could not go outdoors , he did 6 hours indoors on the turbo trainer. Consuming over 10 litres of water during the six hour period he was also sweating this much out . His wife had to come in to him every now and then with a bucket and mop to soak up his perspiration from the floor .
And the results just speak for themselves . Niko has already tasted victory in the final stage of the 2010 Etoile des Besseges , one of the biggest races of the early season . How many other 38 year olds on any other team ( even The Shack ) would have that sort of dedication !
Barry
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