Gearing up for another big year

Brian Nugent scratches his head and tries to tot up the number of days he has spent abroad with Irish cyclists this year — but can only offer a very rough estimate. “A lot,” he eventually settles for.

“Well over 100 days of racing anyway, and the same training… the rest probably analysing the two and seeing how we can do it better next time,” he adds.

The 35-year-old Cookstown native hasn’t yet been in the job of Cycling Ireland head coach for 12 months yet, but his fingerprints are all over some of the country’s finest achievements this year.