You sense this is becoming an important year for Jay McCarthy. The 22-year-old Australian has been working diligently for his teammates since joining Tinkoff-Saxo at the start of 2013 but is now emerging as someone who can bring in results of his own.
At the Tour of Turkey he is relishing the opportunity to do just that. He is sitting fourth in GC after placing fourth and tenth on the two summit finishes so far and he also came in third on the uphill sprint on stage five.
“It has been a waiting game,” he says as he sits down with Cyclingnews in the team hotel after the sixth stage. “I’ve done a lot of work for the team in the last two years at most of the races I’ve been at, but I think as I’ve grown as a rider I’ve started to feel that the going-for-victories side is starting to come into play.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I haven’t been disappointed with my last two years and I’m not complaining about the teamwork I’ve had to do in the past – that has made me realise more about the sport plus built me as a stronger rider.
“Some neo-pros come in and they have success straight away and they get into the groove of things. For a while there, I was like ‘am I ever going to be able to do it?’ It’s nice that I didn’t stop working hard and now eventually I get the chance. Weeks like this reinforce my self-belief.”
Weeks like this but also the call-up to the Giro d’Italia last year, a Grand Tour debut at 21 that McCarthy describes as a crucial formative experience. Although a domestique for sixth-place Rafal Majka, he managed third on stage 17 after getting into a breakaway that stayed away to the finish.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1JgAcVm
No comments:
Post a Comment