Keen to put a difficult 2010 behind him, Philip Deignan has spoken about his tough season and has said that he is looking forward to a fresh start next year.
The 27 year old Irishman is currently finalising plans for 2011 and is confident that he will have a good team. He had been left in a difficult position when the Cervélo Test Team announced it would not continue next season, but should be able to move forward now and concentrate on getting back to his natural level.
“The only way is up from here after the year that I have had,” he told VeloNation today. “I am looking forward to next season and showing what I can do.”
Deignan won a stage and finished ninth overall in the 2009 Vuelta a España, then headed into his second year with the Cervélo Test Team determined to build on that. However he never reached top form, with tenth and twelfth on stages of the Circuit de La Sarthe plus sixteenth on a stage of the Vuelta a Murcia being as close as he got.
He had no idea what was wrong, but saw a specialist before the Vuelta and things started to move forward. “He said there was a virus there since the beginning of the year,” Deignan explained. “He said my body wasn’t able to fight it, and did something to kick-start my immune system.
“The problem was that he said I would probably feel worse for two weeks after he did the treatment. It was just five days before the Vuelta when I saw him. Because of that, he said I would probably struggle for the first ten days of the race and maybe get better. However I wasn’t feeling much change after twelve days of the Vuelta so I decided to pack it in.”
Having ridden so well there one year before, pulling out was a tough moment. “It was really difficult,” he admits. “I think I’m feeling better now, though, although it’s hard to say as I haven’t really started back training yet.
“I do feel okay at the moment off the bike, generally. I think it’s a case of getting rest and taking a few weeks off the bike to get healthy again, then start back really slowly and build up once more.”
Deignan is also awaiting more results in order to ensure he is on the right track. “I have done a few more tests. I get the results next week and I will know more then,” he said.
One consolation is knowing that once he gets his health sorted out, the results should follow again. He’s got clear ability and should achieve big things again once the fatigue has been shaken off. “My plan is to get things sorted with a new team, get healthy again and show everybody next year what I can do,” he said, sounding determined.