After a season with the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team where he started strongly, showed potential against the professionals with solid rides in the GP d’Ouverture La Marseillaise and the Etoile de Bessèges, then finished fourth in the 2.2 FBD Insurance Rás, Irish rider Connor McConvey has decided to walk away from cycling.
The 22 year old is taking what he terms an ‘indefinite break’ from the sport, citing what he said was a lack of passion for racing.
“I have decided to take a break because I’m just not having fun on my bike anymore,” he stated today. “We’ve tried for three or four months to bring things back to basics - purely fun - but nothing has changed. I know that you can’t enjoy life 100% of the time, but when your passion for the sport dwindles you can’t effectively go through the 80% of the really hard times to justify the 20% of the good times you experience. The sport is too hard if you don’t love it all.”
McConvey is a former mountain bike competitor who was at one point ranked inside the top five in the Under 23 world rankings. He decided to commit himself fully to road racing this season, but perhaps raced too much and became more and more fatigued.
He had the opportunity to continue with the An Post Sean Kelly team, and is in good condition. However he’s sure he’s made the right choice. “This is really a logical decision. I got myself into a good level of fitness, into a good place, before I made the decision,” he said. “I’ve had good results and shown good potential. It’s a decision that’s taken me three to four months to make. I had good opportunities for the next few years, so there was financial security there, along with a great team, great races and support staff. It was really a question of asking if I want this to be my life for the next ‘x’ number of years?”
Those who recognised his talent will naturally hope that he changes his mind once he has a chance to step back. Time will tell if that is the case, but for now he wants to make a clear break from the sport. He said that those near him have show some good understanding.
”The support I’ve had from my club as an underage rider, to all the MTB teams, national federation, SINI [Sports Institute Northern Ireland], ISC [Irish Sports Council], An Post, family, friends, coach and team mates thus far has been great,” he said. “They have all supported the decision super well, so cheers.”
“It’s time now for me to get out of the cycling bubble for the first time in my life, to experience a bit of life and to find myself as a person,” he concludes.