Q&A: Aoife Doherty (5th Floor Womens CC)

Aoife Doherty of the women’s club team, The 5th Floor, takes the VeloUK Q & A – good luck in 2017 Aoife

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Q&A: Aoife Doherty (5th Floor Womens CC)

Aoife says of her team, “The women on my team, 100%, are highly driven. We love being on our bikes and we have the same attitude to racing. We’re all highly competitive, but ultimately we’re not pro and we’re not going to be. We race for fun and that is the essence of it. We don’t chase points or categories, and nothing against those that do, that’s just not us, our ultimate goal is to race hard and have fun doing it. And we’re all really good friends which helps the fun bit”.

1. How did you get into cycle racing?
Aoife: A friend of a friend suggested I join a club run with her. I was keen to race from day one but the encouragement and advice of club mates got me to my first start line.

2. What’s your favourite discipline in cycling?
Aoife: This is an impossible question, and the cause of my lack of focus as I want to do it all! Let’s say cyclocross for now as we’re right in the middle of the season ;-)

3. What is the best thing about bike racing?
Aoife: Winning.

4. What was the highlight of 2016 for you and why?
Aoife: The Essex Giro. I’d never raced any of the National Series before and it was incredible being up there in the mix with some of the best in the country.

5. What was your favourite/most fun race of 2016
Aoife: The London Nocturne. The crowd, the excitement, the race, it’s a race I’ll never forget.
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6. What was the toughest race of 2016 for you and why?
Aoife: I think it was Oakley, part of the Women’s Team Series, I was feeling tired and drained and I shouldn’t have raced. All I did was roll around in the group. Races like that do nothing for self confidence, but sometimes it’s a hard call to make to pull out.

7. If there was one thing you learned most in 2016 to help you go faster/better, what was that?
Aoife: Ride less. Make hard sessions count and recover for the next. Oh and hill reps, lots of hill reps.

8. What is the best piece of equipment (clothing/bike/gadget) to do with racing you are proud of most?
Aoife: My cyclocross bike. Hand built by my incredibly talented team mate Adeline. A lot of love has gone into that bike, its beautiful to ride and aesthetically stunning. I feel incredibly lucky to have it.

9. What is your warm up routine for races – rollers or turbo? Music or no music?
Aoife: We usually get ourselves to races via train/riding there so warn ups tend to be on the road. I don’t say much before a race cause of nerves so it’s normally a silent affair.

10. When will you start training for 2017 and what comes first – long steady miles or a mix of miles and efforts?
Aoife: Now. It’ll be a combination of the two. Going from cross season into road means there isn’t time for long slow blocks of training.

11. How do you manage your sport and working?
Aoife: I compromise on pretty much everything else. But I don’t see it as a compromise. There’s a fair amount of juggling.

12. Finally, what are the goals for 2017 and when will you start racing?
Aoife: To race hard, animate races and give it my all at the risk of failure, and if I fail, learn to get over it and do it all again.

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