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Riley Sheehan is working on the way back up after a difficult month of March, trying to find back his best legs in time for the holy cycling week, with tough rides coming up in Flanders and Roubaix.
Last year he finished 13th in the Ronde, winning the sprint from the second group two minutes behind winner Mathieu van der Poel. Back then, Sheehan was also recovering from illness but this time around he might be running out of time.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sheehan got dropped quite early when Visma-Lease a Bike opened up the gas and kicked off a brutal two hours of racing. Still, before the start of Dwars door Vlaanderen, Sheehan told Velo that he was very much looking forward to the Ronde, Roubaix and Amstel.
“Flanders is a special one, for sure. No matter what, I feel like I have an extra push towards Flanders. It’s been my objective for this year,” he after the sign on podium ceremony in sunny Roeselare. “I’m excited to be back here. I have good memories of these races. These races are where my heart is. I’m looking forward to it.”
This time last year, Sep Vanmarcke was guiding the young American in his first spring classics. This time around the experienced classics specialist is no longer present in the Israel-Premier Tech team. A few months ago, Vanmarcke announced that he needed to step back his role because of the same heart problems that forced him to stop racing.
The absence of the former star of the spring classics in the team car didn’t go unnoticed by Sheehan. “Yeah, I miss him a lot,” he sighed.
“Thankfully he’s been kind enough. I still get to see him here and there. I message him. His advice and knowledge is the best. It’s incredible. It’s a bummer to miss Sep’s presence. It’s good to hear a message from him here and there.”
‘I’m excited for Amstel … a dream race of mine’
The 24 year-old American was glad to finally get some racing under his belt because he hadn’t finished a race after the Belgian opening weekend in early March.
He had two anonymous rides and then headed to Italy for the Strade Bianche race.
“In the opening weekend I had good legs and bad luck. I was happy with the progression. The crash in Strade started a bit of a downfall. There were a few crashes I was involved in.
“In the third one I hit my head pretty hard,” Sheehan explained. “Then I got a bit sick. Luckily I’ve been okay now. Unfortunately I missed E3 and Milano-San Remo.”
He’s lost out on a lot of racing kilometers. It remains to be seen if Sheehan will be good enough to perform at his best in the upcoming monuments.
He is hopeful. “I think so. For this race I’ll know after today. I’m making progress after coming back. Each day I feel better. Just getting a race in like today should be a good sign. I think this race is the perfect place to get ready,” Sheehan said.
“It’s looking like I’ll do Roubaix again as well, and potentially Amstel now. I’ll make up for the kilometers and another new opportunity. I’m excited for Amstel. It’s been a dream race of mine. The opportunity has come. I’ll take it.”
Passionate about Roubaix: ‘It’s a great race’
When asked about how special Paris-Roubaix was, Sheehan’s expression showed that this race was something different. “Special is a good way of saying brutal and painful. It was cool. It’s a great race. I look forward to it again.
“|I did a bunch of testing earlier this year. I’ve been figuring out all the equipment. I have a good idea of what to do. I think, when the day comes, all I have to do is race as good as I can. I feel prepared. We’ll see how that one goes. It can go in one million directions,” Sheehan said.
Regarding his equipment for the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, the Israel-Premier Tech team is doing everything they can to provide the riders with the best set-up.
“We tested the Factor Ostro Gravel which we used last year. We tested aero as well. Different tires, trying different clearances. 32’s, 35’s even. Figuring out what’s the best,” he said.
“Ultimately it is a road race so you’ve got to have a fast bike. There’s 50km of cobbles and 200km of asphalt. It looks now more like the race is faster and faster so you have to focus on speed and what’s aerodynamic and go good on the road.
“You just have to be tough and strong on the cobbles.”
