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Daniel McLay

  • born:

    3rd January 1992

  • team:

    Lotto-Belisol U23

  • sponsors:

    Dave Rayner Fund

  • Racing base:

    I stay with Tim Harris and Jos Ryan in Westmeerbeek, Belgium

  • home town:

    Cropston, Leicestershire

  • nickname:

    At Tim and Jos its Danilo but aside from that, nothing has stuck yet!

  • website:

    www.lottobelisol.be/nl/nieuws-207.htm

  • Facebook:

    www.facebook.com/dan.mclay

  • Twitter:

    @McLAYDan

  • likes:

    coffee, food, cooking, winning

  • dislikes:

    doing the dishes

  • favourite rider:

    Cipollini

  • favourite race:

    of ones id like to ride sometime down the line: Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders or Paris Roubaix.

  • If money was no object what would be the first thing you would buy:

    First of all, a good Espresso machine for at home!

  • What do you do when not racing:

    When the seasons over Ill be catching up with my mates back home, having a few drinks, the usual stuff. For now, I get to throw in a few cafe stops, a pizza here and there and a bit of cinema now and again.

  • Race history:

    I’ve been cycling from the age of 10 or 11 and got into it through my parents. I started off with the Leicestershire Road Club which is where I spent a lot of time as a young rider. As I worked my way up through the age groups I’ve been lucky enough to have the support of 50cycles/univega for a season and then the Hargroves cycles team who really looked after me as a junior so a bit thanks to Pete Hargroves and the team. I was also a part of the British programme as a Junior which gave me some exposure to racing international races.

  • Best race(s) of the season:

    Is the the first time you have had support from the DRF? 

    Thanks to the fund I have been able to race in Belgium the last 2 seasons and this season will be my 3rd supported by the fund.

     

    What team are you joining in 2013?  

    I will be riding a 3rd season with the lotto development team, Lotto Belisol U23. The team is mostly Belgian but we’ve got 3 English speakers on the team this year including me. Our head DS is Kurt Van de Wouwer who was 11th overall in the Tour in ’99, It’s great to have someone who’s been there and done it who you can respect looking after you at the races. Our teams website is http://www.lottobelisol.be/nl/nieuws-207.htm

    What is your race programme looking like?

    The race programme for the team is pretty big, we have a lot of UCI 1.2 and 2.2 races along with good national races in Belgium but also France and Holland. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be racing but I hope to ride a mix of races including classic type and sprint races along with a number of stage races which will help to bring me on as a rider.

    Are you going on a training camp with the team? 

    We have a camp running over the end of Jan into February in Spain. It usually entails a lot of hours and a lot of pushing on as a few peoples competitive sides emerge! Plus there’s always a few days where you head expecting a 4 hour ride and do 6 if Kurt’s reading the map!

    When are you heading out to Europe?

    I’ll be heading to Belgium on the 21st of Jan

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