The Mondello 24 Hour has taken on a life of its own. It’s one of the few chances you get to ride or race a closed circuit for a full day. Solo, 2-person, 4-person, 8-person. Able-bodied and disabled athletes all out sharing the same track. A mad celebration of everything human-powered.
I had been eyeing the solo category for years, but Audax and ultra events kept getting in the way. In 2024 I got the invite for a 4-person team instead. It was brilliant, chaotic, messy, and somehow we finished second. I clocked 220 km and came away hooked on the atmosphere. That was when the idea of going solo really took root.
Fast forward about ten months. An advert pops up for the 2025 edition. With all the wisdom of someone who should know better, I signed up with two months to prepare. Not ideal.
Preparation
The start of the year had been full on. A pile of 200s, long gravel spins, Rás Mhaigh Eo, another few 200s, then a 300 and a 1000 in early June. Great fun, but maybe not the smartest lead-in to a 24 hour race.
The week before Mondello, I got the kit sorted. Road bike as the main machine, gravel bike with road tyres as the backup. Campervan as the base. My daughter Aoife as the support crew. The goal was simple. Break 600 km. Anything more was a bonus.
The atmosphere on the day was unreal, as always. Hundreds of riders, teams, vans, lights, noise, nerves. My plan was to stay calm, focus on the basics, and not get sucked into the madness at the front. The road bike was dialled. The gravel bike was there, and that was about it.
The Start and Settling In
Mondello begins with a Le Mans start. Run across the track to your bike. Pure theatre. A lap is 3.5 km and normally takes about six minutes for me. The early pace was frantic. I stayed clear of the ballistic front group made up of riders doing short stints. I found a steady bunch of solo and team riders and sat in without taking turns. Energy conservation is everything.
The heat was the first battle. After a few hours, I ditched the aero top for something lighter. It made a big difference on the baking tarmac.
At 130 km I took my first proper break. Sandwiches, bottles, toilet, the usual. Back out, back into a decent group, and the laps started to drop again.
The Mechanical Meltdown
Around 180 km the back of the bike sounded like a cement mixer. The cassette was wobbling all over the place. I could still pedal, but it was obvious it would not last.
No problem, I thought. Backup bike.
Except the gravel bike’s rear tyre was not seated properly. The hop in the wheel was brutal on Mondello’s smooth surface. There was no way I was riding that for 18 hours. Back to the pits, and I started asking around for a wheel like someone looking for jumper cables on a winter morning.
Eventually, I found one. The road bike was rolling again, but I had burned a mountain of time.
The Night Shift
Evening hit, and so did the fatigue. Hard. Too much riding in the previous weeks, plus the heat earlier in the day, caught up with me. Breaks got longer, and the rankings slipped. The cooler night helped, and I found some rhythm again, but around 5 a.m. the tank was empty, and I needed a proper rest and snoozed in a chair for 45 minutes.
The 600 km target was still in reach. A top-five finish was not.
The Finish
The last few hours are always brilliant. Everyone is wrecked, sore, and running on fumes, but nobody eases up. People chase places, defend places, or try to hit personal goals. No matter how bad you felt earlier, the closing hours give you a strange second life.
I finished on 644 km. Target smashed. But I could not help thinking about the time lost, the mistakes, and the things I would do differently.
Lessons Learned
- I overcooked the months leading up to the event. The fatigue showed.
- Prep everything. One bike was perfect, bar the mechanical, which you could not plan for. The other was far from it.
- Mondello exposes every weakness you have. Physical, mechanical, mental. Then it checks again every lap to make sure you are still paying attention.
Despite all that, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’ve got a 700km itch!. Solo was an incredible experience. If you ever get the chance, as part of a team or on your own, take it on.
You will not regret it.
