TRACK cyclist Alice Sharpe’s Olympic journey began where you might expect it to, in a velodrome.
But, of course, that facility was not in Ireland, the absence of one in this country just another of the glaring gaps on our sporting infrastructure landscape.
Team-mate Kelly Murphy chips in: “You can envisage the commentators saying, ‘And they don’t even have a velodrome’.”
It does not require much imagination because it is stock background information on Ireland whenever they are competing — they will be the only country represented in Paris without a venue to ply their trade.
Although the proposed velodrome in Abbotstown is expected to go ahead with funding from the National Development Plan, the presence of the cyclists at kids’ camps on Campus Ireland during the week was not as impactful as it might have been.
Sharpe said: “I know everyone is pushing really hard behind the scenes to make it happen and they’re promising it’s closer than ever.
“I do really hope that’s true and comes to fruition.
“It affects the pathway, how can we expect to produce talent when there isn’t the facilities to inspire people to do it?
“It was great to meet those kids but most of them had never heard of track cycling.
“How can you expect in ten years’ time for them to be on the track if you can’t see it and can’t imagine yourself doing it?”
But, by hook or by crook, Ireland have a team at the Olympics in team pursuit.
The success is down to the use of a talent ID programme, the ancestry rule and a close bond between talented individuals to form a formidable team which is targeting a top-eight finish.
Cambridge native Sharpe recalled: “My story is kind of random. I was working at Manchester Velodrome as a volunteer coordinator.
“My dad is from Northern Ireland and I’d recently declared for Ireland on my UCI code and I was working there and met Brian Nugent and Neil Delhaye in the track centre.
“I had to go and drop over some water to the pit and I just went over.
“Neil had seen my lanyard and recognised my name, I’d done the Omagh three-day race the month before and I was like, ‘I might as well introduce myself’.
“It was the girls’ first race after their talent ID programme and I just went over and said, ‘Oh I would love to be on this team, it looks amazing’.
“Two months later I was invited out on to a training camp in Mallorca and I have not been allowed leave since then!
“It was one of those situations where you are so naive and oblivious that you do something you probably wouldn’t if you knew more.
“I’d no experience on track, I’d been road racing for a year and a bit before that.
“I was really enjoying road racing, I didn’t necessarily want to get into track, I didn’t know a lot about it, I just really wanted to get some opportunities on the road and I could kind of see a pathway there.
“The girls, the team and coaching staff made me feel very welcome.
“It’s an inspiring environment to be in and then I just really loved and enjoyed doing team pursuit.”
WILL TRAVEL
Birmingham native Murphy benefitted from the better facilities across the water too but for Mia Griffin, Lara Gillespie and travelling reserve Erin Creighton, they have always had to travel abroad to train in this event.
Kilkenny native Griffin was a keen camogie player who only gave it a go when her mother spotted a Cycling Ireland ad for their talent-transfer programme.
Creighton followed her older brothers into mountain biking before switching to the road.
And Gillespie was a talented runner and keen soccer and hockey player when younger.
But the physical tests which determined whether they were suitable candidates were only part of the story according to Sharpe.
She said: “That talent ID worked because it identified good personalities as well, we really harnessed that, created a culture, to have respect for team-mates, work hard and sacrifice yourself for the result.
“I’m really proud to be in a team that has that kind of culture and ethos, you don’t want to pick five people who are really powerful but just want to show off and ride each other off the wheel.
“There are a number of elements that come into a good team. We’re really lucky that we’re a close group.
“I would know if one of the other girls was having a bad day. You’d look out for that person.”
Griffin added: “We’re a rock-solid unit, we are really difficult to infiltrate at this stage.
“For anyone coming in, it would be difficult. We know each other instinctively. We’ve something really cool going.”
SAME PAGE
As others are, Gillespie has been juggling between track and road events with her season finishing up with the World Championships in October.
But there was no doubt in the Wicklow woman’s mind about the pecking order for the year.
She said: “I saw how hard it can be to do both but I found a good flow and got really good support from my network of coaches and management with my team which work really well with the national team.
“It’s all about time management, setting out the calendar and it’s gone pretty much to plan.
“I just set out priorities and my priority straight out was the Olympics and team pursuit.
“That was what it was and everyone else just had to accept that. Then it was fine. Everyone understood it.”
Creighton will peel off next week to compete in the European Under-23 Championships and said: “That’s good for me because I don’t know whether I’ll actually get to race in Paris.”
The 20-year-old accepts her position and Murphy emphasised the importance of seeing the bigger picture.
She said: “It’s more of a team sport than people realise, there’s an aerodynamic benefit — you can save as much as 30 per cent of energy by just sitting behind someone.
“That basically applies to every type of cycling but team pursuit really amplifies that particular aspect.
“On the road you have what they call domestiques, they’re sacrificial lambs and they would drive the pace on the front for tens of kilometres.
“In team pursuit it’s a case of each team member tries to build speed, tries to ride nice and neat so the person behind can recover, almost like a conga line.”
Murphy is bidding to savour the full Olympic experience after competing.
She said: “I’m going to be in my kit the whole time waving my lanyard around to see what I can get into, up at the crack of dawn for volleyball or whatever.”
Gillespie speaks of the team being process-driven but follows that up by suggesting finishing top eight would be a target.
And if they surpass that?
Murphy said: “If we get a medal, I’ll get the Olympic rings tattoo on my forehead.”