The 2013 UCI World Track Cycling Championships took place in Minsk, Belarus from 20^th – 24^th February.  Outside temperatures hovered around -3C but inside the Velodrome was toasty. Of the Capital city itself we got to see the usual when we are competing anywhere, which is whatever you catch a glimpse of on the bus journeys from Hotel to Velodrome and back.

Flag Bearers in National Costume – Opening Ceremony

I arrived over to Minsk in good form having put in a solid seasons training in Mallorca, based there with a training group under the guidance of Track Cycling Coach Andy Sparks and his wife Sarah Hammer (Multiple World Champion).  My own Coach Brian Nugent came in and out for some of the key periods leading into and for the racing itself. This was my 3^rd season racing at an Elite Track Cycling Worlds and I went into these Championships aiming to better my Bronze Medal from last years World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

My first race was the Individual Pursuit.  The Pursuit for me is something I love training for and really enjoy racing. At Worlds last year I finished 9th, which was a result I was happy with at the time but this year I wanted more and was aiming for a Top 6 finishing position with the chance of being in the mix to make the final.  I put in a good performance and when I finished my heat I was in 4th place with only one heat to go. In this event the Top four riders race in the evening to decide the medals so I had to sweat it out and wait while the last heat went off. It was hard to sit in the pits spinning my legs while watching the final heat on the big screen. Going into the last lap I was still placed ahead of the Canadian rider Laura Brown in 4^th position. But she rode a great finishing lap and edged ahead of me to go through to the Bronze Medal ride-off. I was disappointed obviously but I knew I was going strong and that it would stand to me in the bunch races, which were still to come.

Individual Pursuit Qualification

Going into the Scratch race I was ready for action. I felt strong and I knew what I had to do.  I had watched team-mate Martyn Irvine win World Championship Gold the day before in the same race. Talking to him afterwards he had said it was a case of coming first or last and throwing everything at the win. Needless to say, I was inspired. We worked out the best way for me to win and we waited for the opportunities. 10-15 laps to go was my time and when I got the gap with 12 on the lap-board I went for it. I was possessed and put my body and heart into every pedal-stroke and kept driving the legs as hard as I could every lap. I wasn’t gauging my effort or watching the field for someone to come across, I was just going for it. Two riders eventually came across, one of whom was Mexican rider Sofia Arreola who I train alongside in Mallorca. I had gone so far into the red at that point and when they joined me I could hardly stay with them. I kept digging and fighting but in the closing stages I couldn’t keep with them and in the finishing straight 3 riders came over me and I finished 7^th. I was gutted. It’s taken me a while to stop replaying it over in my head again and again but no matter how many times I do I know that I didn’t have any more to give. With more racing experience maybe there were things I could have done better but on the day I put everything I had into it.  Hopefully the lesson I learned by coming just short of a medal this time will stand to me in the future. On a happier note I was delighted for Sofia who won the Silver Medal and went on again the following day to do the same in the Points race.

On the attack in the Scratch Race

To watch the Scratch Race Click Here:  Women’s Scratch Race Final

For Irish Cycling this year’s Worlds were particularly special in that Ireland got it’s first Elite World Championship Gold Medal on the Track since Harry Reynolds in 1896. For me personally it was special to have raced at Worlds this year and to have been there to see my teammate Martyn Irvine win not only his first World Championship Medal in the Individual Pursuit but shortly afterwards don the Rainbow Jersey after winning Ireland’s first Track World Championship Gold. It was something else and I’ll never forget it.

 Martyn Irvine – World Champion

At the time I wasn’t entirely happy with my own World Championships.  I would have loved to add to Ireland’s success with another Podium and although I came very close, it just wasn’t to be this year. That’s the way racing goes at times but I know how right it can go when everything clicks perfectly. That is a major force that motivates me going forward. 

Caroline

CELTIC CHRONO UCI 1.2 TIME TRIAL, BELFAST, IRELAND – 13TH MAY, 2012

The Celtic Chrono inaugural Event was a resounding success.  It was organised and run off to World Class standards and competitors from near and far were enquiring about next years race before the last rider was over the line. Being pretty much a Home Event I would have loved to have been in good form and show what I’m capable of.  It wasn’t to be. After being off the bike sick and just finishing another course of antibiotics leading into the race I knew I would struggle. I had convinced myself that despite the setbacks I was still capable of a good performance on the day. I went off the Start Ramp hell bent on emptying the tank. I fought hard but you can’t afford to be off your game at this level and that showed in the times. I was way off where I would normally be and it was a hard pill to swallow.

There wasn’t any time to wallow though, as I was booked two days later to fly to Canada to race another UCI race. These races during the month of May were the last chance we had of gaining Olympic Points and I wasn’t giving up without a fight. I have a really good support team around me and on weighing up the pros and cons, we decided that stopping now would be something I would regret. So bikes and kit were packed up again and I headed onwards for Canada.

Arriving home to Ireland with a World Championship Medal around my neck was a really exciting and memorable time and one I won’t forget. I was blown away by all the well wishes and support from everyone in the lead-in to racing and again after we won the Medal. I received some beautiful ‘Well Done’ cards and messages and this was a really special card that Mam and Dad got from family.

There was still a lot of Media interest around the Medal so I did some interviews and photo-shoots during the first week back, which was all good fun. I did a radio interview on Today FM’s ‘The Last Word’. My Dad kept the flag flying too did a really good interview with Clem Ryan on KFM.  I’ll attach the links below so you can have a listen to us.

I’d had a full rest day when I got home (yes I know amazing!) then a few days of light-ish work on the bike building back into it. So, the following week it was back to the grindstone! Mentally, I put the Medal in my back pocket and got on with the job of whipping my legs back into shape. Switching over from Track to Road takes a little bit of time and I can honestly say that those first two weeks back were probably the hardest I’ve done. Every day I was heading out and feeling really bad on the bike but knowing that all I was feeling was jet-lag with the added challenge of ‘the switch’. I knew that all I had to do was push through it and the legs would come right in their own time.  Then with some solid work under my belt I started to come around and it was like someone flicked a switch. I was heading out training, enjoying my sessions and wanting to push on more and started to bounce back. Shortly afterwards I got sick!! (My worst nightmare at this point in time) and for the next couple of weeks I was on and off the bike not getting any actual ‘training’ done. It was totally frustrating but aiming not to stress out about it I took the time off the bike and tried to shift it. Bad timing but that’s just the way it goes. When you’re training hard and pushing the limits the body just sometimes says ‘enough already‘. My first race back was to be the Celtic Chrono UCI 1.2 Time Trial in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There was no way I was not going to race it, there was still a chance that I might come back around on time for the event so I traveled up to Belfast and got ready to give it socks.

Today FM Interview: http://www.kfmradio.com/kfm-podcasting/kildare-today-podcasts/caroline-ryan-s-father-on-world-championship-medal.html

KFM Interview (Listen @ 49:03): http://media.todayfm.com/listenback/98/friday/3/?uniqueID=151450

Medals in World Championships are hard to come by. I’m now privileged to have my first Elite World Championship Medal under my belt. This came as  a surprise to myself as much as others, however it goes to show that hard work and preparation pays off. Unwavering support and total belief from my coach Brian Nugent from the first time I turned a pedal until now has undoubtedly been key to my progress. I owe my success to his persistence. The other man in my life, my Dad, has been with me through all my sporting conquests from the day I first sat in a rowing boat until now. Your name is on this one too Dad. As you always say….it’s another important one!

When saying thank you’s one is always at risk of not mentioning somebody important. However I would like to say a particular thank you to Andy Sparks and Tommy Evans who have both been a valuable part of our coaching team. Cycling Ireland for giving me this opportunity and support, the Irish Sports Council, the Sports Science Team at ORRECO and the Irish Institute of Sport. Also, a huge thanks to all my sponsors that have helped me along the way as without their financial assistance this would not have been possible, in particular Bus Eireann, Richies and the numerous Garda Clubs and Organisations who continue to support me.

For the Points race on Thursday night, mental preparation and tactics were the key. As an endurance rider I needed to race this knowing my strengths and riding to them. After the race and the euphoria of medaling, I asked myself (as any elite athlete would) what could I have done to get myself into the Silver or Gold positions – My answer, Nothing. I raced my heart out, emptied the tank and at this point in time that was the very best result I could have achieved.

I was lucky enough to have family support in Melbourne as my sister Jackie and cousin Trisha were in the crowd screaming their support and waving the Tricolour. When the going got tough their cheers really gave me that extra zip when I needed it the most. Brandon Madden and Jennie Reed’s familiar animated cheers and support was a big help to carry me up the straights. Who needs a Four-leaf Clover when you have such wonderful support as this!

Standing on the Podium, watching the Irish Flag being raised as the first Irish Track Cyclist in over a hundred years to win a Medal at an Elite World Championships, made me so proud. As the Gold Medalist Russian rider Anastasia Chulkova had the Rainbow Jersey pulled over her head I knew that this is only the beginning for me. I want to stand on that Podium again and hear Amhran na Bhfiann ringing out.

Trying to put the overwhelming support and excitement from home in a box for now, and turn my focus to Sunday’s Individual Pursuit, which is my main event. To get my best performance out on Sunday it is vital that the body has time to recover and to focus the mind. Update tomorrow evening!

Our Journey to Australia was pretty smooth the whole way out helped by the fact that we had extra legroom on both flights. We arrived into Melbourne on Tuesday night and our last hurdle was Customs. We got drilled about our Bikes and Luggage like we knew we would. We were through most of the questions and about to head on our way when the Customs Officer jokingly asked if I by any chance had a Irish Lucky Clover with me……which I had! And being the honest soul that I am was straight up ‘Eh, Yes I do actually!’ So, it was straight up to desk to get the ‘Lucky Clover’ examined! It was a dried clover in laminate paper that I use as a bookmark. Once ‘The Clover’ had cleared customs we were met outside arrivals by Dermot Healy the Irish Team Manager for Worlds and Shannon McCurley and her Dad who took us to our Hotel in the City Centre. First impressions of Melbourne were bright lights and lots of people out on the town….then we turned down our street which lead directly onto Chinatown..! We were starting to getting a bit worried then but we shouldn’t have as the rooms and hotel were perfect and had the added plus of free Wifi.

Already we have a favourite spot for dinner, a little Italian place called ‘Pellegrini’s’. They serve up the best Pasta. In the space of 5″ of you sitting down it’s plonked in front of you with a flourish and we hoover it down in record time. On day one here we trained at the DISC ‘Training’ Velodrome early the morning after we arrived and got to open up our legs and shake the flights out of them. They needed it big time as we all woke up a bit out of kilter. The following day the Hisense Velodrome opened up to Teams and we got to feel the boards – The Hisense is where we will be racing. It has been newly sanded so it’s nice and smooth and I liked it straight-off. Now, as we get closer to race-day the temptation is to think too much about racing instead of relaxing when we’re not training, so today I popped into a Bookshop on the corner and bought myself something to read and chill out with – ‘It’s All About the Bike’ by Robert Penn. I’ll let you know what I think of it but from the cover it looks like a good one. We just finished our last training session on the track today and the legs are feeling great! I’m feeling good and looking forward now to giving these girls a run for their money!

For information on next weeks racing the Official Website is: www.2012trackworlds.com.au

Exact times won’t come out until closer to race day but I should be close enough to this:

Thursday 5th April –  Points Race – 2230 (1330 Irish-time)
Sunday 8th April – 3KM Individual Pursuit – 1500 (0600 Irish-time)

As usual it is only now approaching the end of  Camp that I’ve sat down and put into words some of what I’ve been up to over the past month. After London World Cup I was home for about a week and then I headed to Mallorca for a Pre-Worlds Training Camp with Andy Sparks. I arrived into Palma late at night and got up the next morning to Mountains and Sunshine. It felt so good to be back out on the road with the sun on my back. Since then the weather has been pretty darn good the majority of the time. There was a bit of a hiccup last week when it rained and got a bit cooler for a few days (The inconvenience of it!) . Fortunately, it picked back up this week and we got to peel the layers off again  

For the first half of the Camp I was training alongside two members of the USA Track Team: Sarah Hammer (Current World Individual Pursuit Champion) and Jennie Reed (World Champion in the Keirin in 2008). We worked hard together on the Road and Gym and hit it harder again on the Track accompanied by Recep Ulanan from the Turkish National Team. We were joined later on in the Camp by my Team-mate Martyn Irvine and Mexican rider Sofia Arreola. We were looked after and coached by Andy Sparks, with Mutlu Ercevik (Recep’s Coach) and Brandon Madden (Jennie’s husband) spurring us on trackside.  Jennie’s Husband Brandon was a real addition to the group especially when we were under serious pressure! Every morning there has been Booty Camp to look forward to with Jennie who was also elected to give me some extra homework.  Jennie is deadly serious about her core work and doesn’t miss a trick!

I’ve picked up a few Americanisms from the girls:

Let’s Flip a Yeweee = Ok, we’ll turn around here.

These Puppies are Cooked! = My legs are Wrecked!

Awhhh MAaannN!! = I’m Wrecked!! (As the days went by, the number of times I found myself saying the last two increased)

The Camp Mission: Protect the Average Watts every day and keep putting the Money in the Bank for Worlds. On the Track we’ve had some really good Motor-paced sessions where Andy is on the front cranking up the speed and making us hurt. He seems to know just how much he can push it to put you under the most pressure you can handle, keeps you there for just the right amount of time (which always seems too long) and then he burns you off the back and leaves you reeling. When he says ‘Tomorrow’s gonna be a fun day” you know what’s in store….Pain. Because of this my Rest days are generally spent doing just that and keeping the legs up and getting ready for the next days onslaught.

My Coach Brian came out to the Camp half-way through to get everything ready and sorted out for Worlds…..but really he was just checking up on me! He even nailed himself on our Hill sessions just to see how well I was going…..he said he didn’t see much after 5″ on our wheels! Apart from training hard and resting up when we’re not on the bike Food is the other highlight of the day. I had my first taste of Taco’s when Brandon cooked up a storm for us and filled the table to the brim with bowls of goodies for the fillings….Mmmmm!   Myself and Sofia are sharing an Apartment and take turns or cook together most days. She has me addicted to Mexican Tortillas which she makes from scratch (Soooo tasty) and has introduced me to lots of other delicious Mexican and Mallorcan specialities. There’s a local Market in the Town Centre every Saturday where you get to stock up on Fruit & Veg and fresh salads and I enjoyed getting in on all the action. From some of the random things I have ended up buying by mistake I’m seriously going to have to get more intensive Spanish lessons with Sofia!

Being an Olympic Test Event we knew pretty much everybody was going to be at this World Cup and as expected it turned out to be like a World Champs before the World Champs. This was great. It would give us a really good measure of exactly where we were at that point. I arrived in on Sunday afternoon and got settled in, unpacking and sorting out all my kit and bits n pieces. Monday was my first day on the Track and straight away I really liked the Velodrome. I decided that it was going to be a good track for me. With the boards all new, shiny and smooth what was there not to like. The Track was fairly busy especially early on in our sessions and that can sometimes be a bit hairy. When there are teams of sprinter and endurance riders from different countries all trying to get their warmups done and muscling in on each other for space to get all their efforts in…..well it has the potential to get messy.  Luckily every training session went by without mishap and I settled into the track feeling more at home each day.

Saturday was race day and despite thinking you are waiting around for ages…it came around pretty quick! I was racing the 3km Individual Pursuit and was off in the second-last heat.  I raced a good pursuit on the day and myself and Brian (My Coach) were happy with the effort itself. I wasn’t overly satisfied with 10th place but after the season I’ve had with the various injuries I’ve been carrying….well, I know how much more I’m capable of so it has been a little frustrating as well.  My target now is to nail down another solid block of Injury-free training over the next 7 weeks or so and all going well I should be in my best form at Worlds.

I flew home from London on the Monday morning and on Sunday I touched down in Mallorca for a Track and Road Camp, for a full build-up to the actual World Championships in Melbourne, Australia in early April. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into training here and making the gains over the coming weeks.

Article on stickybottle.com:  Ireland’s Ryan underlines her class in high-octane London Velodrome

I arrived into Bristol Airport with plenty of baggage so it was pretty cool to have my Dad there waiting to meet me and to travel on to Newport together instead of busing and training it like I did last time I arrived there. It made a potentially stressful travel day really smooth.

My first day back on the Track was Wednesday and after two months away from it my Track legs weren’t really there, as we had predicted. The four days track work were badly needed.

My Coach Brian has been away at the Paracycling World Championships in L.A. and he and the team have been busy winning Medals and World Champion Jersey’s, which is super! As I was on this Camp on my own and it was an important one leading into the World Cup,  Dad came over to Wales as support and was keeping me right. I’ve been keeping him right on his Computer skills as payback…..he is now a whizz.

I was training on the Velodrome in Newport, which is a bit like a home track now as l have done most of my track training there in the last year or so. I trained with the Canadian Team, which was really good. They are a nice chilled-out group and it was great to be training with a team as opposed to being on my own which wouldn’t have been ideal. They were very accommodating and I warmed up a few days on the Track with their Women’s Team Pursuit Team so that was cool too.

Saturday I made a trip to the Launderette and got my kit sorted for London – there is actually something weirdly soothing about sitting in a Launderette with the machines humming in the background and your nice clean clothes whirring around in the dryer. Afterwards myself and Dad made our last trip to our favourite Pub/Restaurant which served up really good food. Well worth a visit if you are ever looking for something nice to eat in Newport.

I had my last session on Sunday morning before packing up and heading to London where I’ll be meeting up with the rest of the Irish Team.  There are three Irish Riders competing: Martyn Irvine in the Omnium, Eoin Mullen in the Sprint events and myself in the 3KM Individual Pursuit. London World Cup is an Olympic Test Event so it’s expected that there will be a great buzz about the place. I will be racing the Pursuit on Saturday 18th February and I’m really looking forward to getting on the track now!

From mid-January up to last Monday I spent an interesting and productive 3 weeks at Altitude, training C.A.R. which is a High Altitude Training Centre in Sierra Nevada, Spain. I was training with the Irish Elite Triathlon Team of Aileen Morrison, Gavin Noble and Conor Murphy under the guidance and expert eye of Irish Triathlon High Performance Director and Coach Chris Jones. For the first 10 days of the Camp we were monitored closely by Chris and Declan Gamble, SINI Physiologist – everything from detailed analysis of our Bloods, Hydration, Weight, Heart-rates…Moods…..you name it, Declan had it all under the microscope!  I really enjoyed the professional approach of our support team and the facilities at the Centre. Cycling Coach Tommy Evans took over the reins for the second half of the Camp and did some really good work with me on the bike continuing the close monitoring of us all. We trained hard but it was all really enjoyable and there was always good craic to be had around the table at meal-times.

The Centre is 2320M above sea level and on approach looks a bit like a Spaceship that’s landed in amongst the Mountains. On stepping inside we soon had it christened the ‘Starship Enterprise’. It really was a bit surreal walking down these long corridors meeting various athletes from Big Tall Polish Rowers to zippy little Walkers, to Track Cyclists, German & Danish Swimming Squads and even a well-known Italian Pro-Cycling Team!

Myself and Aileen shared a room and got on like peas in a pod. On looking out our bedroom window you got a pretty cool view of the surrounding Snowy Mountains with Skiers and Snowboarders swishing down them like busy little ants. Right below us was the Centre’s Outdoor Running Track. This photo taken from our room one evening after a fresh snowfall…..believe it or not there’s a track down there and Slopes behind the clouds!

The first few days you could really notice the change in altitude when walking up stairs and if you put in an over-energetic burst then you would find yourself catching your breath a while longer than normal. We did some of our harder sessions down low in the Valley, which was in complete contrast weather-wise to up high as it was much warmer and temperatures were in the teens a lot of days. Granada was only 30k away so some days we travelled down by Car and trained in and around the area which was cool for a change in scenery.

We were well into week 2 of Camp when  RTE arrived to film the Triathletes in training as part of the National Lottery Funding programme for Olympic hopefuls. It was great coverage for the Triathlon Team which like Track Cycling and Rowing doesn’t get the coverage that the more mainstream Sports do. The coverage was featured on Winning Streak on Saturday 4th February. Have a look @ 36″: http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1134373.

On one of the last days of Camp I was getting ready to head down for my second session and ended up bashing my foot off the end of a trolley bag sticking out from the end of the bed. I hopped around like a mad thing for about 5 minutes and when I eventually looked down at my foot I got a bit of a shock to see one of my toes jutting out at a right angle!  In my panic at seeing it my instant reaction was to reach down like lightening and pull it back into place….to straighten it up!!  After the stress of that I hopped around a while longer then sat down with my foot popped up on the table, hyperventilating and whimpering for a few more minutes.  I was thinking…….’what the flip just happened there!’   My next thought was ‘Now I’m going to be late for training’……..and then I realised that training might not just happen this evening. So, after a few port of calls it was off to the local Hospital for examination and an Xray……and to be told as we had guessed that I had broken my Toe. Not to worry,  as Ms. Morrison reassured me: it most likely happened for a reason & I probably needed a rest day anyway!!…….there are easier ways to get a rest day but sure it’s original.

Next day with the toe strapped up well, I gingerly popped my foot into my nice & narrow cycling shoes without any problems…..I breathed a sigh of relief….and then another when I got back on my bike and was pedaling happily without any issues. Satisfied that the toe now wasn’t going to restrict me too much I was able complete that last few days of the Camp and then head for Newport, Wales for 1 week of Track Training in the lead-in to London World Cup.

I’d like to say a Big Thank You to Paul Hooks from SWIM BIKE RUN who helped me out in 2011 by sponsoring me a Bikebox for the year. This kept my lovely bikes tucked up safe and sound no matter how much they got bashed about when traveling around the world….even on the long haul trips to Kazakhstan and Colombia.

Check this out: Bikebox drop

For more information contact Paul  info@swimbikerun.ie  OR  +353 86 808 4265