The New Irish: Martin Mizgajski has settled well in Ireland and has been a very strong rider for Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers (Photo: http://www.
By Brian Canty
Nine years ago Martin Mizgajski and his girlfriend left their home outside Poznan in Poland and set off for Ireland. Between them, they had a couple of college degrees, a 500cc Trabant, €800 and not a word of English.
For 3½ days they traversed Europe before they reached Rosslare via the ferry from France. And whatever about not knowing where they would stay or try to look for jobs, they didn’t even know what side of the road people drove on in Ireland.
But almost a decade on, Mizgajski has made Ireland, and New Ross more precisely, his home. He has a job, the girlfriend who left Poland with him is now his wife and together they have a three year old daughter Zara and life couldn’t be better.
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“I was supposed to stop in Wexford town but when we left the ferry we followed the cars and they were driving at the other side of the road and I missed the turn off and ended up in New Ross,” jokes the affable Mizgajski.
“My two-stroke car got me here; an old German Trabant, 500cc engine. So it was literally driving at 50kph the whole way from Poland. I could cycle faster in places.”
“I am a qualified accountant and had just finished college. I did my thesis on unemployment and in my town in Poland there was 24 per cent unemployment. So it was extremely hard to get a job if you didn’t know someone or have a connection. I had just gotten a short-term contract job but I said, ‘I have to get out of here’. So we did some research and saw that there were jobs in Ireland so we said ‘let’s go’.”
“We came with €800 in the pocket and we didn’t have a house, a job, a family or connections. And we couldn’t speak English. We just bought a newspaper and a scone in SuperValu and I didn’t know that you had to butter and jam a scone so I ate it without those,” he laughs.
The 30-year-old started working anywhere he could find it; first in a bar where he recalls pulling his first pint of Guinness.
“I’d never done that before so my first pint of Guinness was interesting, I thought the guy was going to pull a shotgun on me. I didn’t know you had to tilt the glass or stop halfway,” he explains.
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Having been a full-time triathlete and ironman at home, Mizgajski arrived in Ireland “super fit” but long days and late nights took their toll on him.
“I got fat,” he acknowledges.
“I was working a lot, maybe 50-60 hours a week. I stopped training for a couple of months, and was just eating chips and sausages, working nights until 4 or 5 in the morning and it was awful. So one day I looked in the mirror and saw myself. So I called my mother up and said ‘Send me a bike because it’s a disaster what’s after happening to me’.”
“So she sent me my bike and I joined a local club in Barrow Wheelers. And I trained with them and got fit again. Then I went to Wexford Wheelers and then to Carrick and last year I did the Rás with them and want to do it again this year,” he explains.
Mizgajski has taken to the Irish, and them to him. He was crowned Wexford county champion in 2011, and since then his cycling career has really blossomed.
“I wanted to ride the Rás last year but in Carrick there is no such thing as ‘Oh, I’m going to ride the Rás, I’m going to ride the Rás’. You have to prove that you’re good to do it. So Rás Mumhan was the first place for us to prove who is up to it. So my best result was 4th on the Conor Pass stage and I was 4th on GC after that stage. I finished 12th on GC overall because we had to work for (guest rider Ryan) Sherlock. But I would have been able to hold onto 4th if I didn’t have to work. That was a big bollocks.”
He got around the Rás in May, despite his cranks coming off on day one and losing 40 minutes. His big near miss was the Suir Valley Three-Day, which he almost snatched on the final dramatic day.
“My goal was to get the mountains jersey and I had it. And then I didn’t think about GC. I didn’t want to be greedy. I said, ‘I’m happy with what I have now’. But then when we came to the bottom of the hill on the last stage I waited and I shouldn’t have. Paidi O’Brien was there and obviously I have no chance against him on a short sprint. But if that was a 600metre hill sprint I would put money on myself that I’d beat him. I didn’t know the two guys ahead of me on GC (Paddy Clarke and Barry Twohig) were that close to me on GC. I thought the gap was bigger. I thought it was 30 seconds. I didn’t do my homework. But I didn’t really care, I felt great on the bike. I did what I wanted. I don’t have regrets.”
Training is going well this year but he is keen to strike a balance between the bike and other areas of his life.
“I do my hours. I can’t do 109 hours a month like Sherlock can do in the Canaries. But between the weather, my work, my child and my wife I get in what I can. Zara, my daughter, is 3½ . She’s in playschool. My wife is working as well so we don’t see each other very much so we have to keep the family happy. You need to have a balance too. I’m happy because I have that balance; that good relationship with everyone in the world. If home is happy, I am happy.
Sometimes at home on Sunday morning they want to have breakfast with me but I am gone on the bike for four hours. So I must keep them happy too.”
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