Dublin-based soldier Maeve O'Grady looks to be enjoying the conditions in Lady Dixon Park, Belfast on Sunday. Despite no specialising in cycling, she took a bronze medal from the elite women's event (Photo: Toby Watson)
By Gerard Cromwell
Having tackled her first cyclocross race at the Fixx Coffeehouse Supercross series this winter, newcomer Maeve O’Grady went away with a bronze medal on her National Cyclocross Championships debut in Belfast yesterday.
“I was very happy with that,” said the Dublin-based soldier.
“I just came up to see how I’d get on, so I‘m very happy. I don’t do cycling specifically. I just thought I’d give cyclocross a go in the winter and just started this year.
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“I did the Fixx league and the North Dublin league so this year is my first year and it’s been very enjoyable. It was a good course today and it was very enjoyable going around. There were definitely no boring stretches.”
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With a background in adventure racing and a career in the army, O’Grady has taken to cyclocross like a duck to water and the dark green colours of the defence forces were to the fore all day although the Cork woman has yet to decide if she will race on the road this year.
“We have people in various barracks around the country who cycle,” she says of the Irish army squad.
“We have a few decent cyclists but we don’t have an actual team that trains together or anything. I’m not sure what I’ll do this year. I might go and do the Trans Alpe, do a few mountain bike races maybe but I’m not sure about the road.”
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