It’s been Alice Sharp’s dream since she was six years old when she watched Australia’s Cathy Freeman win the women’s 400m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
The England-based cyclist is looking forward to making history in Paris this summer after becoming an Olympian after helping lead to Ireland’s first appearance in the women’s team pursuit team.
“I remember watching the 2000 Olympics at school and the teachers bringing a TV into the assembly hall so we could all watch.
“I remember Kathy Freeman because she wore a hood and a full-body speedsuit. That’s my first Olympic memory,” the 29-year-old explains.
“When I was younger I might not have thought it was something I could do, but stepping into Cycling Ireland’s High Performance Program made me believe there was equipment and expertise here. I think we were able to achieve this.
“So I believed it was a possibility and a realistic dream.
“I don’t want to make myself believe or dream of something I thought was impossible, but yeah, I’m very happy that it happened.”
Mr. Sharp was born near Munich, Germany, and grew up in Cambridgeshire, England, but his father, Steve, has Northern Irish blood in his family.
At school she showed potential in the sport and eventually took up triathlon at the age of 11, competing at an elite level for 10 years.
It was while studying at Manchester Metropolitan University that she was persuaded to join a cycling club.
“I really liked the tactical element of bike racing, but I had done triathlons as a draft, so it was just a time trial. Yes, I loved the combat of bike racing. ”
Sharpe’s decision was made and in 2018 she moved to Cycling Ireland’s High Performance Program and joined the Team Pursuit team.
The dream of Ireland’s women’s team pursuit team competing at the Olympics has been around for much longer than the current cycle, since the Tokyo Olympics.
Sharpe, Lara Gillespie, and Mia Griffin’s success and production took ten years. Kelly Murphy and reserve Erin Clayton are building on the shoulders of those who have ridden horses before.
“It’s absolutely amazing. It has been a dream of Cycling Ireland to make this program a reality.
“So I’m really proud of all the investment that was put into us and the belief and time from all of our coaches to really make it happen.”
The qualification process took place over two years and meant traveling the world to earn points at Nations Cup events, continental championships, and world championships.
Only 10 nations will be racing in Paris and Ireland had to wait until this week to confirm, although their impressive silver medal and Irish record at the Nations Cup in Hong Kong last month sealed their place.
“It doesn’t feel that real yet. Maybe it won’t feel more real until I get my kit, or get on the starting line, or start my Olympic prep camp, because… So, when I got off that course in Hong Kong, I thought, “Oh, I’ve actually done enough, but it didn’t really sink in.”
The Pursuit team regularly finishes in the top eight at world competitions and the top four at European competitions, and this qualification guaranteed Ireland a place in the Women’s Madison and, in turn, in the Omnium.
Sharpe will be riding Madison with Griffin, and it seems likely that the pair will also compete in the Paris event.
Sharp, a two-time Irish national road race winner, recently joined the DAS Hutchinson Brother UK team and just last week finished fifth in the traditional one-day Tour of the Pays de la Loire. entered in.
She plans to continue racing on public roads until final preparations for Paris begin in June.
Qualified for participation while waiting to attend Irish velodrome continues
As Ireland does not have a velodrome, Cycling Ireland’s training base is on Mallorca.
Formal plans to build new facilities at the National Sports Campus were approved more than a year ago, but work has yet to begin.
“Yeah, that’s really, really important. I think that made our trip a lot harder than it needed to be, but I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.
“It’s great to be on sunny Mallorca and I think it’s incredible, but sometimes when we’re there people get injured or they don’t have medical support. Sometimes it’s just little things like that.
“We have the support of Sport Ireland and world-class facilities, but we are excluded from that simply because we don’t have a velodrome.
“So I hope that when it’s finished, we can start to enjoy the success of our boxers and swimmers. Having these facilities at home allows us to really see that.”
