Imagine my surprise on my return home after a five week trip to Europe to discover that I am top of the UCI Elite Women world rankings! And yes, that really is my age-I have good genes- although you can see that as a whole, female hand cyclists tend to be in their early forties before excelling at hand cycling. This is primarily because most women acquire their sci in mid-life and it sometimes sadly takes many years to discover hand cycling due to lack of promotion, costs involved and appropriate coaching being available. It also takes several years to develop the musculature required to propel a 12kg bike plus bodyweight over a 42km course at 31km/h! As there are even older male hand cyclists than me still winning gold medals in our sport, I don’t think the desire to win fades with age…
It’s only with the financial support from various sponsors and charities that I am able to compete Internationally, as I am not supported by my NGB British Cycling either financially or logistically. So, a big THANK-YOU to The Challenged Athlete Foundation: http://www.challengedathletes.org/site/c.4nJHJQPqEiKUE/b.6449023/k.BD6D/Home.htm The Arctic One Foundation: http://www.arctic1.co.uk, Centrica and my local Church, St. Ediths, Grimoldby, for supporting me financially on my latest trip. Also thanks to OTE Sports: http://www.otesports.co.uk/products/ for giving me a generous discount on their fab products, which keep me going before, during and after racing.
Without ‘Viva’ the VW, I would not be able to travel to races with all the necessary equipment to be my own support staff: Driver, Bike Mechanic, Physio, Dietician, Masseuse-I’ve learnt to do it all! V’Viva’ is kindly sponsored by Fogarty: http://www.fogarty.co.uk/blog/fridays-news
Lastly, I appreciate all the wonderful help and offers of support which I received at each and every competition I attended as an Independent, self-sufficient athlete over April/May this year, which included; loans of vital equipment, Physio before race day, coffee, offers of meals, a Hotel room, insecticide for an ant infestation (!), fun days out, a new flag, training partners and the unending words of encouragement to boost my morale.
THANK-YOU!
Liz McTernan 