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Cyclist – Wendy Houvenaghel
Cyclist Wendy Houvenaghel stems from the small village of Upperlands, near Maghera in County Londonderry. She only took up cycling six years ago.
“I did cross country running to keep in shape and I enjoyed competing in local competitions which took place on a regular basis in the winter. In the summer I would switch to road running over longer distances and would aim to do four or five races in the season usually over 10km to half marathon distances. I was reasonably good at county level. When I was younger I decided I would run in the London marathon one day and when the opportunity came up for me to run in it I took it and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I wasn't aiming for a special time, as I thought it would be excellent just to complete it. On completing the marathon in April 2002 in around three hours, it took me about three or four days to start to recover and I decided I would get out my mountain bike for a change for something to do. This was how I stumbled into the sport of cycling,” she explained.
“My husband is a keen cyclist and was quite surprised when he noticed that I could stay with him on training rides especially when going up hills. He entered me for a race against the clock at the local club event one Wednesday evening and I was the fastest against the other women who were on proper low pro bikes and I was on my mountain bike! Needing no encouragement my husband bought me a low pro bike and in my first national competition I came fourth that September (2002). The following year I was selected to ride for GB in the World Road Time Trial Championships as the new 2003 British Champion. I was a regular National Champion in Time Trialling over different distances in 2004. In the August of 2004 I watched Chris Hoy become the Olympic Champion in the Kilometre Time Trial on the track in Athens and was mightily impressed at what he had just done. I decided I would have a go at track cycling.”
Since then Houvenaghel became world number one in the 3000m pursuit and is twice a world cup champion. At this year’s World Championships in Manchester she took gold in the team pursuit, a non-Olympic event for women, and narrowly missed out on a medal in the individual competition finishing fourth.
She heads to Beijing as a member of the most talented cycling squad in the world, one that clinched gold in eight of the ten Olympic classes at the World Championships and includes Olympic champions Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy, multiple world champion Victoria Pendleton and Mark Cavendish, winner of four stages at this year’s Tour de France. And then there’s Houvenaghel, quietly going about her business.
“In fact I positively try to deflect any attention where possible! It's certainly a strength for me not to be too much in the limelight at this point prior to going into the Olympic Games. I actually found media attention distracting at first but have learned to accept it over the last few years,” she says.
The success for GB cycling hasn’t just happened overnight but is a culmination of a lot of hard work but the sport is now held up as a beacon for others to follow in terms of structure leading onto success.
Houvenaghel explains, “It has taken British Cycling quite a few years to get to the current level whereby success is being reflected by the high number of medals that are being won at World level, most recently nine Gold medals at the World Track Championships in Manchester in March 2008. The system broken down into management, support staff, administration and athletes, funded by UK Sport and Lottery based funding along with various companies involved with sponsorship”.
“We are very fortunate to have a sophisticated athlete support network with a great range of specialist people involved with various key areas involved with the athletes’ success. This could be anything from coaching and performance analysis through to sports psychology, diet and nutrition or the work carried out by our mechanics. There are many specialist areas available to help the athlete be the best they can be on competition day. There are people who tirelessly work behind the scenes to make sure that logistically everything runs smoothly. Ultimately it is the athlete who delivers the performances to win the medals, but it is fair to say that there are many who work behind the scenes and without whom, the wins would be much more difficult to achieve.”
Standing in Houvenaghel’s way to potential Olympic glory could well be her team mate Rebecca Romero, who is the current world champion. Four years ago in Athens, Romero took a silver medal as a member of the women’s quadruple scull in rowing before giving it up and hoping on her bike.
“There are four women in the world who can predictably win this competition and two of these athletes are British, I'm one of them. What a fantastic day it would be if both of us were to claim the Gold and Silver Olympic medals! I for one would be ecstatic!
There are no tactics involved; you have to ride as fast as you can over 3000m from a standstill. There is nowhere to hide in the Pursuit. You will only Pursuit well if you have done the hard work and turn up on the start line in the best physical shape you can possibly be.”
There’s no doubt that the 33 year-old is ready for the challenges ahead at the Laoshan Velodrome. At the moment she isn’t the most famous cyclist in her own team or the most famous sportswoman in Northern Ireland but she is certainly the most famous Olympian in Upperlands!
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