Naas & Co. Kildare News

Kildare woman Caroline Ryan is world number one

Caroline Ryan is world number one.

Published on 26/07/2013 14:06

A Kildare woman is the new world number one in one of the track cycling disciplines.

Having won the national Omnium Championships at Sundrive Road outdoor track the weekend before last, Caroline Ryan, has moved up the standings.

Ryan, from Johnstownbridge, but now living in Straffan was an international rower for many years before taking part in a talent transfer programme in 2009.

The initiative has proven to be spectacularly successful given her bronze medal at the World Championships last year and her consistancy at the top level of international competition since then.

Now with 305 points to her name she is at the top of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) world rankings in the Individual Pursuit. There are 178 women listed. The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. The event is held over 4 km for men and 3 km for women. The two riders start at the same time and set off to complete the race distance in the fastest time.

This race makes for a good spectacle as the two riders pursue each other attempting to catch the other rider that started on the other side of the track. If the catch is achieved, then the successful pursuer is declared the winner.

Speaking to the Leinster Leader, she said she was “delighted. It took three to four years of hard work to get to the stage where I could perform at World Cups and World Championships consistently.

“It’s great to be ranked World No. 1 in the Individual Pursuit Rankings. I’m focusing on getting stronger and faster for the upcoming World Cup season.”

Last Saturday the Straffan cyclist won the Danny O’Shea Memorial 10 mile TT in Kilpedder, Wicklow in a time of 22.20, knocking 17 seconds off the course record.

Ryan holds six national records and has held, over her short career, 13 national titles.

Both father Willie and her uncle Ted representated Ireland in rowing at the Olympics.

The news comes in the same week that Irishman Martyn Irvine also hit the number one spot in both the Individual Pursuit and the Scratch Race.

Conor McHugh