Hello, My name is Philip Ryan. I am 20 years old, I live in Tipperary and I am a full-time amateur Irish Track Cyclist, specialising in Sprinting.

I have just joined a new team in London UK, Cadence Performance, but I am still based in Ireland. I am ranked 3rd in Ireland as an Elite/Senior for the last 2years and 2nd in Ireland U23. I currently hold 11 Irish National Track Medals, 2 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze.

I was also named as a possible rider for the Olympics (see story). I want to raise funds to further my cycling career and ultimately reach one main goal, the Olympics!!

In the beginning

I always had an interest in bikes from a young age and eventually bought myself my first racing bike when I was 12. A year later I took part in my first race at the 2008 Youth National Road Race Championships where I came 8th. The following year I was 6th and cycling became a massive hobby of mine. I had many successful under-age years and in that time I was Munster Time Trial Champion for 2 years, 2009 & 2010, and runner-up for 2 years, 2011 & 2012. I got noticed by my cycling club owner, Liam Collins, who later became my coach and introduced me to Track Cycling.

I took to the track like a duck to water and I became Irish National Track Champion in 2010 taking 1st place in 2 events and 2nd place in another out of a total of 3 events at Sundrive Velodrome, Dublin. This was my debut on the track. It was also my first track competition and only my second time ever on a track. For the next two years, 2011 & 2012 as a Junior, I stayed in the top Irish rankings collecting more medals. In 2012 I finished up my leaving cert and soon after the National Track Championships I made the decision, along with my family and coach, to focus all my time on my passion and to becoming a full-time Track Cyclist specialising in Sprinting.

My days of 2013 consisted of eating, sleeping and training and I clocked up (on average) over 2 hours a day 6 days a week of intense training for 7 months, January to August when I first competed in the Senior/Elite level at the National Track Championships in Sundrive Velodrome, Dublin, against the best sprinters Ireland had to offer.

I beat the previously ranked 2nd place holder in a knock out round to make it to the finals, where I got bronze in the Sprint. I picked up a silver medal in the Team Sprint event, (Team: Liam Collins, Brendan Whelan & Philip Ryan) where we broke the National record briefly before another team (Sundrive) then beat our record a few mins later to become the winners. I also got a bronze in the Keirin (Raced 3 events, gained 3 medals).

I competed again at last year’s National Championships 2014, where again I came 3rd in the Sprint and 2nd in the Team Sprint event (Team: Liam Collins, Philip Ryan & Simon Ryan). I didn’t achieve as well as previously and got 6th in the Keirin.

More results:

Dublin International Track GP at Sundrive Velodrome, Dublin in 2013 & 2014 where I raced the now Canadian Champion, a German Champion and many other top riders. I picked up some UCI World Ranking points in 2 events each year.

White Hope Sprint at Lee Valley Olympic Velodrome, London in 2014 where I unfortunately crashed in a qualifying round.

Specialist Sprinters League at Herne Hill, London in 2014 where I gained joint 1st position on points after Round 1. Unfortunately I dropped down the rankings due to not being able to attend every round of the League each month as I couldn’t afford it.

Coach: All this time I have been coached by Liam Collins, who is a great inspiration and himself has achieved 35 Irish National Track Championship Medals, 10 Irish National records, and 6 Russian National Championship Medals. He is the only non-Russian to win National Championship Medals in Russia and he has coached 4 Senior National Sprint Champions, 2 Junior National Sprint Champions and approximately 40 other National Medalists.

And now…

I am currently training for this year’s 2015 season, where my main goals are: to set a Personal Best at my first event of the season, White Hope Sprint in the Lee Valley Olympic Velodrome London UK, gain more medals at the National Championships and be part of the Irish Track Sprint Team to compete in the European and World Track Championships.

I also intend to compete in various International meets, including the Dublin International GP, the National Sprinters League UK, Specialist Sprinters League London, Brixton Super Madison Meet London, Duane Delaney TGP Dublin, CC Hackney’s Easter Saturday Meet London, Leinster Championships Dublin, Revolution Series Manchester, Vienna International Track GP, Cottbuser SprintCup Germany, Grand Prix de Vitesse de Saint-Denis France, Helsinki GP Finland.

I am currently receiving NO FUNDING of any sort apart from the incredible support of my family. For me to be able to travel to and compete in the events mentioned, and also travel for training as there is no indoor Velodrome in Ireland, funding is vital.

Training and competing outside of Ireland will help me improve my sprinting abilities and PB’s as an Irish Track Sprinter and ultimately help me to reach my main goals and long-term goal, to represent Ireland at the Olympics!

Track cycling is my passion and any funding would be greatly appreciated and definitely not wasted.

Thanks for reading,

Philip

Funding required for:

Travel: • €500 – €750 per month (Training and Competitions)

Accommodation: • €150 – €400 per month

Equipment: • Carbon Fibre Sprinters Helmet €350 • Skin suits €150 each • Race shoes €300 • Sprinter Gloves €40 • Bike Travel Box €500 • Power Meter €1000 • Garmin Edge Cyclist Computer €300 • Rollers €300 • Turbo Trainer €180

Race Entry Fees: • €10 – €30 per race

Race Nutrition: • €60 – €70 per month

Bike Maintenance/ Upgrades: • Carbon Frame €1500+ • Disk Wheel €1000+ • Sprinter Handle Bars €300 • Tyres €100 each • Chain set €180