A debut year to remember for Martin Sheridan winner Abi Conway
Covey Wheelers cyclist Abi Conway at last year's Rás na mBan.
Many winners of the Martin Sheridan Bursary have shown great potential and have achieved success at an early age, but not many would have won the bursary in their first year of competing competitively in their chosen sport.
That is what makes 20-year-old Abi Conway stand out. The Westport native, who took up cycling in recent years, has had a breakthrough debut on the road racing circuit. She won her first race on May 11 in the Crotty Cup ladies’ race, finished second overall in the six-round National Road Series, represented her college University of Limerick in the Intervarsity competition, riding in the prestigious Rás na mBan, won the Newry Three-Day Event and was named Connacht Cycling Women’s Rider of the Year.
Not bad for an individual who had, in her own words, zero interest in cycling growing up.
“My parents would have been into it, but I never had any interest,” Abi told the Western People. “They dragged me along to some mountain biking or something when I was under 12, but absolutely zero interest.” She played other sports growing up although not much to grab her attention. But the old saying of ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ was true for Abi as when she was away, the lure of ‘going fast and the thrill’ of cycling began to grow as she entered fifth year at Sacred Heart School. She started training for a triathlon in 2022 as an outlet from Leaving Cert study but injuries during running saw her go all in on cycling “I just kept getting injured running. I was like ‘I can't sustain this’ so you know what, I'll give the bike a shot because the bike was always my favourite.
“I never really trained for it as much as I did for [running and swimming], but I was always pretty strong at it.” After the Leaving Cert, she got Thomas Fallon in as a coach, and along with the great support of Covey Wheelers Cycling Club, she reaped the rewards with a stunning year on the circuit.
“The Coveys have been so supportive for me. If I do some race and there's a post on Facebook, the amount of people that are like just saying well done to me, I notice them all. I see them all and it just it means so much to me.” The Bursary was a big help to Abi as the expenses racked up quickly, whether it was for entry fees for racing or just putting in diesel in her car to travel to events across the country, which is even more evident given the financial stress than can come with being a college student, as well as the preparation involved in competitive cycling.
“I'd say a part-time job, but it's nearly a full-time job. There's just so much thought that goes into it and so much consideration. [With] nutrition, you're thinking ahead all the time. You're on the bike, you need to be eating while you're on the bike, so you feel good for the next day on the bike,” said Abi.
“Training week for me, I’ve had a few over the Easter there, 16 hours a week, then a bit of gym work. I do try and get in the gym twice a week on top of that. It's a massive commitment list. You don't have a lot of time for scrolling on Instagram, but you just have to make those sacrifices and I'm happy to do that.” Those sacrifices have earned rewards, with the aforementioned Newry Three-Day Event win and Rás na mBan big moments for Abi, the former being a ‘turning point’.
“I really surprised myself. That was a highlight for me. I’ve met some girls that have big CVs behind them, a lot of experience and would be very strong and that I would have seen at the start of the year and be like ‘I'm not gonna beat these girls for the next number of years’ and I did.
“[Ras na mBan] was amazing. The experience of it all was incredible. We were the best Irish team, which was amazing. We were to get on the podium my first year of Ras na mBan which was absolutely insane.
“I have to say a massive thank you to UCD for giving me that opportunity. It was an incredible experience just riding against girls from all over the world. There were teams there from the US, Canada, and New Zealand. It was crazy, just the volume of people riding in a bunch with 100 girls is just so overwhelming to me.” Abi’s college exams are her main priority currently, but she plans to go abroad and get experience in international events later this year, as well as competing in the National Stages in Ireland and the Rás na mBan. But Abi’s success is date is proof for anyone in sport that it’s never too late to start.
“I know plenty of others that have come into it an awful lot later than me and are hugely successful so that also gives me hope. It's very promising for me.”
