Cycling chief fears ‘uphill battle’ to earn London medals

IRISH cyclists can win medals at the London 2012 Olympics but Cycling Ireland is facing an uphill battle due to a lack of training facilities, limited financial resources and the carding scheme which funds its high performance athletes, according to High Performance Director, Dr Phil Leigh.

The challenges were outlined yesterday when the Federation launched its ‘High Performance Strategy 2009 – 2012.’

“The problem is not finding the talent but the cost of nurturing and developing that talent. We do that on a shoestring compared to other countries,” Dr Leigh pointed out.