Retiring Martyn Irvine paved the way for others, says Cycling Ireland's Brian Nugent
That was the parting message from the man who coached him and knew him better than most — Cycling Ireland technical director Brian Nugent.
The pair have been together in the high-performance unit since its inception ten years ago and Nugent said Irvine was very much the heartbeat of what he described as a Cycling Ireland “family”.
“Martyn has been an integral member of the squad for over a decade now, it’s hard to remember the squad without him,” said Nugent.
“He has been here from the beginning of the project when we started out in 2006 and he has been a major driving force every step of the way ever since.
“Martyn’s will to win and ‘never say die’ attitude catapulted him to levels of success that ten years ago was unthinkable in Irish track cycling.
“He paved the way for many, something that will only be seen to its full extent in the coming years.”
Irvine cited falling out of love with the sport as the chief reason for his decision to retire, though not qualifying for the Olympics was another factor.
“Missing out on the Olympics is a big part of it and I fell out of love with cycling,” he said.
“The passion to train and put all that time into it has gone. I would just be wasting my time if I carried on.”
The 30-year-old has been the country’s most successful riders on the boards.
In 2013 he became the first Irish rider in 117 years to win a world championship track title with victory in the scratch race in Minsk, Belarus.
He also won a World Cup gold in Manchester in the same year.
As well as gold in Belarus, Irvine also managed a silver in the individual pursuit — an incredible performance that came less than an hour before his triumph in the scratch event.
He finished that year as the number one scratch rider in the 2013 UCI world rankings and, a year later, he won a scratch race silver medal in the 2014 Track Cycling World Championships.
His achievements in 2013 led to him being named as the BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year.
Irvine struggled with injuries and said the “aches and pains” were another factor in his decision to retire.
“I just loved the fact that I got cycling to be more mainstream than it used to be. I’m glad I achieved some world and European success — I got some medals and got my name in the history books.”
“OK I’ve had a few crashes that have left metal inside me but I came back from them. I mean, I won a European medal six months after breaking my hip!
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that it’s a mental thing. However, it’s not that simple.
“I really miss racing, even now when I’ve barely stopped. It just feels like a natural end though. “
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