Father’s Olympic dream comes full circle

CYCLIST Denis Brennan almost bled to death in an accident while preparing for the Munich Olympics in 1972 but a nurse saved his life thanks to some quick thinking.

He never made it to those Games but yesterday was proud to see his daughter represent Ireland in a cycling event in Athens.

Jenny McCauley realised his dream when she took part in the mountain bike cross-country finals.

Denis had qualified to compete in Munich but never made it to the starting line.

Instead of battling it out with the world’s best for a gold medal, he ended up fighting for his life after he was one of three cyclists knocked down by a car during a race in Cork.

The two other bikers escaped with minor cuts and bruises, but Denis lost part of his right leg and almost bled to death.

“When you are getting the last rites on the roadway, the Olympics is the last thing on my mind. I thought I was finished,” he recalled yesterday.

“But for the fact that the wife of one of the riders was a nurse I would not be here today. She had been following the race and used a tie to stop the bleeding.”

Yesterday Jenny, from Bray, Co Wicklow, finished in 21st place after completing a “hellish” mountain course in searing heat.

Race favourite Gun-Rita Dahle of Norway led all the way to take the gold medal, beating Marie-Helene Premont of Canada and German reigning world champion Sabien Spitz.

Jenny, 30, who was competing against 29 others, was not aiming to be among the medal winners but was hoping to take a top 20 placing.

“It was a pretty tough course, but the heat made it really hellish,” said Jenny, whose husband Richard is one of Ireland’s top mountain bikers.

Jenny never got to the finishing line either - she was one of a number of riders pulled out with just a lap to go because she was 80% over the leaders’ time.

There are strict rules regarding interference between riders at the end of the field and the approaching lead rider. Riders who do not finish a lap within a designated time are not allowed to complete the next lap but it is recognised as having finished the race.

“I was really disappointed not to have got to the finishing line, but I am glad I was pulled out. I was bloody wrecked.”

Her father reckoned she would have been in 19th position had she not crashed during the second-last lap. “It was so hot during the race, I could not even stand to cheer her on. I had to go into the woods and sit down. It was ridiculous running a race during the hottest part of the day,” he said. Brendan Kilbride of Cycling Ireland said Jenny should be proud being placed 21st - the highest result achieved by an Irish woman in an Olympic mountain bike race.

Undaunted, Jenny said she was already setting her sights in competing for a medal in the next Olympics in Beijing. “The average age of women mountain bikers who are very good tend to be in their mid to late 30s, so there is still a chance for me,” she said.

Jenny will be competing in the World Mountain Bike Championships in two weeks’ time in France and in the Mountain Bike World Cup Series later this year.

Denis pointed out that Jenny had only just started her second year competing on a mountain bike and had yet to realise her full potential.