From party girl to her first Worlds

From party girl to her first Worlds - sprint star Orla Walsh on how she got on the right track

Orla Walsh now lights up the cycling track - after ditching her smoking habit to chase her late-formed bike dreams.

Walsh lived a party lifestyle into her mid-20s but all that changed when, on the suggestion of her dad, she took up riding as a handy commute to DIT after starting a master's degree in 2015.

She joined Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club the following year and now, at the age of 33, has nine national titles to her name and is competing in the UCI World Championships this week.

Walsh went vegan and, away from training, she likes to draw and to do yoga. It's worlds apart from her old life.

One of the first things that she had to kick was her smoking habit.

“Do you know what, that one I struggled with because I tried to quit long before the cycling," Walsh explained.

"I read a book, ‘Easy Way to Stop Smoking’ by Alan Carr – not the comedian, another guy – and it actually worked for a while.

"Then I ended up smoking on and off a bit after that - but once I started cycling and training I just didn’t have any desire to poison my body.

"I thought, ‘alright, I want to be really good at this and I’m not going to be any good at it if I keep on smoking a pack of cigarettes a day’ and then I just lost interest in it because it is just a habit.

"I don’t think about it at all.”

After a few rides with her club it was suggested to Walsh that she should compete in races and initially she focused on endurance events before eventually switching to sprinting.

She will compete in the Worlds sprint qualifying series today and, on Saturday, in the 500m time trial qualifying.

It is her first time on this stage in individual events and she is proud of her achievement.

"I would consider I have only been doing the sprint two-and-a-half years, give or take," said Walsh.

"So there’s loads more room for improvement.

"I don’t really see my age as a limiting factor because I have only been doing it for such a short period of time and I have been improving.

"I just feel like I am on a different timeline to the girls who are 10 years younger than me.”

Walsh trains away from the rest of the Ireland squad on a full-time basis in the UCI's World Cycling Centre in Switzerland with other specialist sprinters.

She is feeling good about taking a shot at a top 10 place in Saint-Quentine-en-Yvelines, where the Olympic track events will take place in 2024.

"I’ve had a consistent year with no injuries really and improvements in each race and the main goal this year was to qualify a spot for the Worlds so I successfully did that, at least in the sprint and the 500m," she said.

"I’m unfortunately a reserve for the Kerin but there is still hope there, potentially, we’ll see. So I’m looking forward to it.

"I have been able to do this on my own, obviously with a lot of support, but I am proud of myself. It means a lot to be here representing Ireland as a sprinter.

"A top 10 is a big ask at a World Championships but that would be brilliant.

"The best riders in the world are here and they’re all really on form and I am proud to be here. If I can improve on my own personal best then that’s an achievement in itself.”

TEAM IRELAND SCHEDULE

Wednesday, October 12

Team Pursuit Qualifying - Emily Kay, Lara Gillespie, Kelly Murphy, Alice Sharpe.

Scratch 10 km Final - Lara Gillespie.

Thursday, October 13

Sprint Qualifying - Orla Walsh

Elimination Final - Alice Sharpe

Friday, October 14

Omnium - Emily Kay

Saturday, October 15

500m TT Qualifying - Orla Walsh

Individual Pursuit Qualifying - Kelly Murphy