Stephen Barrett - Biography

My name is Stephen Barrett originally from Ireland but now based here in Loughborough in the UK. I am 23yrs old and am currently studying for my MSc Exercise Physiology at Loughborough University.

The last 9 months of my life has literally been a whirlwind. I've gone from never cycling a bike in my life up to 12 months ago to now being one of the top track cyclists in Ireland and I have my sights firmly set on the 2012 Olympics. I have no background in endurance sport from my youth and only decided to buy a bike in June '07 because of a local triathlon that was on. Since that day my cycling has just taken off. I focused on triathlon for most of last summer with no ambitions to become a cyclist only to be a better triathlete. I won a few time trials in that tine but it was all just to help me improve as a triathlete. I had some good results in my first triathlon season and ended up qualifying for the world champs which were on in Hamburg last September. I got on alright there posting the second fastest bike split in my age-group but had a pretty poor swim and ended up finishing mid-pack.

It wasn't until I arrived to University here in Loughborough that I realised I may have a talent for cycling. I spent the first few weeks here trying to improve my swimming, but it wasn't until mid October when I got a call from the Irish U-23 cycling coach to do a talent ID test, that I seriously began to think about cycling. I didn't think much about the call, and with no real specific training I did the ID test and produced some pretty good results, beating a number of the guys who were on the Irish elite squad and coming best by a long way over all the U-23's. It was from these results that my current Mark Pearce asked me if I would like his help to maximise the potential that I evidently had and sack in the swimming and running and focus on cycling. It was with his help that I realised I have the potential to make it to the Olympics and become a top class cyclist. In the last 6 months I have solidified my place on the Irish national U-23 squad, being seriously monitored by the senior elite squad, been offered a number of pro team contracts (all of which I have turned down due to University), been awarded the highly prestigious 2012 sports scholarship award at Loughborough University and have already become a high profile name at any race I compete at (considering I have only raced a handful of races this year due to any injury at the start of the year). Also in my first competitive race and only my third ever time on a track I came away with two silver medals at this year's Welsh National Track Champs in Newport.

I want to continue with this success and really focus on track racing especially leading up to the 2012 Olympics. I am travelling to Brisbane, Australia in September of this year for 4 months to get in some good training and top class racing and will return to Loughborough in January to continue my assault on becoming one of the top track cyclists in the world.

Stephen