GRIFF SLIPS BACK INTO GEAR

Mia ready to go again after lay-off

LOCKDOWN in Switzerland and Kilkenny gave Mia Griffin the chance to come up for air after a breathtaking introduction to elite cycling.

Part of the Irish track team that broke the national Team Pursuit record on four occasions last year, the 21-year-old Glenmore woman had a whirlwind start to her career.

Griffin was discovered at a national track cycling try-out for athletes performing at a high level in other sports in 2017.

Camogie was Griffin’s passion before she rocked up for that cycling test in runners and jogging leggings, expecting it to go badly.

Instead, she was given a six-week training programme and made the hard decision to end her involvement with her club and Kilkenny’s intermediate set-up.

After making a long list of 72 hopefuls, she was among the eight women who made the grade.

Then the hard work started in Majorca, the months of self-doubt and slow progress eventually developed into a belief she belonged on the international stage.

Fast forward to now and after finishing in second and third place in recent Time Trials, Griffin is in confident mood ahead of this weekend’s National Senior Track Championship at Sundrive Velodrome.

“My approach to lockdown was to catch up with people with more experience,” she said. “It was the perfect opportunity to really get my endurance base down.

“I’d been flat out racing and never had a block to get better at training. It’s really what I needed.

“I won’t stop until that gap is bridged as fast as possible. I’m too competitive to just sit on my laurels and just let it go.

“I’ve seen the reward for it in the last two races, taking up Time Trialling to work on my weakness – threshold and endurance work.

“The gains I’ve seen are really big. It’s good to see that work wasn’t all for nothing.”

Griffin (left) wasn’t long with her Belgian road team ILLI Bikes when Covid-19 arrived in Europe.

In February, she travelled to her boyfriend in Switzerland and trained there for three months before returning home to Kilkenny.

She is unsure about returning to Belgium because of the quarantining required if she travels and then returns for the road nationals at the end of October.

At least the Olympic postponement wasn’t a concern as the Pursuit team just missed out on Tokyo. The target has always been Paris 2024.

For now, competition will be fierce as Griffin lines up against her team-mates.

She added: “There’ll be a good bit of slagging but we all relish competition. Everyone always wants to be the national champion in their chosen discipline. It’s exciting times.”