After 117 years Ireland have won their first Gold Medal at the World Championships, after Martyn Irvine won the 15km scratch race in Minsk. What makes this feat even more note worthy is that Ireland do not possess one velodrome in there entire country. All his training has been done either outside or abroad.

 He made the break with ten laps remaining of the sixty lap race. Its Ireland’s first winner’s medal at the Championships by a man since Harry Reynolds took the one-mile amateur title way back in 1896! He came back the year after and took third place earning a bronze.

 Only an hour before Irvine took silver in the individual pursuit race losing out to Australia’s Michael Hepburn, so only had time to receive his medal, change his race numbers, and go straight back to the track for his winning ride.

 The first medal Ireland won in the modern era was only last year when Caroline Ryan took bronze in the women’s points’ race.

 This is a major upturn in Irvine’s career after only managing 13th in the omnium event at last year’s London Olympics.

 So it just goes to show that even in the modern era with the hi-tec training facilities of the world’s elite nations there is still room for someone who just trains hard no matter what facilities are available to them. So time for everyone to get back on that bike, with the days getting lighter (note I didn’t say warmer), get some competitively priced cycling clothing from the website and start training, who knows there could be a future medal winner reading this now.