Freedom of cycling appealed to Athlone's world champion

The freedom to go where he wanted, when he wanted, was the initial appeal of paracycling to Mark Rohan, however in less than two years, that desire for independence has led him to a World Championship gold medal. One week after claiming gold in the World Paracycling Championships in Baie Comeau, Canada, the Ballinahown native still can't believe it. "I think I'm still shocked, I suppose I was looking forward to getting back in the bike on Sunday and then I started work today (Monday), so things are getting back to normal," he said. The history-maker is modest, and only when the suggestion is put to him, does he consider that his win for Ireland may inspire others to do their best in their chosen sport or that his success lifted the national mood. "I didn't realise that 'til it happened. As long as I'm competing, I don't care what medal I get. If I perform well and get tenth, I'm happy," he explained. "But the reaction has made me open my eyes and realise I can raise the profile of the sport, that's very important." Despite the rapturous welcome in Dublin Airport, the wild celebrations in Ballinahown last Tuesday night and the general media attention on the 29-year-old since his win, it was back to reality for Mark who was back in his bike on Sunday and back at work on Monday. When at home, Mark "hits the roads" to train. From the family home in Ballinahown, he takes off to Kinnitty, Ferbane or Tullamore on the handcycle, wherever the mood takes him. "There's a couple of double takes alright," he laughed. "But it's perfect for me, I love it. I like the handcycle so much, there's such a sense of freedom, it's a different sensation. You get to see the countryside too, but it's definitely the real sense of freedom - you can decide to get up and go to Tullamore if you want. That also gives me a real sense of achievement. It's a talking point too - with the bike, you met people." After his car accident in 2001, part of Mark's rehab stint involved an hour of sports every day. He started with archery and won a European gold medal in Glasgow. He also began managing a local soccer team, but decided he was too young for that, and once he got a car to travel to Dublin, he started playing basketball for Ireland. He also managed a bit of table tennis. "I tried out absolutely everything," he laughed. "It's a cheap way of travelling." Mark was using a handcycle to cross-train but made the full-time switch less than two years ago. The cycling appealed to him because it meant having "a small bit more say in your own destiny" because as an individual sport, what you put into it, you got out of it. "I grew up with team sports, and there's that team spirit in football, playing for your local parish, but it wasn't the same on a national level with the basketball," he explained. Mark trains six days a week and twice on Thursdays, his trainer has already emailed him his schedule for September. Most of his competitors are full-time professional athletes, so trying to strike a balance between work, training, competing and fundraising for the team's trips around Europe, can take its toll. This coming weekend, he is competing in Kent at European level and again in Luxembourg on September 18. There's also a few charity cycles before Mark will take a well-deserved break in October. He's also hoping that with the increased interest in paracycling, the Irish Sports Council might provide funding or grants for himself and other teammates competing in various events. To fund the trip to Canada, Mark and other team members took part in a 100km charity cycle, the BDO Get Back Challenge, with former Tour de France cyclist Greg LeMond. "It was great to get his support and raise awareness of paracycling," he added. "Internationally it's taking off big time, it's going to take over from track and field in the US and Europe and hopefully it will take off here." Despite a lack of funding, Mark has a great support group available to him, including development coach Beverly Chamberlain, team manager Denis Toomey, a nutritionist, a sports scientist and a lifestyle manager. "It's a really professional outfit, and we also trained for a week in Canada before the championships, only one other team did that, so it really helped," he added. Mark was an apprentice electrician before his car accident, but afterwards did courses in Auto CAD and got a job with the ESB looking after the nationwide network, on site in Dublin. He was working full-time, but is now down to three days a week because the cycling took over. He acknowledged that he's lucky to have a flexible job with ESB but wondered will he have to sacrifice one or the other at some stage. However, despite still having huge ambitions when it comes to sport, Mark remained non-committal about the London 2012 Paralympics. "If I do qualify, I do. But now for me, I just want to keep cycling. But in a year I might find something else," he added. "Travel is next on the cards. I'd love to spend time in Oz. I have a degree in sports management and I'd love to spend time there with the paralympic team. They've a great set-up, it's a real eye-opener over there." Mark wanted to thank his parents Denis and Carmel, his family and friends for all their support and help and also the local community, especially for his unforgettable welcome home last week. He also got an unexpected letter of congratulations from Taoiseach Brian Cowen. "I was blown away by the turnout, it was very nice to get it," he said. "I can't believe the stuff people are saying, that I'm giving people a lift or giving them pride - if I do, then that's enough for me. It might be all worth it..."