FELIX ENGLISH SMILES when the sudden interest in his sport around the Olympic Games is pointed out.
It’s the same for a lot of sports, forgotten by the general population until they go under the microscope on the world’s biggest stage every four — or in this case, five — years.
Track cyclist English competes in the men’s Madison — a 50km track relay event — with Mark Downey on Saturday at Tokyo 2020.
“It’s good,” he beamed on a Zoom call with the media while on training camp in Majorca a few weeks out from the Games.
“The only problem is that we are in a really complicated event that is hard to follow so you are trying to explain it to new people and everyone is like, ‘Alright…’ nah, it’s good, it’s nice to see track cycling get some attention.”
In the early hours of tomorrow morning as the focus turns to track cycling, we’ll all become armchair experts once again, like we have done with every other discipline that’s graced our TV screens over the past two weeks or so.
English, born in Brighton to two parents from Dublin who crossed the water six month’s before his arrival, and are co-incidentally moving back to Gorey in November, is relishing his Olympic debut.
“For a track cyclist, the Olympic Games is the pinnacle. We don’t have a Tour de France. The World Championships is obviously big for us, but the Olympics is the biggest.
“We fought so hard to get our place initially so we have to make the most of it. It’s two years of our lives that have been unbelievably stressful.
“We had a really tough two-year qualification period and when it [the Olympics] got postponed, it was like a blessing for us because we needed a good period of rest to recover properly.
“We were quite low down the rankings from the start so we were fighting the whole time and there were a lot of teams that were quite safe so they could relax in that final period whereas we were full-on the whole time. We’ve both benefited from that period of rest.”
Now 28, English started cycling relatively late. While Downey’s sport was destined to be cycling given the strong family tradition and the fact his father, Seamus, is an Olympian, English flirted with football, swimming and running.
His father had worn the cycling path before him, though, racing for Ireland as a junior before taking a hiatus. When he got back into it in his early 40s, his son took an interest.
He started himself at 13 and raced from the age 15. He hasn’t looked back since, representing Ireland since 2012 and joining forces with Downey as a tandem five years ago.
It hasn’t been straightforward by any means or manner, but the World Cup silver medallists’ early success paved the way for more through a steep learning curve of ups and downs.
“We have a really good relationship. We know each other’s body language and that makes racing together much better. We bounce off each other so well. We can see who is feeling good or who is suffering, which is a huge advantage for us.”
One disadvantage, perhaps, is the lack of Velodrome on these shores.
This has been a massive talking point in Irish sport over the past few years, as Team Ireland decamps to Majorca to fill the void.
“It is a bit frustrating,” English nods. “It’s the kind of thing that wouldn’t have an immediate impact on us, I think, because we have the training base here [in Majorca] but for future generations trying to get into track cycling…
“You see it with Great Britain where there are youngsters as young as five or six starting on the track and those skills that you learn at such a young are really hard to replicate later on in life.
“For future track teams going forward, having a velodrome is essential or otherwise you don’t have that crop of talent that other nations do have. You might have one or two guys who have a knack for the track but otherwise it’s slim pickings, I think.”
That it is, but English is one to take the positives and look on the bright side. With that towards the back of his mind, he’ll take his first Olympic Games in his stride.
Having not raced much since pre-pandemic times in March 2020, it’s hard for the duo to set a tangible goal or target. But that’s okay, too.
With the track cycling events staged at the Izu Velodrome, 120 kilometres south of Tokyo city, they’re not staying in the Olympic village. The more low-key affair may suit better.
“We are in such an unknown with regards to what everyone else is doing,” he concludes.
“We know we are both in the best shape we have ever been but we have no idea how the race is going to pan out.
“There are a lot of guys are professional on the road and have been racing the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France and we have been training here in Majorca so everyone has had completely different run-ins.
“We have to wait and see, I guess.”
