Maghera cyclist Hayley aims for the stars

Maghera cyclist Hayley aims for the stars

4 April 2012

A 15 year-old Maghera girl is quickly pedalling her way to glory.

Hayley Priestley, a pupil at Kilkeel High School, has taken the cycling world by storm and last week qualified for the Junior Irish Girls’ 2020 Talent squad.

The La Lanterne Rouge CC member, who is the current Irish Junior champion, has also been selected for the UK School Games in London and this weekend travels to Scotland with the Irish 2020 Team.

Travelling to London in May, Hayley will then be competing in the UK School Games along with two other girls from Northern Ireland.

Hayley started cycling about three years ago, wobbling down the road while her dad reached for her water bottle, so terrified was she of falling into a hedge!.

She joined up with La Lanterne Rouge CC and quickly became one of the strongest cyclists at the club. Her potential was quickly recognised and encouraged, particularly by her mum and dad, Robin and Tracey, who are also her coaches.

They enlisted the help of Seamus Downey, of Banbridge Cycling Club, who is former Olympic and Commonwealth Games cyclist.

Under his guidance and tuition, Hayley entered many cycling events around Ireland attaining consistently high finishes and setting a new record for her age group.

Competing against the best cycling talent in Ireland at her age level and with only four places available for this chance of a lifetime, Hayley really showed her power, speed and competitiveness with some scintillating performances in a range of disciplines and was the only girl picked from Northern Ireland for the Irish 2020 Girls’ Talent squad.

The idea of this Junior 2020 Talent Squad is to show athletes from a young age the necessary principles, skills and training techniques necessary to be competitive at elite level.

By 2020 these girls will be top cyclists ready to compete in World Cup type events such as European competitions, the Olympic Games.