Adare man Paul Kennedy is competing at one of the highest levels in road cycling in the world, after only taking up the sport seriously six years ago.
Kennedy recently placed second in the men’s 40 category time trial in the World Road Race Championships which took place in Glasgow.
This is an incredible achievement finishing just behind former British world tour professional Simon Wilson
This was Kennedy’s second world time trial silver medal after he finish second in the world championships in Trento, Italy 12 months ago.
It wasn’t always cycling though as his new found love for the sport came later on in life.
Paul began his sporting career with Adare GAA, playing through all underage levels winning numerous country titles over the years including minor, U21 and senior.
The Adare man retired from hurling at the age of 37 and turned to cycling to keep the mind and body fit.
While beginning to get more into cycling Paul met Dan Cahill from Newcastle West Cycling Club who encouraged him to try some race specific training session with the club before competing in his first race in 2016.
Kennedy said: “The cycling training was completely different from the hurling commitment, I would spend up to 18 hours per week on the bike training and success followed over the next few years including winning some of the biggest races in Ireland.”
That commitment has paid off for Paul as he is now racing against some of the best cyclists in the world and hopes more athletes take up the sport when their time in GAA comes to an end.
By Siadbh Redmond
siadbh.redmond@iconicnews.ie
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