Alice Sharpe ends ‘chaotic’ Olympics final madison run feeling proud
Alice Sharpe reflected on the “chaotic” high stakes of an Olympic Games final after helping Team Ireland to 11th across the track cycling women’s madison.
She joined up with Lara Gillespie for Friday’s showcase event at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome as Team Ireland registered three points against the best in the world.
Afterwards Gillespie said: “It was really full on from the start.
"We didn’t panic but we did use a lot of energy I think getting into positioning at the start but then we held our own and calmed down and did score a few points at the end, in the last 20 laps the effort really started to kick in.
"A little bit disappointed with that but it is an Olympic final at the end of the day and 11th place is pretty savage.
"It took a lot to even qualify and get to the Games so we can be proud of the effort and look forward to the next time.”
Sharpe shared her colleague’s assessment.
“Yeah, there’s always a strategy involved with the madison but, because the race is so chaotic and there’s so many teams doing different things, you kind of have to have a strategy but need to adapt and overcome during the race,” said Sharpe. “Yes, it went to plan but I think we would have liked to score a few more points.
"But, as she said, it’s an Olympic final and I don’t think we can be too disappointed.”
Bangor’s Rachel McCann may not feature today in the Team Ireland squad for a milestone 4x400m final – but can be proud of her contribution overall on the journey.
Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley finished third yesterday to qualify for a first main-event outing.
The final line-up is expected to include Rhasidat Adeleke, starting on Saturday night at 8 o’clock.