Cycling Reports

Tarja Owens - From Dirt to Tarmac

By Gerard Cromwell (Mar 6) After the demise of the Linda McCartney team and the following uncertainty over the careers of two of Irelands finest young cyclists, Mark Scanlon and Ciaran Power, comes refreshing news of another new Irish professional cyclist about to embark on a career in the European peleton.

Tarja Owens (say Tarya) is a 23 year old, former mountainbiker, from Greystones, Co.Wicklow. Like Power and Scanlon, Owens hopes to move up the pro ranks and eventually take part in the biggest bike race of them all, the Tour De France - the Ladies Tour De France that is.

The former six times Irish Ladies Mountainbike Champion and Sydney 2000 competitor has turned her attention to the road this season and has signed for the top Italian ladies outfit – SC Michaela Fanini. In the first year of a four year plan designed at arriving at the next Olympics ranked in the top 20 mountainbikers in the world, Tarja will be based in Tuscany, Italy for 2001.

Tarja became the first ever, Irish female professional cyclist when she joined up with the rest of the squad on the 13th of this month for a week long training camp. “We have a training camp from the 18th to the 25th in Tuscany.” she says, having just returned from a five hour training ride. “The first World Cup race is in Switzerland and the team will be divided in half for that, the other half will ride a GP race in Italy, depending on how well we do at the camp.”

Tarja decided to give road racing a go after her experiences at last years Olympics, where she punctured twice. “I hadn’t punctured in two years before that.” she says “I can’t explain how gutted I was about that. It’s something you’d have nightmares about and it’s taken me a long time to get over it. I was given a taste and then it was snatched away again.

“I was the youngest in my race and I think I was weak compared to the top class girls. I know they’ve all raced on the road before and I thought if I could get good backing on the road and keep my hold on the mountainbike scene at the same time, I could come back and contest the next Olympics for real.”

After sending her C.V. out to all the pro teams over the internet, she received an offer from the Italian team and took it, despite little experience of road racing. “It’s another world.” admits the Wicklow girl. “I’ve never raced at this level on the road at all! After the first half of the season, they’ll pick the teams for the women’s Tour De France and Giro D’Italia. I’m sure the other girls are well established and unless I’m a fast learner, I can’t see a place for me on the Tour De France team. I wouldn’t expect it anyway, unless I’m going really well!”

Tarja is coached by former Tour De France and Giro D’Italia stage winner - Dubliner, Martin Earley. “I think the improvements I’ve made last year and even this winter have been brilliant.” she says.

Having spent the last two years trying to survive on a development grant of £3,000 from the sports council and the money earned from racking up the hours in her job as a gym instructor in the off-season, Tarja will have less worries next year with the Italian set-up. “For the past couple of years I have been traveling all over the world, at my own expense in a bid to qualify for the Olympics. Last year I spent 120 days away from home, racing all kinds of races from mountainbike stage races to 24-hour races, world championships - everything and anything really. For my expenses last year, I spent nine grand!

“It’s hard, you know. You see friends and they’re settling down, they’re finished college, they’re getting jobs and getting mortgages. Although I feel, God I don’t want to do that yet, sometimes I feel like I have nothing! I have absolutely no savings. But if you get to the Olympics and get to travel the world and meet wonderful people, it’s all worth it.”

“This year I will have an apartment. My food, clothes etc will be paid for. It’s a huge relief. I hope to qualify for the full grant from the Sports Council of £7000, so that will help with my traveling to take in the mountainbike races. Hopefully with a few years on the road, my strength will improve even more and come the next Olympics I will be ranked in the top 20 in the world. That is my aim. I want to be a real contender for a medal at the next Olympic Games and hopefully road racing will help me.

“I’ve always enjoyed road racing. My downfall has been tactics, hopefully I can learn a lot from the Italians and the other girls.”

The 2001 season will see the pink clad SC Michaela Fanini team with eighteen riders, nine Italians , two Ukranians, one Spaniard, an American, a Swiss, a German ,three Russians and one Irishwoman. “I hope somebody speaks English,” laughs Tarja “I suppose I’ll have to bring my phrase book with me!”